Conflict Minerals and the DR of Congo

[Trigger warning for rape]

A new study reveals that rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo occurs 26 times more frequently than was previously estimated. 1,150 women are raped every day-- and that figure doesn't include women under the age of 15, over the age of 49, men, or boys.

While about a fifth of the rapes are committed by husbands or partners, rape is still being used as a weapon of war-- sexual terrorism, to fragment communities and hurt millions of people.

This human rights violation is beyond words. You can take action against it by contacting the State Department and asking Secretary Clinton to urge the U.N. to take action. You can also take action by contacting your federal representative and senators and asking them to sponsor legislation addressing the conflict minerals problem; legislation has been introduced in the past to require electronics manufacturers to show that their supplies are "clean," but it has not been passed. A third way, possibly more productive, to help end the conflict in the Congo, with its accompanying horrifically high rape rate, is to stop purchasing new electronics unless you know that the source of the minerals in the electronics is conflict-free.

This is one of the things that shows us that everything is connected. Consumerism fuels rape; environmental problems fuel feminist problems. What everything boils down to is treating each other well, and realizing how much power we have, as consumers, to affect lives halfway around the globe.

Bad Stewardship

I was watching this video about big cats and catnip, produced by Big Cat Rescue of Florida, and there's something I really, really don't get: how can anyone look at an animal like that and think it's better off as a coat-- or an aphrodisiac?? That's such a waste of what God has given us.

I think as Christians, we make big mistakes about what being a steward of the earth means. Remember all those stories in the Gospels about bad stewards who mistreat their master's stuff when the master is away? I have to wonder what we'll say if and when God asks us what we did with his stuff-- "Where are my big cats?"-- and all we have to point to is a pile of skins and some poached meat. "Where are my rhinoceroses? Where are my thylacine? What did you do with the wetlands I created to beautify the planet, purify the water, and nurture the young sea animals?"

I live in a city. I am not anti-progress. I'm not advocating that we all go live in grass huts-- clean water and window screens have saved millions, if not billions, of lives. But, when God made the planet and gave us dominion over the creatures on it, it didn't have any skyscrapers, malls, concrete parking lots, or oil spills. Why are we trying to make the planet over in our image? Why are we playing God?