As the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates forty-nine years of independence today, it is time to make some hard choices to stop the epidemic of rape that has infected the nation like an insidious disease. Hundreds of thousands of women of all ages have been attacked and mutilated, publicly abused and often forced into sex slavery. They aren't the only sufferers; their children are scarred by the crime, their husbands humiliated, their villages destroyed.

Some view rape as a symptom of a larger illness that afflicts the Congo, but I believe it is a disease in and of itself—one that threatens to kill the nation. Like many chronic afflictions, it will only be cured when the root causes of the illness are vigorously treated. To eliminate rape in the Congo, three difficult remedies are required.

The first course of treatment is to end the armed struggle for control of mines and other assets in the Eastern provinces of the DRC. Gang rape is used as a weapon to terrorize the populace around the mines that produce gold, tantalum, and tin and it will continue to be employed until someone conclusively defeats the various armed groups that profit from those mines. These include the FDLR (remnants of the Hutu Interahamwe that fled to the Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide), local Mayi-Mayi militia, and even rogue elements of the Congolese army itself.

Just as important is disenfranchising the businessmen and politicians both inside and outside the Congo who profit from the chaos. Non-combatant leaders of these groups, whether they be in Kinshasa, Kigali, Munich, Brussels, or Paris, must be charged with war crimes and turned over to the ICC for prosecution. Their ill-gotten gains should be confiscated and returned to the DRC.

Unfortunately, this treatment will require intervention by a well-equipped, professional armed force ready to complete the job. The Congolese army, the FARDC, is a poorly-led collection of untrained men, many of whom were “integrated” into the national army after fighting against it as members of various rebel militias. Congolese troops, upset over lack of pay, recently fired on UN forces with whom they are supposedly allied.

U.N. forces themselves are fettered by a confusing mandate and troops spread too thinly over a huge area. They recently stepped up the campaign against the FDLR, but haven't shown much success. Retaliation from that action and a joint Congolese-Rwandan campaign earlier this year has actually increased the number of attacks against women in the region.

A competent force from the African Union, European Union, or even the United States, one that doesn't report to those with economic interests in the region, will be necessary to complete this crucial first course of treatment.

The second stage is to prepare the patient to care for himself. The FARDC must be turned into a professional army. Soldiers need to be paid so they have less incentive to extort the civilian population. They must be taught that rape is wrong and perpetrators will be punished. The command structure must be cleaned out and corrupt officers replaced by competent leaders. Recent statements by Africom Commander William E. "Kip" Ward that the U.S. military will be working with the Congolese to raise the professionalism of their armed forces is a welcome start in that process.

The criminal justice system in the DRC needs to be strengthened as well. Steps have been taken in this direction, but much more has to happen before women can safely come forward to press charges against rapists without fear of retribution and with some hope that justice will actually be meted out. The 2006 national law criminalizing rape sounds good--the maximum penalty was doubled to 20 years and rape investigations are to be given priority--but that's just on paper. Until there are sufficient trained policemen and women to enforce them, rapists will continue ravaging society.

The third stage of treatment will perhaps be the hardest of all. A culture of impunity has been created during the years of the rape epidemic and it will probably take many more years of interdiction and education to eradicate it. An entire generation of young men have grown up seeing violence against women as normal. They've been taught that it is perfectly all right to demand sex from any woman at any time and to take it by force if refused. With eighty percent of all children in this generation denied an education by the war in Congo and a million refugees still homeless while the fighting continues, there is no social infrastructure to teach them otherwise.

Support services for the victims of rape have gained traction in the last couple of years and the spotlight on their suffering grows brighter and brighter with films like "The Greatest Silence: Rape In the Congo," "Lumo," and Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Ruined." Organizations like Women for Women International and Heal Africa are doing wonderful work to give these women back their lives.

But little or nothing is being done to instill a sense of shame and a core of decency to the men who commit these horrors. Until they are treated, the disease will never be cured.

The Congo that achieved freedom from Belgium in 1960 should have become the beating heart of Africa. With $25 trillion dollars in mineral wealth, more than enough potential hydroelectricity to power the continent, and vast regions of fallow land that could feed hundreds of millions of people, the DRC should be a vibrant, booming nation. It teeters instead on the brink of failed statehood; a sad shell of a nation that survives mainly due to the indomitable spirit of its people.

That spirit has survived more than a century of colonial oppression, war, and kleptocracy, but it is threatened now by the debilitating disease of rape. Unless that sickness is cured, the future of this should-be great nation is in serious doubt.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

The open letter I published here and on Daily Kos last week convinced computer chip giant AMD Corporation to change a product code name, according to an online report on technology site CNET News. I had complained about the company’s recent decision to name a new computer chip "Congo" because of the connection between conflict minerals used in electronic devices and the brutal war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the letter, I pointed out that nearly six million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998 and the death toll continues to mount as fighting over the country's mineral resources continues. Currently, more than a million Congolese have been driven from their homes and farms by the fighting in the Eastern provinces. It is estimated that 250,000 women have been brutally raped and mutilated by armed groups seeking to control communities where mines are located.

