Since 1997, over five million people have been killed in Africa’s broken heart.

 

Various militia’s have been fighting for Congo’s vast mineral wealth in a bitter war for which women have largely paid the price for.

 

(TITLE OF PLACE AND DATE)

 

East Democratic Republic of Congo

June 2011

 

(DIALOUGE)

 

The rebels are here because of the gold. – 01.07

And we suffer for the gold – 01.12

 

My name is Irene, I have settled now in London – 01.20

But I grew up in Congo – 01.24

Especially in the East, in Bukavu – 01.27

I would just call it – that time was a paradise to me – 01.29

You can’t even think that we would have changes like today. – 01.33

 

I used to live ok before – 01.40

But the RCD war made me loose everything – 01.43

They came into houses and – 01.48

Raped and killed children – 01.50

They raped my two year old daughter – 01.53

They left me alone – 01.58

I was giving birth at the time. – 02.02

Because I think too much about my children. – 02.13

They killed four children. – 02.26

They are talking about justice. 02.31

What justice? – 02.36

Without money there is no justice. – 02.43

 

I was so furious to see all these changes in my country – 02.49

Because I couldn’t even recognise that was Congo… - 02.54

Poverty is too much now in Congo – 02.57

There are no jobs, many don’t work at all…-03.01

 

 

Before the war life was very easy because we– 03.07

Used to go to the farm to get food – 03.09

But since our forest, our fields and farms – 03.12

Are occupied by rebels – 03.17

Now we do not have the possibilities – 03.20

To go to the farm, the only way to survive – 03.23

Is to work in the mines, pounding rocks. – 03.26

 

 

In my life, I have never seen women working in the mines. – 03.41

I was so shocked to see women working like slaves. - 03.46

 

 

-          03.52 – I’ve spoken to woman in Eastern Congo who are involved in artisanal mining and they are earning very small sums of money (03.58) and really eking out an existence in order to feed their families.

 

When I speak to them about global supply chains and the amount of money that’s being banded around on the international system, they really can’t conceptualize (04.10) those sums of money, and I think they might not realize that they are part of much bigger power networks that are expanding across the Great Lakes region. So, women and men who are involved in artisanal mining – in North Kivu for example, who are earning really small sums of money, are in affect feeding these supply chains and putting money into the pockets of rebel commanders or armed men who are profiting to the tune of millions of dollars per year from the minerals trade – 04.38

 

 

No one would think that one day we would have these sudden changes in Congo, - 04.39

And today there is not even an explanation about it – 04.45

Because everything is destroyed – 04.48

And women are the biggest victim – 04.52

Because they are raped every single day. – 04.56

 

 

For me I have been raped in my life five times – 04.59

If you choose to get food from the field – 05.04

You accept that you are going to get raped. – 05.07

 

 

They want to destroy women’s lives in Congo. – 05.09

You can’t even go out by yourself, - 05.13

Even if it’s a group of you going out, - 05. 15

You just expect that something is going to happen to you – 05.19

And the main thing they use there is rape, - 05.22

Because they know by raping women, they are going to destroy the whole structure of the family. – 05.25

Like from there, women will get pregnant – 05.30

And there will be no father to support them – 05.35

And then those children end up on the streets, they don’t go to school – 05.38

Because women, they have no job at all. 05.42

 

 

It happened in February. 05.50

In February it was three of us girls.  -03.54

We were going to the fields – 05.57

To get something to eat – 05.59

When the rebels caught us – 06.02

And tied our hands behind our backs. -06.05

I pleaded with them to stop – 06.07

Please Please Please. 06.09

They laid me down on the ground in a certain way. – 06.13

They raped me from behind.  - 06.20

They raped me anally. – 06.24

It was three men that raped me. – 06.28

We spent the whole night with them in the forest – 06.30

And throughout the whole night they raped us – 06.34

Until the morning. – 06.35

When I got home I had another problem, - 06.42

My husband did not want me anymore. – 06.46

He spent two weeks without speaking to me, - 06.49

Without looking at me. – 06.52

We thought to ourselves it would have been better to – 06.56

Have been killed in the forest – 06.58

Instead of being ashamed in our area. – 07.02

The problem I had from that situation is that I felt – 07.10

Bad and I continued to feel bad – 07.16

In myself because I have lost – 07.19

The value of being a woman. – 07.23

It’s better to die then be in this situation – 07.27

 

 

