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Will Obama's To-Do List Include Congo?
Along the theme of important stories that took a backseat to the election is the humanitarian crisis in Congo, which appears to be at risk of slipping into another deadly civil war.
This weekend's New York Times contains the kind of stunning foreign desk feature story that has made the paper one of the world's foremost. Under the headline "Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops" the Times' Lydia Polgreen describes what amounts to hell on earth. Her story surrounds a tiny town deep in the equatorial Congolese jungle, where thousands of men, and many children, labor in tin mines, under extremely dangerous conditions for meager wages.
Under the control of military strongman affiliated with Congo's government, but completely out of their control, the mines produce tens of millions' of dollars worth of tin ore every year. The ore itself is vital in the production of personal electronics, like laptops and cell phones. The money goes straight to funding and arming Congo's militias.
While, on paper, the mine is under the control of a British and South African multinational, in reality, neither they nor Congo's government have any control over what goes on there.
The town itself is a perverse caricature of mineral rush towns of the Old West. It is totally lawless, its citizens at the mercy of militia soldiers who tax them indiscriminately. Polgreen writes of children, sent there by parents in the summers to save money for the following year's school fees, who fall easily into debt and are unable to leave.
This is the sort of story that leaves an impression on anyone who reads it. We ask ourselves how we can allow things like this to go on. Then, usually, we move on. Now, however, there is a chance that we can do something to help the people of Congo—not to mention the people of Darfur.
When President-elect Obama enters office in January, he will certainly have his work cut out for him. The economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will no doubt take precedence over other matters of foreign policy, but unlike his predecessor who chose to turn a blind eye to the genocide in Darfur, Obama has a chance to lead the international community in averting a full-scale civil war in Congo. We have stood by for far too long already. Now is the time to act.