I'm disgusted of humans

[Anthony]

stories like this infuriate me to the point where i start to get dizzy. i can't even begin to explain how upset this article/blog made me. i won't say anymore cuz last time i posted something like this and made a comment i got banned.

from the Anderson Cooper 360 blog:

This is not a fairy tale
There are some things you see, some things you hear that simply are unspeakable. In a hospital in the eastern Congo city of Goma, we met a little girl. She never said a word to us, she could barely look us in the eyes. When she did, her eyes told the story.

"She never says anything to men," one of the hospital counselors explained, and then she told us why.

The little girl was raped. Gang-raped. It was allegedly done by soldiers engaged in a complicated regional war that has claimed millions of lives. The war officially ended in 2003, but outbreaks of violence and rape continue. The girl is now five years old. She was raped when she was three.

I wish I could tell you this was an extraordinary event. I wish I could tell you she was the only child attacked. The hospital was full of rape victims, and the doctor had seen other small children victimized.

Because the rapes are so violent, women often develop fistulas -- ruptures in their vaginas or rectums that make it impossible to control bodily functions. A charity called Heal Africa was running this hospital, and the doctor said he was able to fix about 70-80 percent of the fistula cases, but of course some wounds never heal.

Heal Africa has opened up a residence for women with fistulas that can't be surgically fixed, at least not here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The women can't go home. Often they've been rejected by their husbands because they were raped. The stigma here is strong.

I met a woman named Angela. I can't stop thinking about her. She was raped by three men in front of her children. Afterwards they shot her, and she says they burned her baby girl. The girl is four now and has a massive scar all over her chest.

Angela's fistula was fixed, but her arm remains injured from the gunshot. Pscyhologically she's still devastated. To make matters worse, her husband kicked her out of the house.

"He heard I was raped," she said whispering. "And he just said, 'Go on your own, I don't need you anymore. If we lived together, you now might have HIV so you might infect me.'"

I didn't ask Angela her HIV status. I didn't think it was any of my business. Perhaps I should have asked, but she didn't volunteer it, and I felt like I'd already asked her too much.

The funding for the Heal Africa house comes from a non-governmental organization. They say their funding ends in April. It's not clear what will happen then.

"The only thing I need is some land so I can build a house," Angela said to me before I left. "I might die and I want my kids to have that castle. I'm hoping for a miracle."

There aren't many miracles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is not a fairy tale, some stories don't have happy endings. Here the men who rape with impunity are rarely brought to justice. Women like Angela are expected to simply bear the pain.

If you would like to help Heal Africa in the work they are doing, you can log onto their Web site.

[Buccaneer]

I agree with you, HA, but don't think it's anything new just because Cooper is now on top of it.

[Anthony]

oh certainly. i mean, i knew there was some utterly horrible acts of gruesomeness going on over in those parts, just took this particular blog to show me that there is in fact no bounds to the attrocities. raping 3 year olds, this is what we've come to. i don't want to say too much cuz i'm not given as long a leash to speak my mind on these topics as others are, which is fine, i'm just honestly disgusted to be a human. i'm ashamed at humanity.

i'm gonna be honest here - i'm one of those guys who live their lives in a bubble. anyone outside my bubble can die or get hurt, and i can conveniently go on living my life. but whenever i learn about attrocities being committed against kids - no matter how many 5 year olds i'd love to see i could take on - it just angers me then saddens me. like i lose hope for the world. i know there is some fucked up shit going on in the world, but as long as it doesn't happen in my backyard i take a out of sight, out of mind approach to things. but seeing how this is life for some people it just makes me think how silly i am for what i think my problems are. like right now my biggest issue is why my team in the Imperial Football League is 0-3. or should i finish off the Gauls or do i take the war to the Carthaginian's turf in my current Rome:Total War campaign. or is my mom gonna find another job quickly as she's recently been laid off. these are my issues and i'm fortunate that these are my issues. but for people in another part of the world, their issues are "is my 3 year old going to be so horribly raped that her orifices will be permanently damaged?"

i have a headache now from having read this article. i need to not read things like this anymore. i didn't think things like this were possible in this world, but i was wrong, and now i go through the rest of life knowing just how low we as a species can go.

[Crim]

Agreed. I am sickened.

[sachmo71]

This is the reason I can't stand foreign policy. When it's time to do the right thing, no one seems to have the will to act. Well, other than strongly worded condemnations.

That's the part that makes me sad.

