The first concerns the Democratic Republic of Congo, which covers a large area in Central Africa and has a population close to 80 million, making it the 4th most populated nation in Africa. The article highlighted some of the atrocities arising from the civil war which has raged there since 1997 and the statistics are hard to believe. It's estimated that 6 million people have died because of disease, famine and war since that date. Currently, about 45,000 are dying every month, half of them aged under 5, and 400,000 women are raped each year. It's unsurprising that DR Congo has the lowest level but one of human development in the world; the country is killing itself by displacement of its population and unsanitary conditions, caused mainly by the war, and leading to illness, disease and death.
The second article was about albinos in the East African country of Tanzania. For some reason, there are more albinos as a proportion of the population than in any other country, and this hereditary genetic condition affects 1 in every 1400. Since 2000, there have been at least 75 ritual killings of albinos and witch-doctors have been blamed. Witch-doctors, who are people of influence, believe that albino body parts bring good fortune and wealth and they sell them for large sums; a corpse can be worth 70,000€. In the last week, 32 witch-doctors have been arrested in an attempt by the government to clamp down on the trade.
These are two disturbing stories, but not disturbing enough to concern many people living outside the areas involved. Perhaps we should acknowledge that, as the countries are in Africa, we don't care what happens there unless the effects impact on us. Yes, we reacted when AIDS and Ebola threatened us in the West, and we attempt to prevent illegal immigration onto our shores, but that's for selfish reasons and to protect our own interests. If civil wars, famine and death are far enough away, and no direct threat to us, they're largely ignored by the West. Should we care? Are we being realistic in saying that we can't control everything happening in the world, or are we blind to human catastrophes that we wouldn't tolerate anywhere near our own country? I'll leave you to answer that.