The Democratic Republic of the Congo
After Mobutu fled, war broke out between various groups vying for power. In this period of instability, Laurent-Desire Kabila took power for a few years until he was killed in 2001. Then his son, Joseph Kabila took power, and shortly thereafter United Nations-supported peace talks were held between the government and the rebel groups. While peace accords were in fact signed, fighting continued throughout parts of the country, and continue to this day. Much of the conflict has been attributed to various ethnic groups fighting for political influence and questioning the legitimacy of the electoral process, as well as economic control over the rich mineral resources in the East. The east is also being terrorized by Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army. Initially founded in Northern Uganda, and maintaining bases in Uganda and southern Sudan, the LRA has now moved its bases into the DRC, causing inexplicable suffering on families, and abducting countless children to be forced into serving as child soldiers. The combined influences of these rebel movements has led to millions of deaths; some due to murder, and many due simply to the lack of access to medical care, and a lack of public education regarding how to stay healthy in a conflict zone.
Because the country has such a long history of corruption and violence dating back to 19th century Belgian rule, it has been difficult for the millions of families living in the region to find peace and stability. The DRC is widely known to have the highest murder rates, the highest rape rates, the highest displacement rates, the lowest adult literacy rates (about 65%) and the lowest life expectancy (55 years) in the world. We at the Refugee Center have seen a massive influx of DRC refugees, political asylees and immigrants in the past year because of the increasingly hostile environment in the country's East.
Click here to watch a video made by UIUC African Studies students, which interviews several DRC people living in Champaign-Urbana about their experiences. You can also read the full interviews below the videos. Thank you to the Center for African Studies for supporting this great project, and to eBlackCU for providing a digital archive space for black history in our community.