My First Trigger Warning?
Pretty sure it’s my first post that is entirely one.
Fearless reporting, a behind-the-curtains look at how journalism is made — and an unabashed point of view. Welcome to Chills.
This is not my usual kind of post.
Normally, I don’t shy away from writing about the true, horrific details of the atrocities I report on and read. I don’t post trigger warnings as a rule because my whole career is one big trigger warning, so I figure if you’re following me, you pretty much know that. But this story is beyond the pale.
I’ll just say that it involves children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from which I’ve long reported, as many of you know. In the last number of months, multiple international NGOs have told of a huge uptick in violence and specifically sexualized violence perpetrated by armed groups against civilians in the east of the country, in the provinces of North and South Kivu. The M23 rebel group in particular, since its reemergence in 2021, has been a deadly force. The well-equipped militia is just one of what experts say are about 120 armed groups operating in the country. Formed in 2012, the group has varied in size and wreaked varying amounts of havoc since. Made up of mostly Tutsis, M23 has made claims that it is simply defending Tutsis from persecution by other armed groups, and from the Congolese government.
Physicians for Human Rights, a nonprofit based in New York, reported in October that health care workers have been seeing “a massive influx of cases” of conflict-related sexualized violence, including rape and sexual slavery. Survivors told the group how various armed militias have used this violence” to instill fear, intimidate, and control affected communities.” Doctors Without Borders reported that they treated an unprecedented number of survivors of sexualized violence in DRC in 2023, the highest number ever recorded by the organization — and that’s saying a lot.
See PHR’s recent excellent report here to learn more about what is being done to stop the violence, whether locally, nationally or internationally.
But back to the story I won’t tell here. You can read it at The Guardian here, but be warned: This is not a caution I’m offering to gain clicks. Neither I nor anyone I know wrote the piece. It’s about the actual torture of children and it’s truly one of the worst things I’ve ever read.
The only reason I’m writing about this here is to tell you that this is happening in Congo. It’s the type of atrocity that’s been being perpetrated for decades, and the kind of nightmare the international community has not done enough to put an end to. Why would they? It’s way too profitable to continue to buy minerals and precious metals mined by women and children at dirt-cheap prices from the impoverished country. To be frank, world leaders don’t care about sub-Saharan Africa, except for its natural resources.
DRC offers no military threat to the United States or Europe or other high-income parts of the world. It’s a place that needs constant support — financial and otherwise. It’s a place still shaking off the long hell of colonization and corruption that resulted from it. The people of Congo suffer silently.
But, trust me, the only reason it is silent when you’re there is because people are too frightened to say anything lest they or their family members be raped, tortured or killed.
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I am remembering your dear friend, the talented artist and teacher who was killed. I seek out articles from Congo as we have dear family friends who are from Kinchasa and still have family there. The dad is a food scientist and his relatives in Congo literally are eating the dirt on the ground. And yes, I have been reading about the rise in sexualized violence and torture of children. Triggering isn't a strong enough word.
This world needs to be rebooted.