Because the rebels know what is happening…07.39

They try to destroy the farm first – 07.43

So women have nothing to do at all – 07.45

So even if you said “no” – they would just rape you first – 07.48

And then force you to do something you have never done in your life – 07.52

Because women never work in the mine at all. – 07.52

But now they are doing it because they can’t get anything – 08.01

They can’t see their children dying. – 08.04

But everything comes under the rebels. – 08.13

They control this whole situation. – 08.17

 

 

The problem is also the mines. – 08.26

In the big holes where people dig, it is often that – 08.28

Those whole collapse and people inside are – 08.33

Crushed and die under the earth. -08.36

 

 

I was raped the same day my husband was – 09.18

Killed by rebels. – 09.20

There is no help. – 09.24

I have too many problems. – 09.28

I do not know where to start. – 09.31

When my husband died he left money with my son. – 09.38

And the money disappeared. – 09.40

My son vanished in the mine.  - 09.44

 

 

Auora (gold) – 10.09

 

 

I was on the way back from the local market. – 10.22

I needed to buy some cooking oil. – 10.25

On the way back we were ambushed by rebels and they took us into the forest. – 10.29

They took everything we had, even the cooking oil. – 10.33

They made us cook banana’s and fetch water for them.  -10.36

They even guarded us when we went to fetch water.  - 10.40

A week went by and they asked for $1000. – 10.48

So that we can all be free. -10.52

They sent me free and sent me to my village chief.  – 10.55

To ask for ransom. – 11.00

The rebels held the other women hostage. – 11.03

People donated because they considered – 11.06

Themselves part of that problem,  - 11.09

So the rebels ended up getting the money – 11.12

And the women were freed  -11.15

But now we are all in debt to the village.  – 11.18

 

 

My daughter had to have her womb removed. – 11.50

She was raped by a rebel who believed – 11.53

In witchcraft and thought that by penetrating her – 11.56

He would gain strength for the war. – 12.00

She was five years old. – 12.06

She is now not accepted into society. – 12.10

 

 

I’m very jumpy if a plate falls. I can’t sleep – 12.36

Sleep, that is the worst thing now. – 12.40

I will jump every night thinking that – 12.43

The soldiers are coming to attack me. – 12.45

My heart will begin to race. It hurts. – 12.48

I never sleep now. I am too jumpy.  – 12.50

Women were raped, men would suffer. – 12.54

All would suffer from violence. -13.05

It was an order. -13.10

 

 

The people here are exploited by – 13.16

Their own mines in which they work in.  – 13.22

-          How much we get paid per day? – 13.36

Tell the truth.  – 13.32

-          500 francs (33p a day) – 13.36

 

 

We have children to feed. – 13.42

The people who represent those mines – 13.49

Said we can not touch any of the rocks… - 13.53

If they find you with rock – 13.57

They will beat you very hard. – 13.59

There is no law here – 14.03

They will beat you and send all the way home. – 14.07

To go home with nothing… - 14.13

We are saying that we don’t benefit from these mines. – 14.16

 

 

Well said. – 14.22

 

 

We used to make our living from the fields. – 14.25

We cannot do that anymore.  – 14.29

Those people who represent the mines – 14.33

Do not allow the population to move forward. – 14.41

If you get something – 14.48

The rebels will take it by force. – 14.50

 

 

Are the mines prolonging – 14.54

The conflict with the rebels? 0 14.57

 

 

Yes. – 15.00

 

 

Who has had a bad experience with the rebels? – 15.06

 

 

A mine is just for gold or diamonds. – 15.22

They cannot use all these things by just killing – 15.27

Or forcing women to do that, so they can get what they want. – 15.31

Well at least if we can send them the message – 15.36

They have to stop what is happening there – 15.41

Because no one wants war. – 15.43

No one wants to suffer like that. – 15.45

They are human beings, they are not animals. – 15.48

They deserve to have a good and peaceful life. – 15.52

 

 

(NEXT SEQUENCE IS ENDING TEXT)

 

 

In August 2012 the Securities & Exchange Commission in the US voted on rules to stop the minerals trade fuelling violence in east Congo.

 

However, companies are allowed to say they do not know where the minerals they use come from.

This means that companies can continue to delay taking responsibility for the impact of their purchases on the people of east Congo.

 

The High Price of Gold

 

 

(CREDITS)

 

Produced by Diane Taylor & Ross Domoney

Directed & filmed by Ross Domoney

Interviews, research and journalism by Diane Taylor

Edited by Ross Domoney

Assistant editor Diane Taylor