Consuming the Congo War and Conflict Minerals in the World's Deadliest Place

by Eichstaedt, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781569763100
• ISBN10: 1569763100
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-01
• Publisher: Lawrence Hill Books

Summary

Going behind the headlines and deep into the brutal world of the Congo, this expose examines why eastern Congo is the most dangerous place on the planet. While the Western world takes for granted its creature comforts such as cell phones or computers, five million Congolese needlessly die in the quest for the valuable minerals that make those technologies work. Much of the war-torn country has largely become lawless, overrun by warlords who exploit and murder the population for their own gain. Delving into the history of the former Belgian colony, this book exposes the horror of day-to-day life in the Congo, largely precipitated by colonial exploitation and internal strife after gaining independence. It offers not only a view into the dire situation but also examines how the Western world, a part of the problem, can become a part of the solution.

Author Biography

Peter Eichstaedt is a veteran journalist and author whose work on issues pertaining to human rights has taken him all over the globe. As Africa editor for the Institute of War and Peace in Reporting in The Hague, he traveled extensively in Africa to cover war crimes and trials. He won the 2010 Colorado Book Award for history for his book First Kill Your Family and is also the author of If You Poison Us and Pirate State. His writing has appeared the Denver Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He lives near Denver, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Map	p. vii
Prologue: The Gates of Hell	p. 1
The Mandro Hut	p. 7
Village of the Skulls	p. 19
Gold from Blood	p. 31
Cauldron of Chaos	p. 45
An Epidemic of Rape	p. 57
The Agony of Abyei	p. 69
A Tale of Two Sudans	p. 83
Armies and Exploitation	p. 97
Woes of Walikale	p. 111
Controlling the Flow	p. 123
Into Coltan Country	p. 137
Realities of Refugees	p. 153
Charcoal, Wildlife, and Angry Mai-Mai	p. 165
Things Fall Apart	p. 179
Resolution and Illusion	p. 195
Epilogue: The Horror and the Hope	p. 211
Acknowledgments	p. 217
Notes	p. 219
Index	p. 225
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