"8 Minutes" in the DR Congo

%3Cp%3EAccording%20to%20AlertNet%2C%20as%20hundreds%20of%20thousands%20of%20rape%20victims%20are%20cast%20out%20from%20their%20families%20and%20communities%2C%20mass%20rapes%20in%20the%20Congo%20continue%20to%20destroy%20civic%20life.%20%20A%20rape%20survivor%20is%20considered%20an%20outcast%20in%20the%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo%2C%20and%20the%20blame%20is%20placed%20solely%20on%20the%20victim.%20%20She%20is%20considered%20to%20be%20%22dirtied%2C%22%20and%20her%20violation%20leaves%20her%20with%20a%20diminished%20status%20both%20as%20a%20wife%20and%20a%20daughter.%20%20To%20regain%20his%20respect%2C%20the%20husband%20or%20father%20must%20throw%20the%20girl%20out%2C%20banishing%20her%20from%20his%20house.%20%20It%20is%20rare%20for%20the%20husband%20or%20father%20to%20stand%20by%20the%20girl%2C%20although%20it%20has%20happened%20in%20the%20case%20of%20Fatuma%20Kayengela%27s%20husband%2C%20whose%20two%2015-year-old%20daughters%20were%20raped%20by%20soldiers.%20%20While%20thousands%20of%20rape%20victims%20survive%2C%20many%20suffer%20enduring%20symptoms%20of%20psychological%20trauma%2C%20STDs%2C%20and%20physical%20problems.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EFrom%20%20Google%20News%20%20--Jane%20Goodall%20warns%20that%20China%27s%20plundering%20of%20African%20resources%20is%20breaking%20down%20necessary%20wildlife%20habitat.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%3Cblockquote%3E%26ldquo%3B%26nbsp%3B%22Basically%2C%20they%20have%20almost%20exhausted%20their%20own%20supplies%20%28of%20wood%20and%20minerals%29%20so%20they%20go%20to%20Africa%20and%20offer%20large%20amounts%20of%20money%20or%20offer%20to%20build%20roads%20or%20make%20dams%2C%20in%20return%20for%20forest%20concessions%20or%20rights%20to%20minerals%20and%20oil%2C%22%20Goodall%2C%2074%2C%20said%26nbsp%3B%26rdquo%3B%3C%2Fblockquote%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EFrom%20Small%20Newspaper%20Group%20--%20%20Derek%20Babcock%2C%20a%20tenured%20teacher%2C%20was%20forced%20to%20resign%20after%20allegations%20of%20sexual%20abuse%20were%20raised%20against%20him.%20%20But%20Babcock%20still%20remained%20licensed%20and%20received%20a%20neutral%20job%20referral%2C%20and%20was%20able%20to%20continue%20teaching%20elsewhere.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%3Cblockquote%3E%26%23147%3B%26nbsp%3BIn%20exchange%20for%20his%20resignation%2C%20school%20officials%20signed%20a%20contract%20promising%20that%20they%20would%20never%20tell%20potential%20employers%20of%20the%20allegation%20made%20against%20him%20and%20give%20him%20at%20least%20a%20neutral%20job%20referral.%26nbsp%3B%26%23148%3B%3C%2Fblockquote%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EWatch%20this%20excellent%20documentary%20from%20Journeyman%20Pictures%20on%20the%20Congo.%20In%20the%20middle%20of%20a%20war%20where%20over%204%20million%20people%20have%20died%2C%20Congo%20is%20still%20being%20torn%20apart%20for%20its%20vast%20mineral%20wealth.%20%20Journalists%20visit%20the%20mines%20of%20red%20rock%2C%20or%20tin%20oar%2C%20the%20most%20traded%20mineral%20in%20the%20London%20exchange.%20%20Now%20used%20for%20electronic%20circuit%20boards%2C%20prices%20for%20the%20resource%20have%20hit%20a%2010-year%20high.%20%20And%20the%20battle%20is%20on%20for%20control%20of%20the%20mines%20and%20the%20trade.%20%20The%20United%20Nations%20is%20in%20Congo%2C%20but%20doesn%27t%20venture%20far%20from%20its%20base%2C%20and%20peacekeepers%20have%20never%20set%20foot%20in%20the%20mines.%20%20Yet%20it%27s%20the%20plundered%20oar%20that%20fuels%20the%20conflict%20by%20enabling%20militia%20groups%20to%20buy%20more%20guns%20as%20civilians%20continue%20to%20die%2C%20sometimes%20at%20the%20rate%20of%201%2C000%20per%20day.%20%20%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20head%20of%20the%20government%20mining%20commission%20discusses%20the%20problem%20and%20his%20experience%20with%20one%20particular%20mine%20that%20is%2040%20miles%20through%20the%20forest%3A%20%22Have%20to%20walk%20through%20vast%20territory%2C%20through%20bush%2C%20sleep%20wherever%2C%20be%20displaced%2C%20not%20eat%2C%20have%20nothing.%20%20It%27s%20really%20painful.%20%20But%20that%27s%20why%20we%20are%20working%20for%20our%20country.%20%20We%20must%20do%20everything%20possible%20to%20inspect%20every%20corner%20where%20mineral%20exploitation%20is%20happening.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

%3Cp%3EThe%20Los%20Angeles%20times%20reports%20on%20a%20new%20documentary%2C%20%22The%20Greatest%20Silence%3A%20Rape%20in%20the%20Congo%2C%22%20by%20Lisa%20F.%20Jackson%2C%20which%20examines%20the%20brutal%20sex%20crimes%20committed%20against%20women%20living%20in%20the%20eastern%20provinces%20of%20the%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo.%20Jackson%2C%20a%20D.C.%20native%20and%20rape%20victim%2C%20traveled%20to%20the%20Congo%20to%20meet%20with%20U.N.%20peacekeepers%20and%20victims%20for%20her%20film.%20%20She%20also%20met%20with%20rapists%20and%20government%20members%20who%20are%20often%20bribed%20into%20freeing%20the%20accused%20from%20custody.%20Don%27t%20miss%20this%20riveting%20review.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A