A collaborative effort helped educate Andover students about the ongoing wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Four Phillips Academy clubs hosted the Conflicts in the Congo event in Kemper Auditorium Wednesday night, STAND, A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Andover Ethics Society (AES), Amnesty International (AI) and the African Student Union (ASU). The event began with a presentation by Urjasi Rudra, a graduate student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University and employee of the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Rudra gave a brief history of the conflicts in the Congo, which began in 1996, and discussed possible reasons for them. She also spoke about the United States’ efforts to help the situation and gave students ideas on how they could aid the Congo. Rudra addressed two main facets of the civil wars in the Congo—the economic exploitation of natural resources and the “femicide” taking place in the Congo, which she described as systematic, widespread, opportunistic acts of sexual violence directed toward women. She also explained that the conflicts in the Congo were partially caused by over one million refugees who immigrated to the Congo after the Rwandan genocide. Kyle Ofori ’09 said, “I thought [the presentation] was very practical. She gave everyone good background on what was going on without going way over our heads.” Rwandan Hutu refugees formed the militant group FDLR, one of many splinter militant factions in the Congo. The ADFL, the Congo’s national armed forces, the CNDP, a group of Tutsi rebels, the Mai Mai, self-defense groups of Congolese communities, the RCD, a Rwandan group and the FDD, a group based out of Burundi are also involved in the conflict. Following Rudra’s presentation, the attendees broke off into two groups to discuss the implications of the issues afflicting the Congo. Board members from the four host clubs guided discussions based on their club’s specialty. Originally, the keynote address was supposed to be followed by a series of presentations from the four groups involved, but this was changed in order to accommodate students’ schedules. Daniel Glassberg ’09, President of STAND and one of the three organizers of the event said, “I think everyone’s too busy right now at this time of year. I think [the revised format] might be a little less formal, a little more engaging for the audience.” Kaki Elgin ’09, Co-President of AES, said, “I think [the new format] will feel more casual and people will ask more questions, and talk about what they really think deserves to be talked about instead of just listening.” The groups’ topics included whether the strife in the Congo could be classified as a genocide, how the United States can aid the Congo without ruining the Congolese economy or supporting rebel factions and medical issues in the Congo. The idea to host the forum evolved from a group discussion in STAND about classifying the civil wars in the Congo as a genocide. “It’s really current, and something not many people think about,” Eric Sirakian ’10, a board member of STAND and one of the event’s organizers said. “But this is ongoing.” Noelina Nakiguli ’09, President of ASU said, “I feel as though everybody who cares about such issues can be affected, regardless of whether you are from Africa or not, because we are the people who they will be asking, ‘Why did you allow this to happen, what went on then?’ We will have to take that responsibility, and that’s why we need to know what’s going on.” As a follow up to this event, STAND, AES, ASU and AI will be hosting a weeklong penny war at Uncommons starting today to raise money. The clubs decided to donate the money to Doctors without Borders, an organization which brings medical help to needy countries because treatable diseases are the leading causes of death in the Congo.
