Tracing the Source of ‘Conflict Minerals’

Apr 22, 2015 | Denis Mukwege
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BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — From 1998 through 2002, my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, endured a devastating civil war. The cease-fire that was supposed to end the fighting was purely nominal. Violence persisted, particularly in the east, and remains a constant feature of life here. With over five million dead, the conflict has become the most lethal struggle since World War II. Since the cease-fire, rebel groups operating in Congo have treated women’s bodies as a battlefield, using sexual violence as a weapon. The Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which I founded in 1999, has provided care to an estimated 40,000 rape victims; more arrive every day. My patients have been scarred physically and psychologically. As a surgeon, I do what I can to heal their bodies and minds.