While use of the term "Congo" was certainly inadvertent and many, especially in the tech world, felt I was making a mountain out of a mole hill, the company recognized that the code name was ill-chosen. Here's what they told CNET News reporter Elinor Mills:

Contacted for comment this week, AMD spokesman John Taylor said the company "truly regrets" causing any offense, even unintentionally. "It was an oversight not to see that (the code name) could be viewed in an entirely different context," he said.
AMD began using the name "2nd Generation Ultrathin Platform" instead of Congo as part of a natural pre-launch naming transition, Taylor said. "The Daily Kos blog helped finalize and expedite a process that was already in motion," he added. "We're striving for that codename to be retired."

In my novel, Heart of Diamonds, I use a diamond smuggling scheme to represent the fight for control of the DRC’s gold, timber, uranium, copper, coltan, and other natural resources. An intricate plot involving an American televangelist, the President of the DRC, and the White House reflects the convoluted relationships of the factions involved in the struggle. My heroine, Valerie Grey, is a TV journalist who uncovers the scheme and fights to expose it to the world.

Thanks to all who joined in the complaint to AMD by communicating with the company in response to the original post.

Your company's recent decision to name a new microchip "Congo" is astoundingly heartless and ill-informed. Did you really mean to link your product to the world's worst humanitarian crisis?

Nearly six million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998 and the death toll continues to mount as fighting over the country's mineral resources continues. Currently, more than a million Congolese have been driven from their homes and farms by the fighting in the Eastern provinces. It is estimated that 250,000 women have been brutally raped and mutilated by armed groups seeking to control communities where mines are located.

While your new chip may not include these minerals, connecting the product to the conflict is an incredibly bad idea. Your statement of corporate responsibility reads in part:

"Our success in business is built on a core value of respect for people. From our employees around the world, to our customers and partners, to the families who live in the communities where we operate - people come first and foremost."

On behalf of the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I urge you to fulfill that promise and change this product name. I also call on you to commit to policing your supply chain to ensure that your company's purchases do not contribute to the abuse and deaths of innocent people.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Terror rape in the Congo became widespread ten years ago, yet it is only recently that the worldwide media establishment has paid more attention to this crime against humanity than to the killing of gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Chouchou Namegabe, a radio journalist from Bukavu whose appearance on a panel in New York I wrote about recently. Her words resonate in this video of the event much like the descriptions of the atrocious crime in several passages in Heart of Diamonds.

Women's eNews staff reporter Dominique Soguel moderated the event and published an account of it as well.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Two strong voices for the Congo were heard recently on NewsChannel 8, an affiliate of WJLA-TV 7 (ABC) in Washington, DC. They are Nita Evele, Co-Chair of Congo Global Action, and Kambale Musavuli, an activist with Friends of the Congo. Their appearance was part of the growing chorus of voices asking the world to step in and stop the violence against women and other depredations against the civilian population stemming from the struggle to control the DRC's mineral wealth. You can watch Nita and Kambale make an articulate, impassioned case for what we can do to break the silence.

I'll be doing my part in the weeks ahead as I continue my Heart of Diamonds speaking tour with appearances at the Suffern (NY) Library on Monday, March 16 at 7 PM and the Shrub Oak (NY) Library on Sunday, March 22, at 2 PM. I'll discuss the current situation in Congo and read passages from Heart of Diamonds that illustrate the dire plight of the people of that war-torn nation.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

The Pulitzer flags should be flying over Lynn Nottage's acclaimed play, Ruined, which I saw recently during its NY run. The play exposes the horrors of terror rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through the stories of victims of the crime.

Nottage chose to write a play about the strife in the Congo much the same way I was drawn into the crisis with Heart of Diamonds. She started out to write something else--in her case, an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage--but was compelled by the reality of the modern tragedy in the DRC to create an entirely different work. The world should be thankful she made that choice.

Ruined centers on Mama Nadi and her tavern cum whorehouse in the Ituri region of the Congo. The stories of Mama Nadi's "girls" are told in a swelling chorus of pathos among a parade of soldiers, rebels, miners, and traders who show up looking for relief from the violence wracking the countryside.

Each of the women tells a story of how they were victimized by the conflict. Josephine (played by Cherise Boothe), the daughter of a village chief, had been cast adrift when the social structure of her homeland was destroyed by war over the region's mineral wealth. Salima (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) was snatched by rebels and used as a sex slave for five months before she returned to her village, only to be rejected by her husband and family.

The plot revolves around Sophie (Condola Rashad), who was "ruined" by a gang of rebels who mutilated her genitals in an act of terror rape all too common in the Congo today. Rashad's performance perfectly captures the tragic effects of the crime. Her sweetly innocent face contrasts sharply with the awkward way her body moves in response to the constant pain from her injuries.

In an telling touch, most of the soldiers, rebels, and miners are played by the same cast members in alternating roles, emphasizing the shifting nature of loyalties and alliances in the real conflict playing out today in the Congo.

