Event
A Brief History of The Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a central African country with thousands of years of human history, has withstood unimaginable political crises, corruption, war, disease, violence and poverty. But while the country has been independent since 1960, Dr. Bent Francis Mboyo Ndombo, president of the pro-democracy and socioeconomic development group Congolese United for Social Change, says the country is still merely "a parody of democracy."
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. During its history, the area has also been known as Congo, Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire and Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo is one of the largest countries in Africa with total population 60 millions. After independence of 1960, the country immediately faced an army mutiny and an attempt at secession in different provinces. After the death of the first elected Prime Minister Lumumba in 1961, until now the DRC has been governed by dictator's presidents. (Mobutu Sese seko from 1965-1997, Laurent Desire Kabila from 1997-2001 and Joseph Kabila from 2001-present).
Since 1997, more than 7 million people were slaughtered and few have spoken about it. I liken this to the Jewish Holocaust and the level of those atrocities. Hundreds of thousands of women, and girls have been raped during 12 years of conflict. According to Melanie Verveer, the State Department's ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, and 1,100 rapes are reported every month in the Congo battle area. These tallies to 36 women and girls raped each day." Children die every single day from different curable diseases. Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria, diarrhea, or malnutrition in the Congo.
Debate sub-themes:
What's really going on?
Who are the major players?
How did we get there?
Where are we going?
Why should we care?
What can YOU do?
As non government organization what roles should we play for a better DRC? "
|
|
 |
LocationSeattle Town Hall
8th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98498
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 16 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
|
Contact
|
