HWC 14-15

This article describes how legislation that was meant to keep companies from buying minerals from armed groups actually harms honest miners. The legislation requires that companies track where their supply chains get their minerals to ensure that business is not going to armed groups. However, since small-business miners are hard to track, most companies now do not support these miners. What happens instead is that armed groups smuggle the minerals out of the Congo and sell it to those companies anyway, so this legislation actually helps them more than it hurts them. This relates to Part F since it discusses the armed groups' control over the minerals in the Congo.

This article discusses new legislation in the DRC saying that mining firms need to track their supply chain. It discusses the flaws in this law because not only does it hurt small mining firms, but also creates a source of funding for rebel groups. This relates to the activity because it discusses the presence of rebel groups around mining area since the start of the civil war.

This article discusses how Jean-Bertrand Ewanga was sentenced to one year in jail after offending Joseph Kabila, the President of the DRC. Kabila, whose father was Laurent Kabila, was elected president, but many people who oppose him belief that the poll was rigged. Ewnaga insulted the president and the government during a rally against amending the constitution to allow Kabila to stay in office past his two-term limit. This relates to Laurent Kabila, who ruled through dictatorship, since Joseph too seems to be corrupt, attempting to extend his presidency and throwing a man in jail for speaking against him.

This December, Zimbabwe will elect two vice-presidents through a secret ballot. The fear of a blown ballot or rigging is very high. Joyce Mujuru, the current vice president, is running, as well as a late entry of Grace Mugabe,the wife of current president, Robert Mugabe. The entry of Grace Mugabe has sparked fighting amongst members of the Zimbabwe government, Zanu-PF.

This article describes the inspiring story of a group of people in DRC that overcame poverty, violence, racial discrimination, and noisy environments to become the first all-black symphony orchestra. The hardships that the group overcame relate to our discussion by demonstrating the struggles that people must go through to live in the war-torn environment of DRC.

This article describes what Congo must do to satisfy the UN-arranged peace accord, naming Rwanda refugees and delayed reforms as the barriers to achieving this. This realtes to the NPR report on the continuing violence of the civil war, and coincides with the idea that peace agreements are not always obeyed. This article also describes recent protests by citizens who want to change the constitution so leader Joseph Kabila can remain in power. This relates to the description of Kabila's leadership in the database article.

In this article, it describes how the DRC is trying to change to accept the new peace deal that they are in with 10 other African countries. There have been a lot of delays from Kinshasa because of legal issues. There have also been protests against Kabila and his overwhelming victory in the latest elections. This refers to the first article of Part F because the DRC had always had governmental problems n the past.

This article describes what the DRC needs to do to follow the peace accord. It also tells of how rape and murder go on without any punishment from the government, and many people in the militaries have been committing many crimes such as rape during these harsh times.

The man behind the famous mall shooting that occurred last year has been assassinated by United States drones. Ahmed Godane and ten of his militants were killed during the airstrike. President Obama states how it demonstrates the country's push against terrorism. The removal of Godane is a major loss to the Al Qaeda affiliate in Africa, symbolically and for operations.

French intelligence agencies assisted the United States in striking al-Shabab. The United States ended up killing the commander, Ahmed Godane. France claims that Godane had captured two intelligence agents, one killed and the other unknown. Al- Shabab vows revenge against the killers behind the assassination of their leader.

The leader of Al-Shabaab had been killed in a US airstrike. This was the leader of on of the main terrorist groups in Somalia. Ahmed Abdi Godane had also allied with the Al-Qaeda, which is another Somali terrorist group. This refers to the first article in Part D because these groups used terror to get what they wanted.

In this article, it says that in 2001, the citizens of Somaliland voted if they wanted to be independent or still be part of Somalia. 97% of voters wanted to be independent. Now the citizens of Somaliland are looking for global recognition, like it said in the 2nd article in Part D. This is why it relates to one of the topics that was required to read.

