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History and Anthropology
1: The resource curse of Congo or Africa is the most relatable one. In Africa and most specifically in Congo the resources are mostly unearthed by the poor but once they are unearthed by the poor then they are controlled by the rich people or the ones who hold a stronghold in the community. Then all these resources are sold in a world which is not concerned about the origin of these resources or the people who worked hard to unearth the resources. The curse of resources refers to the fact that in Congo specifically those who have money, weapons and power often leach off the poor ones or a desperate crowd. In the mines where the poor people have to work harder, they have to give around 50 cents to the soldier who stands there in order to collect the cash and once the people hand over the cash then only when the door is opened and they are allowed to enter the place. These payments are usually described as tax paid by the soldiers but in reality, the citizens of the region do not get many resources or reward in return. Despite the resources that they uncover in these mines and the fact that they don’t get enough return of their hard work the village where these people live is a filthy warren of mud huts. Water-borne diseases are quite common in the village due to the consumption of water from the only river which is used in the region from washing clothes to cleaning ore. The riverbed is studded by jawbones of slaughtered cows and goats. The rain in this particular region creates an extra problem because when it rains the river overflows which results in the spreading of various diseases like cholera and also dysentery. In the mines there are no extra facilities for the workers, there is no telephone service in the mines but only a ham radio system which is the only source of communication between the mines and the outer world. There are some comforts in the city which the workers can enjoy but the comforts as well are not cheap for them. In the city for the mine workers, a bowl of beans and rice costs them around $50 in a month. Therefore it is safe to say here that although the region is rich in minerals and water along with lots of fertile lands but the resource curse is quite apparent in case of Congo because the despite of the presence of the resources the citizens are still living miserable lives mainly because they are only used to unearth the resources and in that process they lose their life and also they have to invest their meagre income or money in the form of tax payment which is another sad reality (Polgreen).
2: The curse of resources has hunted the daily life of the Congolese and the impact of this curse on the Congolese is quite deep and also clear. Although it is true that the land is blessed with resources such as minerals, fertile soil and also water but still this nation which is located at the heart of Africa is known very less about its resources but it is known about its domination and war since its founding as a colony under the King Leopold II of Belgium in the 19th century, the curse of resources can be evaluated by the fact that the bloodshed of the Congolese and also the terror has always been driven in part by the unlimited and also endless global thirst for Congo's resources including both its mines that are rich in minerals and the fertile soil. The novelist Joseph Conrad has referred to it as the "vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured by the history of human concise". When the pneumatic tire was invented then King Leopold started to sucking every last drop of rubber from the Congo's jungles, and his military men used to kill every single person who created hurdles in their way. Then decades later large reserves of Cobalt were discovered in the country which is basically a mineral essential that is used in building fighter jets and it helped the then ruler of the country who was known as Zaire to keep the United States of America strongly behind him during the cold war. The riches of Congo played a significant role in the overall conflict of the nation that major unfolded during the past decade in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide the war began majorly when the main perpetrators of the slaughter went to the neighbouring Congo. In 1996, Rwanda started an effort to bring back and flush all the perpetrators but soon it turned out to be a big regional conflict which then descended into a war if plunder but half a dozen nations. The discovery of tin ore in 2002 was another curse of resources that deeply affected the Congo country. Once the tin ore was discovered that not only civilians but also the armed forces arrived in the country overnight and they started to battle with each other. During this period the armed forces started to forcefully reinforce illegal taxation of every worker who used to come to the mine. During this entire period the system made sure that they along with their allies skimmed millions of dollars in the following years when the control of militia was quite strong in the region, this was an expensive and also lost opportunity for a nation for whom development was the only way to get rid of the resource curse that the entire nation and the Congolese were suffering from. In order to extract the minerals from the soil the workers used to work really hard in the mines and the tunnels where all the extraction are carried out are normally pitch-black and also suffocating narrow. Furthermore, the tunnels are suffocating narrow which is another additional problem for the miners in that area. The open pits in the mines create additional problems for the miners because during heavy rainfall accidents occur due to collapses and also mudslides. Mudslides and cave-ins along with gas emission cause to kills unknown number of miners each year. There are various incidents that take place in the mines, there are accidents like the collapse of tunnels resulted in crushing the miner’s leg (Polgreen)...
3: The ongoing problem in Congo did not happen overnight but it is a result of the incompetence and greed of both the government and also the military who wanted to have control on the resources of the country. As the problem itself is quite an old one so that means that the problems in the country cannot be resolved overnight and it will take time. First of all, in order to solve this problem and to free the Congolese from the curse of resources, it is very important that the soldiers are transferred out of the mines and also all those responsible for the large scale looting of the mines must be prosecuted. Apart from that, it is also important that the minerals from Congo must be certified because all over the world people are putting their money into the account of some worst human right violators by simply using a cell phone or computer (Polgreen).
