The West in the Congo: A Empire of Blood,Coltan and Uranium

Long have the days of World War II passed from the memories of the West. No more bloody battles and heated confrontations to attempt to control natural resources. No more wars of ideology and hatred. We know live in an age of peace.But what if I told you the war never really ended? What if I told you it just became much more complicated and bloody. Most people know world war two ended with the fall of Hitler and the German Reich, however, most do not know about Africa's equivalent to world war two as well as there crucial involvement. The Congo, a land filled to the brim with resources, which rival the great halls of China and the mechanized superpowers of the west. For so long, however, they have been in a state of disarray and chaos. A never-ending war. Millions have died and millions more continue to while prices of those resources drop and the west carries on. What the hell started this war? Why is there still fighting? What is happening in the Congo.

The Congo has long tragic history full of invasions,slavery,occupation and genocides.This is because the Congo is the heart of Africa, filled to the brim with resources which it pumps out to its neighbors and overlords. All of their cultures blend together and battle for influence and control for the vast wealth of the Congo. Let's look into the extent of this. The Congo is about the size of all of western Europe. Its population is 74 Million in 2016 according to the world bank and has a Limitless water supply thanks to the world second largest river,rich fertile soil stretching from east to west, and of course massive deposits of, Diamonds, Coal,Oil, Cobalt and most importantly of all two minerals know as Uranium and Coltan. This country has so much going for it. Yet it has failed so completely.The key issue,the chink in the heart of the congo the reason there suffering and conflict continues, is the west.

Now we cannot point fingers at the west and scream we must go deeper. The Congo originally was separated into a confederation of several kingdoms who were united under a confederation (BBC) This changed when the The Belgians took the congo. This begins the long chain of events. Now when the Congo was subjected it was the height of the slave trade and The Congolese people made up 50% (New york timeS) of all slave imported to the americas and Europe. While this was going on a new invention took the west by storm. The Bicycle! Helping the environment! 95% of all the rubber was coming from the congo where slaves worked to death to destroy forest and extract the precious liquid to fuel the European craze. Now the Pattern continues but most interestingly of all was the congos contribution to both European wars. In World War I “The brass casings of allied shells fired at Passchendaele and the Somme were 75% Congolese copper.” (BBC) and in world war II The uranium used to create Little Boy and Fat Man Atomic weapons were created by Congolese Uranium. All of this happened after the Congo was freed as well. Imperialism had ended or at least transitioned. The most apparent example is Coltan. Now you may no know what this is but by far you are feeling its effects. You know what a computer is? Cell phone? Procesor? These are only possible with colatan. 80% of the world's TOTAL supply is in the congo. The things that make our lives possible come from a country living in absolute poverty while surrounded by wealth. This new from of economic imperialism is simple. The Western powers do not want peace in the congo because they can extract wealth and resources at an extremely cheap price sand they don't need to send troop just let the africans kill themselves and buy from the warlords. Economic Imperialism to this day is making sure that the people of the congo remain in slavery of the West.

However The Congo has had Two Major African wars, both caused by external factors which consumed all of africa. These wars killed millions and most importantly of all replaced a Dictator for a president and president for a dictator and made it possible for constant wars to be waged, ensuring the cheap bloody resources can continue to flow. The UN's largest Peace Corps force is deployed in the congo to “Maintain Peace” while the war to this day the war continues in the east, right next to The UNs bases.

The Congo is a sad reminder of the world we live in, estimates by the BBC estimate that “ The Value of the Democratic Republics resources is 24 Trillion US Dollars” Think about that. The US debt is 20 Trillion and we are struggling to pay, the congo has enough resources to pay off all the US Debt and enough money left over to fully develop their country. Instead they will not see a single benefit to their great natural wealth. This is why conflict continues today, outside powers, foreign interest modern imperialism all to ensure the flow of the veins of the congo go unhindered to fuel our modern world. It's Ironic how everyone claims to defend democracy,freedom and equality. What that actually means is we defend it for everyone except those we can sue to ensure our future.

Center, Pulitzer. “The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Eastern DRC.” Pulitzer Center, Pulitzer Center, 14 Mar. 2018, pulitzercenter.org/projects/africa/roots-ethnic-conflict-eastern-drc. Accessed 2018.

This article is fairly un biased as it focuses on telling the history of the people of the congo and its a affects. It is fairly reliable as it actively sources its information and does not take sides it merely shows the facts of what happened.

Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Imperialism Of. “The Congo Today.” Imperialism of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Imperialism of Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20 Mar. 2018, drcimperialism.weebly.com/the-congo-today.html. Accessed 2018.

This article is biased as it focuses on the negatives of imperialism however it's fairly useful because it has facts and evidence which support my idea that the congo is still under an Economic imperial control.

Gettleman, Jeffrey. “Opinion | Congo's Never-Ending War.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/sunday-review/congos-never-ending-war.html. Accessed 2018.

Very unbiased. The New york times is a well established realoba;le source which focuses on bringing the best information possible. Talks deeply on  why ethnic conflict,minerals and other factors are continuing to create the conflict in the congo.

News, Bbc. “Q&A: DR Congo Conflict.” BBC News, BBC News, 20 Nov. 2012, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-11108589. Accessed 2018.

The BBC is world renown for being as unbiased as humanly possible.. This article is very similar to the new york time only it has much more statistics and information.

News, Bbc. “Too Rich for Its Own Good.” BBC News, BBC News, 9 Oct. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390. Accessed 2018.

This article talks about the pure mineral wealth of the congo and how this deeply affects the population.

Reliefweb. “Conflict and Displacement in the Kasai - January 2018.” ReliefWeb, ReliefWeb, 16 Jan. 2018, reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/conflict-and-displacement-kasai-january-2018. Accessed 2018.