With the Congo, an Invisible Conflict in a World That Chooses Its Tragedies
Israel Centeno
The world tears its garments over conflicts that the media and global elites choose to highlight. Meanwhile, the Congo continues to bleed in silence. There are no massive protests in the West, no emergency conferences in international organizations, no viral outrage on social media. The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the war no one wants to see.
Why? Because it doesn’t fit the narrative that the media and powerful nations have built about which lives matter and which tragedies should be told. There is no easily identifiable enemy, no convenient propaganda. There is only death, exploitation, displacement, and oblivion. And in the meantime, we keep consuming phones, batteries, and technology powered by minerals extracted with the blood of enslaved children.
1. The Silenced War
More than six million people have died in the Congo since the conflict began in the 1990s. It is the deadliest war since World War II. However, its media coverage is practically nonexistent compared to other conflicts that receive constant attention.
The armed groups operating in the Congo finance themselves through illegal mining, trafficking minerals like coltan and cobalt, and controlling strategic routes. Major tech corporations, directly or indirectly, profit from this plunder, while governments and international organizations look the other way.
If the Congo had a strategic geopolitical position or if its narrative were convenient for certain interests, its tragedy would dominate the headlines. But because its suffering doesn’t fit a clear media agenda, the world prefers to ignore it.
2. The Hypocrisy of Selective Outrage
Every year, we see how some conflicts are amplified by the media with an intensity that dictates the world’s reaction. The United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and other powers respond with sanctions, resolutions, and condemnations. Charity concerts are organized, funds are raised, awareness campaigns are launched.
But when it comes to the Congo, there is only uncomfortable silence. Where are the emergency resolutions from the Security Council? Where are the calls to action from global celebrities and activists? Where are the peace conferences that make headlines for weeks?
The answer is clear: the suffering of the Congo is not profitable for the international narrative. It cannot be easily instrumentalized to justify military interventions, regime changes, or economic pressures. It is a war of resources, exploitation, and systemic corruption, and those who profit from it are too entangled with the very interests that control global information.
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3. Persecuted Christians, Raped Women, Enslaved Children
Christians in the Congo face a double threat: religious persecution and the world’s indifference. Extremist groups and local militias have massacred entire Christian communities, burned churches, and kidnapped priests and nuns. But this, too, does not fit the media’s agenda.
Meanwhile, thousands of women have been victims of sexual violence used as a weapon of war, and children as young as six years old are forced to work in mines under inhumane conditions. All these horrors continue with the complicity of those who prefer not to talk about the Congo—because doing so would mean questioning how the modern world acquires its technological wealth.
4. Who Will Speak for the Congo?
We can no longer ignore this invisible war. We cannot allow tragedies to be selected and prioritized according to the interests of the powerful.
The world needs to wake up to the reality that the Congo is part of our daily lives: in our phones, our computers, our electric cars. Indifference is not an option when our consumer choices and passivity contribute to the suffering of millions.
The Congo is screaming amid global silence. The question is: will we continue not to listen?
Here is the translated version of your text:
The War No One Wants to See and the Technology That Fuels Exploitation
While the world obsesses over technological advancements and the latest generation of electronic devices, a silent war continues to devastate the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This conflict, which has claimed millions of lives, remains in the shadows of international indifference, despite being fueled by the very progress that the West celebrates.
At the heart of this tragedy is the extraction of strategic minerals such as coltan, cobalt, and other resources essential for manufacturing smartphones, electric batteries, and electronic components. However, few question who pays the price for this modernity: children enslaved in mines, women subjected to brutal violence, men forced to work in inhumane conditions, and Christian communities persecuted in a conflict that blends economic ambition, geopolitical interests, and a disregard for human life.
1. A Forgotten but Unresolved Conflict
The DRC is one of the richest regions in natural resources, yet also one of the poorest and most violent in the world. Since the 1990s, the country has been trapped in an endless war, driven by competition among armed groups, foreign interventions, and the greed of corporations that rely on its minerals.
Human rights organizations have documented the systematic use of child labor in the mines of eastern Congo, where children as young as six years old work long hours extracting minerals under hazardous conditions. Women and girls fall victim to sexual violence used as a weapon of war, while Christian communities are persecuted by armed groups seeking control of territories and resources.
Despite the evidence, the international community continues to look the other way. Economic interests outweigh principles, and exploitation persists without real consequences for those who profit from it.
2. Technology and the Blood of the Innocent
Every time someone buys a new phone or an electric car, it is likely that some of its components contain minerals extracted in the Congo under inhumane conditions. Tech companies have been accused of relying on supply chains that, directly or indirectly, finance exploitation and violence in the region.
Coltan, for example, is a crucial mineral for manufacturing capacitors in electronic devices. Its extraction is largely controlled by armed groups that impose forced labor conditions and use violence to maintain control over the mines. The same happens with cobalt, essential for lithium-ion batteries used in phones, computers, and electric vehicles.
Despite commitments from some companies to audit their supply chains, the reality is that a large portion of these minerals still reach the international market without ethical guarantees. As demand grows, so does the exploitation of the most vulnerable.
3. Persecution of Christians in the Congo
Amidst the chaos, Christians in the Congo face a double threat: on one hand, the violence of armed groups attacking them for their faith; on the other, the indifference of an international community that fails to recognize the magnitude of their suffering.
Organizations such as Open Doors have reported systematic attacks on Christian communities, including murders, church burnings, and kidnappings. The presence of extremist groups in the region has exacerbated the persecution, while local militias seek territorial control, displacing and massacring entire populations.
Many Christians in the DRC live in a constant struggle for survival, without access to protection or justice. Their suffering is yet another invisible cost of a war the world prefers not to see.
4. Is There Hope?
Despite the tragedy, there are those who continue to resist. Christian leaders in the region work tirelessly to assist victims, expose violence, and keep faith alive amidst despair. The Church has been a refuge for thousands of displaced people, offering humanitarian aid and hope in a country where justice seems unattainable.
However, change cannot depend solely on those who suffer. It is the responsibility of the international community to demand greater transparency in mineral supply chains, ensure that tech companies do not indirectly finance exploitation, and pressure governments to take effective action against violence in the Congo.
It is easy to ignore what happens thousands of miles away, but the reality is that our consumer choices can make the difference between perpetuating suffering or promoting change.
The Congo continues to bleed. The question is: will we keep ignoring it?
