DRC – A country created for ruthless exploitation with impunity
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – the third largest country in Africa (2,344,885 sq.km) after Algeria (2,381,741 sq.km) and Sudan (2,505,813 sq.km) – is potentially the richest on the continent. Paradoxically Congolese people are among the poorest on earth. According to many Congolese, the principal cause of this paradox is to be found in colonial and post-colonial ruthless exploitation of Congo’s vast human and non-human resources. Ruthless exploitation of Congo with impunity began with the arrival of Portuguese and Arabs. The hunt for slaves and ivory using European weapons resulted in constant armed warfare within and among different ethnic groups and depopulation of vast areas with serious political, economic and social consequences.