[Buccaneer]

Umm, sach, there are two sides to foreign policy, the other being the domestic policy of those we call foreign. Just like in Darfur, if they local leaders don't want any help or want to keep this going (for political, tribal, monetary, whatever reasons), nothing anyone can do short of war - and you see what happens there throughout history. Ministries and foundations have been and are still eager to make a difference but even by their own admissions, much of the resources don't reach the needy and of course, don't change behaviors.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Umm, sach, there are two sides to foreign policy, the other being the domestic policy of those we call foreign. Just like in Darfur, if they local leaders don't want any help or want to keep this going (for political, tribal, monetary, whatever reasons), nothing anyone can do short of war - and you see what happens there throughout history. Ministries and foundations have been and are still eager to make a difference but even by their own admissions, much of the resources don't reach the needy and of course, don't change behaviors.

Speaking as a citizen of country that can invade another one based on rumor and speculation, topple that government, and occupy it for going on three years, I find it hard to believe we give much credence to the domestic policy of any country we set our sights on.

If we felt the need, we could do something. No one could stop us. And in this case, people might even see it as a good thing. Something worth dying for, at least.

[Anthony]

i agree with sachmo

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

i agree with sachmo

Me too. If we didn't have all of those troops in Iraq, we could respond to crap like this. I'm hoping that our ability to weigh in on this conflict with troops is the only thing that is keeping us out of Darfur.

[SuperGrover]

There's no money to be made here. Why would our government want to intervene?

I am ashamed at humanity 90% of the time. If I could, I would surround myself with a beautiful woman, a pack of animals, and move to some secluded ranch in Wyoming. I just can't stand the evil in this world at times.

But hey, I'm working on BRs to add a new web interface to a legacy ordering system. The interface, of course, won't be used for years but no one seems to notice. Needless to say I feel like I'm doing my part in making this world a better place.

[Izulde]

You know what we call a beautiful girl in Wyoming?

A visitor.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by SuperGrover

If I could, I would surround myself with a beautiful woman...

Into the BBWs, huh?

[MizzouRah]

Now I wish I didn't read that article. I am definitly spoiled and thankful to be born and live in the USA. I would love for our armed forces to help places like that... sigh...

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Now I wish I didn't read that article. I am definitly spoiled and thankful to be born and live in the USA. I would love for our armed forces to help places like that... sigh...

Except bad shit happens here too, that we cannot even stop or cleanup. I just finished seeing a 9 year old female whose mom has frequently had her in crack houses. She has been raped, perhaps prostituted, beaten and she is a mess (not surprisingly.) We cannot even clean up our own country. One of the few times I was fighting back tears the whole time I was interviewing a kid.


I agree with HA. Sometimes, humanity really disgusts me.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Except bad shit happens here too, that we cannot even stop or cleanup. I just finished seeing a 9 year old female whose mom has frequently had her in crack houses. She has been raped, perhaps prostituted, beaten and she is a mess (not surprisingly.) We cannot even clean up our own country. One of the few times I was fighting back tears the whole time I was interviewing a kid.


I agree with HA. Sometimes, humanity really disgusts me.

I agree with this, except in places like Sudan, where actual combat power on the ground would make a huge difference in protecting large groups of refugees. We might not even have to fire a shot. *shurg*

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by HA

just took this particular blog to show me that there is in fact no bounds to the attrocities.

HA, I know you acknowledged something about living in a bubble, but I'm genuinely amazed that the details of this story came as a shock to you.

I mean, similar details (and arguably worse) date back to at least WWII, if not to the beginning of time itself (WWII is just the earliest date that I recall off-hand reading about this sort of atrocities, I'm sure similar happened earlier in time but haven't been as documented).

I'm not slinging any stones your way, I'm just surprised that something like this came as much of a surprise, at least in anyone within 15 years of my age.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Umm, sach, there are two sides to foreign policy, the other being the domestic policy of those we call foreign. Just like in Darfur, if they local leaders don't want any help or want to keep this going (for political, tribal, monetary, whatever reasons) or have massive deposits of oil, nothing anyone can do short of war - and you see what happens there throughout history. Ministries and foundations have been and are still eager to make a difference but even by their own admissions, much of the resources don't reach the needy and of course, don't change behaviors.

fixed

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by SuperGrover

There's no money to be made here. Why would our government want to intervene?

Coltan and Diamonds.

