SINGING: These women know all too well the meaning of the words they sing: - “Young girls are crying, if we go forward the Hutus will rape us, if we go backwards the Tutsis will rape us – either side of us the UN will rape us” Last month 20,000 women came here in an unprecedented show of solidarity, prompted by news that more than 300 civilians were raped over 4 nights not far from a UN Base. NUNS: sync - They have no respect – they take you whether you are a nun or not - even nuns have been raped”We hope this march will make a difference MY PTC: “It is amazing the so many people have gathered here in Bakavu in eastern Congo – described by the UN as the rape capital of the world. They have come here from all over the country at great risk to themselves because they are desperate for change. Their hope is that through this show of strength there voices will finally be heard”. WOMEN POLICE OFFICERS: sync – I ask; “are you scared of being raped?”“We are afraid because we are not immune. Even if you are wearing uniform they can catch us. “Rape is all around us – It doesn’t matter if you are an old woman - a ten year old or a 13 year olds they will rape you and throw you in the bush” Most rapes are committed by numerous armed militias who fight over the land here and Congolese government soldiers who have officially integrated former rebels groups into their ranks. But how can rape be committed so casually? RAPIST A former child soldier agrees to tell me how rapes that he has been involve in, take place.24.10 In the bush there are no women. So when we saw a women the commanding officer would give the order to rape her – after forcing her to have sex with him he would give her to us and we would rape her in turns until everyone was satisfied. 41.11 We would then tie her up with ropes and take her to our camp where we would hold her for a week, raping her.I ask; “How many people have you raped”? 26.27 When I was with the Mai Mai rebels I think I raped 5 women. MALE RAPE VICTIMSRape affects everyone here. For Men - it’s shame that keeps their stories from being told. Silent until now - these three men want the world to know how they too have suffered.This man was walking to his farm when six soldiers stopped him to ask for directions.They forced me down. I started screaming so they took off my clothes and used them to bound up my mouth. They told me that if I didn’t stop screaming they would kill me. Two of the soldiers forced themselves into me and raped me, one after each other. The others held me down and pushed my head to the ground.Every body knows what happened to me. I am ashamedIt has robed me of my humanity. We have lost everything. Even my wife doesn’t respect me since I have been raped She thinks I have been contaminated and tomorrow I will probably die” Sadly these men are not alone, A recent study found that 24 % of men and 39 % of women have personally experienced sexual violence while many more cases go unreported. JOURNEY:I set off to one of Congo’s key mining regions in the east of the country where the vast majority of rapes occur. I want to find out what’s happening since the woman’s March. 50 years ago these mines helped Congo achieve Africa’s second highest GDP – today wracked by civil war it has the second lowest. Much of that wealth is still here, locked up in huge mineral deposits – it’s this that the militias and government forces are fighting over. Where there is conflict over minerals rape escalates. In fact, the two mining provinces of North and South Kivu, have the highest levels of rape in the world. 25 people on average are raped here every day. My six hours journey took me to Mwenga. It’s a highly militarised zone and the roads are bad. I am travelling in convoy with Oxfam one of the few charities working in the area. OFF TO PRISON: But tensions are high. Within hours of arriving, without explanation, I am arrested by Congolese secret service. My bags are confiscated and I am pushed into a prison cell, a room I share with 3 children. I never find out what they are accused of. But I manage to smuggle my phone into the jail which not only means I can take these pictures but allows me to call for help and pretty soon I am released without charge. I am later told the arresting officer is himself under suspicion of rape. It’s no surprise the authorities are sensitive as the government is under pressured to break the ‘mafia like’ grip of the militias’ It’s these armed groups that use extortion to tax the locals working in the mines and are guilty of many the rapes. To stave the militias of their income last month the government ordered the suspension of all mining operations in three of Congo’s eastern provinces.In response the militias have found another way to make moneyTheir new business is Kidnapping. 1st KIDNAP STORYIn Mwenga I came across a number of distressing stories of kidnap. This woman was taken hostage with her husband. - tied up and raped continually for 3 days and nights in front of him before being ordered to go back to her village and return with a ransom in exchange for his life. Sync –15.52 they said they would behead us and throw us in ditch if I didn’t bring them 2 crates of beer, $100 of phone credit. On returning she handed over the ransom but was raped yet again Then their captors made a mistake.Sync: “My husband was taken to latrine but managed to escape by crawling away on his stomach, as they went to look for him I ran off and we then met back up here in the village”. 2nd KIDNAP STORY - Pregnant Woman, Abiwa Yvette: As I was preparing to leave Mwenga, I heard of yet another kidnapping – Yvette was in hospital waiting to give birth when she heard the news broadcast on the radio that her husband had been taken hostage. 09.29 They said someone was kidnapped in the field his name is Maz-am-bi-tonga – that is my husband”28.45 People have gone to look for him but they won’t release him with out a ransom. 35.00 I have no hope that he will come back”. TAILOR WHO RECEIVED RANSOM CALL: I head off to meet the first person to receive the news of the kidnapping the local tailor. While I was there news came through that the kidnappers had received their ransom demand and Yvette’s husband is being released - all they wanted was a portable radio. I went back to tell her the good news. Sync – “A very big thank you to GodEveryone joins in the celebrations.I offer Yvette a lift to the hospital. We set off and soon her contractions begin. She eventually gives birth to a baby boy and that same night is reunited with her husband. END THOUGHS The cycle of war continues to prevent normal life in Congo.A decade of military intervention has bought more insecurity, mass rape and now a backlash into kidnapping.The challenge is breaking the control of the rebel groups ravaging the mining areas and ending the climate of impunity while encouraging investment. DURATION 9 MINUTES 55 SECONDS