Mama Nadi is the star of the play and Saidah Arrika Ekulona portrays her as a flamboyant, strong-willed survivor, hard-crusted but soft-hearted, a woman for the ages. Her bravery in the face of the ever-heightening violence is the pillar that supports the entire play.

The emotional climax comes early in the second act (in a scene that reminded me greatly of Ogastine's story in Heart of Diamonds) when Salima delivers a soliloquy about her horrific experience. The audience literally gasped when she described the details of her capture, then you could hear them squirming uncomfortably as she told how she was used as a sex slave. The theater was struck silent when she related her return to her village expecting succor only to be given the back of the hand and driven away by her husband.

The heart-wrenching, mind-stopping production premiered last fall at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and moved to Manhattan Theater Club's Stage 1 at City Center (where I saw it) this month for a limited time. The run in New York has been extended, but it will probably end soon, so I strongly recommend you order tickets today.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

I got a kick out of this note from Dr. Joyce Furfero, who has invited me to speak to a class in Economic Growth and Development she teaches at St. John's University.

Dave — As I was driving home last night, I heard the following story on the radio:

EASTCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a man who was waterproofing the foundation of a diplomatic residence in New York City's northern suburbs has been rescued after his trench collapsed and buried him to his chest.

Eastchester police Chief Timothy Bonci (bahn-SEE') says the man was pinned against the home's wall for two hours or more before being pulled out at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. He says some of the digging had to be done by hand.

The worker's name has not been released. He has been taken to a hospital, but his condition isn't immediately available.

“Can’t you just picture the injured man wallowing in the mud like the workers in Gary Peterson’s mine (p. 80)? Can’t you just imagine the injured man being carried over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes by Captain Yoweri or one of his FIC henchmen to be deposited at Jaime’s clinic? Apparently, the Congolese provide no better working conditions for their workers here in the US than they do back home in the Congo!”

Dr. Furfero may have a point, but it also seems to me the story demonstrates that a working stiff has it rough no matter which part of the world he's in.

Last night in Manhattan I talked to the Ambassador to the United Nations from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ileka Atoki, as I gave him an autographed copy of Heart of Diamonds. We met at a screening of Lisa Jackson's documentary, "The Greatest Silence: Rape In The Congo." Ambassador Ileka shed some interesting light on how the tactic of gang rape became so widely used in the DRC. He also spoke about what needs to be done to eradicate it. I couldn't agree with him more.

Rape as a weapon of war is nothing new, of course, nor was it invented in the Congo. According to Ileka, the current Congo rape epidemic began in earnest in 1998 when the armies of Uganda and Rwanda (among others) invaded the DRC ostensibly to destroy groups seeking to overthrow their governments which had taken refuge in Congo. Their rebel quarry, including the Hutu Interahamwe responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide, used gang rape as part of their arsenal of terror. The horrible tactic was soon adopted by the Congolese armed forces, who were (and are still) mostly uneducated, underpaid, ill-motivated youths, as well as their allies, the Mai-Mai militia, whose leaders encourage the superstition that raping a woman makes them fiercer warriors.

Lisa Jackson's film, which first aired on America's HBO last spring and is now being distributed around the world (see my previous posts about it), is a raw portrayal of the epidemic of violence against women that is destroying the fabric of life in Congo. I've seen it several times and the impact grows with each viewing. Lisa interviews rape victims, the people who struggle to care for them, and even several young men who committed the crime. Their cold-blooded accounts are the stuff of nightmares.

According to some estimates, a woman is gang-raped in Congo every eight minutes today.

Ambassador Ileka said that a recent DRC government study shows that many of the crimes are now being committed not only by the various armies and militias vying for control of the eastern provinces, but by civilians--men who were demobilized after the war officially ended in 2003. They view rape as their right.

He also pointed out that an entire generation of young men, boys when the war began, have grown up with violence against women all around them. It is part of the fabric of their lives. With eighty percent of all children in this generation denied an education by the war in Congo and a million refugees still homeless while the fighting continues, there is no social infrastructure to teach them it is wrong.

There is no easy solution and it may well take more than one generation to eradicate the plague. Awareness of the epidemic is growing, largely through the tireless efforts of Lisa Jackson and others like her. But true change, as Ileka said, will be possible only with an end to the fighting. Nothing substantive can be accomplished while more than twenty armed groups vie for control of Congo's riches. The current UN-sponsored peace talks and some very recent diplomatic and military maneuvers by the DRC government are the slimmest beginning of that process.

When the conflict finally ends, prosecution of perpetrators can help stop the practice. The DRC passed a clear stringent law criminalizing crimes of violence against women, but it is basically unenforceable under current conditions. Longer term, attitudes can be changed through education. Like many other repugnant beliefs that worm their way into the social fabric, though, the impunity with which rapists view their actions will not be eradicated overnight by either teachers or prosecutors.

Sadly, nothing will bring back the lost lives of the thousands of women and girls who have been brutalized.