Actually quite the opposite, there is tremendous mineral wealth in the eastern part of the Congo, where most of the fighting is centered. Coltan is a necessary metal for the operation of things like cell phones and laptops--and most of the world's known reserves are in the Congo. The rebels have control of the the coltan supply in the country, sell it illegaly, and use the proceeds to help finance their operations.

Now, most of the rebels are also backed by the Ugandans and Rwandans (who also allegedly take a cut of the mineral wealth). The west (especially the EU) have done nothing to sanction these governments for the involvement in the Congo war. In many ways, it is a potentially losing proposition for the west to involve themselves in the war--there is probably very little the west can do to influence the course of the war. From a cost-benefit standpoint, an intervention in a country as vast as the Congo will be expensive, probably ineffective, and will do much to antagonize the parties that control the mineral supply. That's probably why you won't see an intervention here.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Except bad shit happens here too, that we cannot even stop or cleanup. I just finished seeing a 9 year old female whose mom has frequently had her in crack houses. She has been raped, perhaps prostituted, beaten and she is a mess (not surprisingly.) We cannot even clean up our own country. One of the few times I was fighting back tears the whole time I was interviewing a kid.


I agree with HA. Sometimes, humanity really disgusts me.

True, true.. I just hate reading stuff like that.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

True, true.. I just hate reading stuff like that.

Me too. It sucks wherever it is happening.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Coltan and Diamonds.

Actually quite the opposite, there is tremendous mineral wealth in the eastern part of the Congo, where most of the fighting is centered. Coltan is a necessary metal for the operation of things like cell phones and laptops--and most of the world's known reserves are in the Congo. The rebels have control of the the coltan supply in the country, sell it illegaly, and use the proceeds to help finance their operations.

Now, most of the rebels are also backed by the Ugandans and Rwandans (who also allegedly take a cut of the mineral wealth). The west (especially the EU) have done nothing to sanction these governments for the involvement in the Congo war. In many ways, it is a potentially losing proposition for the west to involve themselves in the war--there is probably very little the west can do to influence the course of the war. From a cost-benefit standpoint, an intervention in a country as vast as the Congo will be expensive, probably ineffective, and will do much to antagonize the parties that control the mineral supply. That's probably why you won't see an intervention here.

If anything Congo's problems were worsened by too much foreign intervention... I think it was 7 or 8 countries either with their army in the Congo or supporting different rebel groups. Of course, none of them were the US, so no one paid attention.

As for "foreign intervention" in the US/UN sense, the UN already has its biggest peacekeeping force - UNMOVIC - based in Goma, right in the middle of the conflict. Sadly, and utterly predictably, it seems UNMOVIC has more often been implicated in pedophilic sex rings than done anything to help the situation. US interventions only seem to work when we're merely supporting an existing side in a conflict - the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, the Kurds in Iraq, Kagami's Tutsi rebels in Rwanda, I think the Croats and Bosnians and Kosovars in the Balkans - and using our military strength and money to tip the balance of power in their favor. Going into a situation like Haiti, Somalia, the Congo, where there is, for over-simplification purposes, no "good" guys to support, and trying to stop the fighting and build up a functioning state just doesn't seem to work. If it could, we certainly don't have the will for it. One look at Somalia, or all the shit we get for Iraq, despite the fact Saddam was a genocidal dictator and almost every non-Sunni still agrees it's better that he is gone, shows how little upside there is to getting involved in these conflicts politically.

In Darfur, there already is a rebel force (well, more than one) and an ample supply of recruits in the refugee camps in Chad. Declare a no-fly zone over Darfur to prevent the government from using helicopter gunships, (you don't even have to patrol it, just monitor it and destroy part of the Sudanese air force every time they break it); use an SF team or two, or give the ex-leaders of Executive Outcomes $25 million and tell them to train and help lead the rebels, then ship some of our huge surplus of outdated guns we have in warehouses and you could stop the genocide in 2-3 months. Hell, they could probably overrun Khartoum within a year without a single American put in a combat position if we let them.

Just don't make the rookie mistake of thinking there is no oil there, or that there won't be consequences from the countries currently in control of the drilling rights (hint: China) if we have the balls to go outside the UN and do something productive.

As for the eastern part of the Congo, beats the hell out of me. I don't exactly see any group worth supporting. I'm probably as pro-intervention to stop genocide as anyone on this board, and I don't feel the same about neighboring countries like Rwanda and Burundi, but everything I've ever seen or read about the Congo indicates that whole country is fucked 8 ways from sunday, always has been and will corrupt anyone who spends time there.