Source
The people of the Congo are very religious. This is due to Portuguese missionaries spreading Christianity in the area centuries ago. Around half of the population of the DRC is Roman Catholic. Although the Catholic church and other Christian denominations are strong, many of the people in the Congo mix Christianity with a belief in the spirit of their ancestors. Many also believe in 'evil spirits' and witchcraft. Music and dance are very important to the Congolese people. Their style of music comes from jazz and rumba bands from the 1940's and 1950's. Most of the instruments are handmade and bands form in the streets of towns and cities showing a sense of community in the culture.
I can't fully comment of the DRC culture as I have not experienced it, but one thing stands out to me that could possibly further harm the situation in the country. A popular belief in witchcraft can be very dangerous to many people as demonstrated in the Salem witch trials. As I said before, I don't know whether this is a big deal or not but if enough people believe in witchcraft and believe a certain person is a 'witch' that could be very detrimental.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Ugandan rebels suspected in deadly attack in DRC
Source
In an eastern part of the DRC in a town called Beni, 26 people were killed overnight by a rebel group called the Allied Democratic Forces which has been targeted by the Congolese army and U.N. peacekeepers. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Oliver Hamuli said the attackers' identities have yet to be discovered. This attack comes a week after another attack in the town of Oicha in which the ADF killed nine people. 40 women and 7 boys from a remote village were also abducted last week by a different rebel group called Maimai-Simba. The ADF gets it funding from trafficking timber and gold. The group is accused of rights abuses such as murder, rape, and use of children soldiers.
The greed and the need for power in the DRC is scary. Any group that is against any other group will do anything in order to further their own agenda to gain more power and money. Even if it is just something for their own entertainment, they will ruin other people's lives just to get what they want. Almost every group in this twisted civil war acts like a mean playground bully. They are two focused on their own wants that they endlessly displace and murder innocent civilians and it is simply disgusting.
In an eastern part of the DRC in a town called Beni, 26 people were killed overnight by a rebel group called the Allied Democratic Forces which has been targeted by the Congolese army and U.N. peacekeepers. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Oliver Hamuli said the attackers' identities have yet to be discovered. This attack comes a week after another attack in the town of Oicha in which the ADF killed nine people. 40 women and 7 boys from a remote village were also abducted last week by a different rebel group called Maimai-Simba. The ADF gets it funding from trafficking timber and gold. The group is accused of rights abuses such as murder, rape, and use of children soldiers.
The greed and the need for power in the DRC is scary. Any group that is against any other group will do anything in order to further their own agenda to gain more power and money. Even if it is just something for their own entertainment, they will ruin other people's lives just to get what they want. Almost every group in this twisted civil war acts like a mean playground bully. They are two focused on their own wants that they endlessly displace and murder innocent civilians and it is simply disgusting.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Congo to hold referendum on third presidential term
Source
The Congo government announced that it would hold a referendum, a vote on a single political question, on the constitutional change that could allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to keep ruling in the DRC. He was president from 1979 to 1992 and lost in the next election. He returned to power after his rebel forces defeated the incumbent president's in 1997 and has been ruling ever since. This is supposedly in Sassou's favor as the opposing party is weak and doesn't have media control.
This obviously should not happen. No one person should have as much power a he does and stay in power for that long. He has been in power for a total of 31 years. The referendum should never happen and when it gets voted on it needs to be shut down. If we had a person in power for the United States at president for 31 years, that would be called tyranny. For what's best for the DRC, the referendum can't win.
The Congo government announced that it would hold a referendum, a vote on a single political question, on the constitutional change that could allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to keep ruling in the DRC. He was president from 1979 to 1992 and lost in the next election. He returned to power after his rebel forces defeated the incumbent president's in 1997 and has been ruling ever since. This is supposedly in Sassou's favor as the opposing party is weak and doesn't have media control.
This obviously should not happen. No one person should have as much power a he does and stay in power for that long. He has been in power for a total of 31 years. The referendum should never happen and when it gets voted on it needs to be shut down. If we had a person in power for the United States at president for 31 years, that would be called tyranny. For what's best for the DRC, the referendum can't win.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)