in the wake of hotel rwanda, many in the media have been doing mea culpae for how they ignored the rwandese tragedy as it unfolded in 1994. but it seems like the story is not being told again in central africa as another conflict roils the heart of africa. per the new york times, the war in congo, having taken an estimated 3.8 million lives, is the most deadly conflict since world war II. that makes it the largest humanitarian disaster in the world right now.
stunningly, only 2 per cent of those souls were lost directly from the conflict. the vast majority of people scattered across the countryside by the actions of a few thousand militia die from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrion and not from bullets and machete cuts. is that why there is minimal reporting on this story? the deaths are not occuring en masse in cities with piles of bodies to document, but out in the forest, in refugee camps 5, 10, 50 lives at a time. or maybe i am not the one paying attention. again.
[source: new york times sunday march 20 section 4 page 1.]
Posted by kamau at March 24, 2005 12:04 AM