Bingo Bango Bungo Horribo Congo

I recently emailed my friends the following, but I thought I'd post this on my blog as well.

A friend of mine sent me the following link from the globe and mail website. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081119.wvconditioncritical1119/VideoStory/VideoLineup/Pick


it's a 11:19 min long video of the critical conditions in Congo as we speak.

i went to the amensty international film festival last weekend with another friend to watch a documentary titled "the greatest silence: rape in the Congo". while i thought the documentary didn't present anything new that i didn't already know, but i have also been following the events unfolding in congo over the past several months.

i thought the documentary would've been even more compelling had it presented the more view points from the perpetrators. the act of rape is viewed as a supersticious practice in that these men will be protected from any harm in the time of battle with their enemies. while there's a double standard amongst these men when confronted with the question such as "what would u do if ur wife, mother, sister or daughter were subjected to such violent assult", most of them confirmed they would not tolerate it.

in addition to the rape, most of the women victims were often mutilated in one way or another. while these actions are universally wrong and unacceptable, i can certainly understand the extend these men would go to in destroying the lives of the others. war does terrible things to the human mind where priorities change and morals fade. both the men and women become desensitized if not dehumanized.

anyway, i just wanted to share this with u guys. the video is short and informative. the black and white photos are all very telling. each of them has a story behind it. while these images are only momentarily to those of us viewing them, the conditions are ongoing for the subjects in the clip.

i think hope is something that's all the congolese have left, but ironically it's also something that's leaving them fast.