This article about Somaliland and its freedom from the rest of Somalia. The article suggests that it may be time for another referendum to see if Somaliland can become recognized as an independent entity.

This article tells how the Somali pirates are now almost out of business and are being replaced by South Asian pirates. This refers to the first article because groups in Somalia used terror as a way to earn money and create business.

Recently, under police custody, people have mysteriously died and assault charges have been of concern. As a result, the police system has been trying to improve, such as an increased number of circumstances in which the officers recite to the accused, their legal rights. However, the holding cells are not kept properly, resulting in filthy and poor quality cells for inmates. Some lawyers have been found to participate in corrupt activities. If found guilty of these crimes, they would be punished through de-registration.

This article describes and provides photos of the film festival in the DRC that encourages youth expression through the arts and not through violence. This represents the effort being made to overcome past conflicts and current difficulties, to make the youth more able to lead the country in the future. This relates to the articles we read because it shows the positive development that has occurred since the civil war. Furthermore, it provides perspective into the culture of the DRC.

This article is describes a message from the White House that pledges to continue to fight against the Al-Shabaab. This message is in honor of the one year anniversary of the Al-Shabab attack on a Kenyan mall where 67 people were killed and hundreds were injured. This relates to our study, because it describes an action of the Al-Shabab in Kenya, and the Al-Shabab was an important part in our studies of part D.

This article tells of celebrity Jude Law's experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The article describes displaced families, lack of resources, lack of funds, and hostile environments. All of the things that Law witnessed are due to the war that is currently taking place in the DRC, which relates to our studies because we studied how the war has effected the DRC by listening to an NPR recording that detailed conditions much the same to Law's descriptions.

Up to 5 million people have died in DRC during two decades of violence which followed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Now people are fleeing from the DRC to get to safety. A large part of this is because the government is very corrupt. This is like the first article from Part F because the DRC was usually a violent place.

This article describes the return of 500 Angolans from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Angolans arrived in the DRC as refugees of civil war in their home country, which was also described in the NPR recording that we listened to in our study of the DRC.

This article discusses the challenges that the DRC faces and offers solutions to these major problems. The author states that problems like rape and child soldiers are a global issue, since the rich minerals and rainforests in the Congo affect industries all over the world. The only way to unite Africa is to fix the Congo. This article discusses how strong, just government where its people have a say can end this conflict and fix the broken country. This relates to Part F because it discusses some of the continuing conflict in the region, including rape and corruptness, and offers solutions to these problems.

According to the World Food Program (WTP), at least 25 percent of Zimbabwe's rural population will need food hand-outs or they will starve. The 25 percent will translate to 2 million people facing starvation.The country will not be able to meet its Millennium Development Goal to eradicate hunger. This relates back to article because it discusses one of the problems that Zimbabwe faces.

Zimbabwe, which used to be a net exporter of food, has been depending on food hand-outs from aid agencies after President Robert Mugabe commenced on a disorganized land reform program in 2000. In order to eradicate hunger, it has to be the center of attention in the political agenda.

Russians have started a new 3 billion dollar platinum mine in Zimbabwe. This just happened right after 45 million dollars worth of diamonds were seized by a South African company and sent to Paris. This relates to the article discussing the many mining opportunities in Zimbabwe.

This article describes Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe's opinion on sanctions against Russia. Mugabe says that the sanctions that have been placed are illegal and he does not like that "lawless" countries are having such a large impact on the world. This relates to our studies, because President Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe and this article gives insight to the President's international policy and how he views the laws of the world.

This article discusses how Zimbabweans that have taken advantage of land reform have had some of their land taken away. This article uses this example to demonstrate that the land reform system is not as corrupt and rigged as many believe it to be. However, more still needs to be done. Only about 10% of households received new land, sometimes hundreds or thousands of hectares. Some land needs to be taken away from these households and distributed among the other 90%. This relates to the packet because it discusses how land reform is improving and what still needs to improve.