Congo comes to Chicago

Gregory Royal Pratt

Last Friday, UIC welcomed two speakers to discuss the past, present and future of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Muadi Mukenge, the Program Officer for Africa at the Global Fund for Women, and Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, a Congolese filmmaker.

The DRC has been in a state of civil war for over a decade and the conflict has caused over six million deaths, which is more than any war since World War II. Despite these staggering statistics, the country's woes receive minimal media attention and when they are covered, scholars of the Congo contend that the media gets the situation wrong and resorts to simple, easy and false caricatures of Africa and Africans.

Mukenge spoke in the Illinois Room from 12 to 2 on Friday, first being interviewed by UIC Professor Lynette Jackson and then giving a more traditional lecture about the DRC. Mukenge was born in Congo when it was known as Zaire, and moved to Chicago because her father came to America to pursue advanced degrees.

Throughout the two speeches, Mukenge carefully traced the recent history of Congo and discussed the country's culture at length. She argues that the current conflict is about natural resources, as conflicts throughout Congo's history have always been. Congo is an exceptional mineral-rich country that has been exploited by westerners and Congolese alike. Mukenge also argues that the country is awash in weapons and it's important to eliminate the weapons to bring peace there.

In addition to the deaths in the Congo, sex crimes are a major problem that only seems to be getting worse. At the end of her presentation, Mukenge brought messages from Congolese women that she took down during a 2007 visit. Among them are that peace, stability and development don't come from elections; women are alienated in the decision-making process; rape by civilians is becoming more commonplace; the rights of rural women need to be secured; and food security deserves more attention.

Nevertheless, Mukenge sees hope for the Congo in small NGOs that are springing up all over the country. In her capacity as Program Officer for Africa at the Global Fund for Women, Mukenge gives grants to non-governmental organizations in the Congo that are working and thinking locally to solve their problems.

At the end of her lecture, the Chicago Flame asked her "Why don't western governments care about the toll their thirst for minerals takes on countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo?" Mukenge replied that that question should be asked of the State Department and our elected representatives to find out why more is not being done.

That same night, Congolese filmmaker Petna Ndaliko Katondolo came to UIC and showed some of his short-films in Lecture Center B. Katondolo works for peace in a different but complimentary manner in comparison to Mukenge: he believes in using social mediums and art, such as film, to bring people together. The Flame was only able to briefly attend his lecture and screening but there were many people in attendance and a Question and Answer was scheduled to follow the films.