Film 1: Virunga is basically a work of heart-wrenching tenderness heart-stopping suspense. The central characters of this film who are the wardens of the African oldest national park are heroic beyond words. In this movie, they are frontline soldiers who risk their lives in order to protect the endangered species, which are the world's last mountain remaining gorillas. The director of this movie set out to chronicle the daily threats that are faced in the park in Congo. The conflict arises when he tracks down gruesome evidence of poachers merciless work. In May 2012 when the newly formed M23 rebel group declared war then the conflict arises and it threatens the lives and also stability of everything they were trying to protect
A: The Congo’s colonial legacy helped to shape this legacy by declaring a state of war in the overall region and also by using the soil of Congo for its benefits. It was not important for them to protect the rights of the people rather they were busy in making money in whatsoever way possible. Congo is the country which basically generates wealth while most of its people are still poor, and this movie makes it clear that the colonial spirit lives on in the form of western corporate interests.
2: SOCO which is a London based Energy Company tried to look for oil in the park. This company planned to exploit the region resources at the expense of the park and also its inhabitants in the parklands in order to do that it bribed the government officials and also the M23 fighters.
3 and 4: The role of the French journalist Melania Gouby is very critical in this movie because with her invaluable assistance Mr Von was able to produce footage of the rebel tanks and secret palm-greasing with abundant panoramas of serene wildlife. The park rangers helped to rescue the endangered gorillas by successfully exposing the British energy company SOCO and its deadly intentions.
5: Such problems can only be solved by proper policy making of the country. First of all, no foreign company should be allowed in Congo before getting NOC from the government and secondly, the higher authorities in the government should be corruption free so that no such problem can occur in the future.
3. Article 1: There are many efforts by the people who are in the Virunga national park for development. They are trying to convince the government to develop roads, electricity and also water resources in the park because these are some of the resources without which the economic growth is near to possible. They are also trying to spread awareness among the masses about the conservation of this park because in this park many the endangered species are present and also this park is one of the most important centres of wildlife so the rangers along with journalists are trying to raise the issue of illegal activities in the park (Amy).
2: The development of power plant is something I will never support in this region because most f these power plants are not maintained properly by the owners and also there were cases of scams in which the businessmen raised funds from the villagers and then they run off with the money. As far as tourism is concerned it should be developed and promoted in the region because it creates new jobs for the locals and the locals are able to earn more money with the help of the tourists (Amy).
Article 4: The new imperialism colonists should give reparations to countries which are impacted by colonialism. The people who really want to return and move back to Africa must be allowed to do so and also it should be the responsibility of the colonized Africa to provide aircraft to such people who want to move back to their country (Africa | Trillions demanded in slavery reparations).
5 Article 1: the well-known movement which is also called the Mau Mau movement of Kenya is important for the British because it was a revolt by the nationalist armed peasant’s revolt against the colonial state its policies and also its local supporters (Mau Mau and Kenya).
2: The majority of the Mau Mau group came from the Kikuyu ethnic group in the Central Province. People from Embu, Kamba and Meru also joined the movement. Some other evidence of the movement showed that people from Luo, Luyia and Massai also contributed to this movement. These were landless peasants and young men who lost their land to the corrupt chiefs and other landed gentry in the Central province while some of the members were victims of land appropriation who and they were carried out to enable the European settlement. This movement was started to demand political independence in Britain and also for equal employment opportunities (Mau Mau and Kenya).
3: the British government crushed the movement quite wisely as most of the leaders of the Mau Mau movements were operating from underground so the British government undertook major rehabilitation campaign in the Central Province in order to remake Kenya by defeating radicalism. In the post-emergency period members of this group emerged as triumphant this campaign was basically carried out in the detention centres and even in the Kikuyu reserves. The main objective was to get the detained and arrest the leaders in order to renounce the movement (Mau Mau and Kenya).
4: This movement is silent history due to the controversies revolving around the Movement and also its complexity. It is still unknown that what role this movement played in the decolonization of Kenya and who benefited from this movement due to all these confusions it is still silenced in the history (Mau Mau and Kenya).
6: The message of Noah in the short clip is quite clear and brief where he addresses the audience about the British colonization of Africa. He says that British liked the concept of colonization which is also one of the most arrogant forms of patriotism and as Britain liked the idea in their own country so they also tried to implement it elsewhere and now it behaves like colonization never happened. He says that now Britain doesn’t like the foreigners coming to their country while in reality, it was Britain who told the world about the UK. Every other country was having fun when Britain invaded their country and told them about the existence of the UK and Britain.
Work Cited
“Africa | Trillions Demanded in Slavery Reparations.” BBC News, BBC, 20 Aug. 1999, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/424984.stm.
Amy Yee. "The Power Plants That May Save A Park, And Aid A Country". The New York Times, 30 August. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/business/congo-power-plants-poaching.html.
Heather, Randall W. “Mau Mau and Kenya.” Journal of Conflict Studies, journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/jcs/article/view/4364/5027.
Polgreen, Lydia. “Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/world/africa/16congo.html
