Brief History of the Congo

The Congo used to be considered an “Island,” maybe where one could vacation and soak up the sun. The Congo is now a war zone, and only those with a death wish would wish to bring their family here for summer vacation. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also often referred to as the DRC. The massacre which continues today, began with the genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. It is said that the Hutu and Tutsi have had problems due to three underlying factors: the coexistence of pastoralists and sedentary farmers, a higher than usual population density, and a cultural divide between the original sons of the land and Kinyarwanda speaking immigrants- both Hutu and Tutsi. The extremists Hutu militias were “at war” against dissenters to their Hutu extremism. In 100 days an estimated 800,000 to 1,000,000 people were gruesomely murdered because of their religious beliefs. The Congo war began with the ‘Rwandan Genocide’ and continues to this day only now there are new victims of choice.