Congo : Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo UN base

@THE-GOD

I think you may well be right as regards some rebel troops claiming they were forced to join as this is of course a way of escaping blame. Many of those involved in the Rwandan massacres probably tried to justify themselves to others by this claim. So this claim by male soldiers is a way of making yourself appear better, more honorable, less evil.

But I think you are totally wrong to apply the same idea to those women claiming to have been raped - I don't know of any society where this is seen as being something good - even in the US or UK a woman who has been raped or forced to have sex will find that society / police will often look for reasons why she brought this upon herself and there is still a kind of stigma attached to it. Its not surprising that many girls decide to keep quiet about it, never go to the police and just try and put it behind them - not that that is always possible psychologically. Now in Africa the stigma of rape is much higher and I cannot believe any woman when interviewed is going to say 'Oh yeah I was raped 12 times' as some kind of light or throw away remark.
 
In all due candor and honesty:

Please do remember these are forums where posters who are reflections of afrocentic viewpoints also make their contributions...

It is though some would prejudge others, i. e., who are 'pro black', by the way of guilt by mere association, never even bothering to ask if any poster etc. us or has been a part of any grassroots effforts etc., aka relationship counseling/women's shelters/etc.

Also various subject thread topics come by the way of tabloid paper like headings etc.

So, I suggest that you and others, i. e., who are concerned about black males (hardly men) resorting to violence against black women, etc., find more constructive and efffective means and ways to get your points across...

:em0200:

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JOHANNESBURG — Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers' base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said Monday.

Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said aid and U.N. workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30.

More than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.

Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a U.N. military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday that a U.N. Joint Human Rights team verified allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by combatants from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. He said the victims are receiving medical and psycho-social care.

Nesirky said the U.N. peacekeeping mission has a military company operating base in Kibua, some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the village, but he said FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point.

Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.

"When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return," Masudi said.

There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just "lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women."

Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months.

"Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men," Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.

International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.

"We keep going back and identifying more and more cases," he said. "Many of the women are returning from the forest naked, with no clothes."

He said that by the time they got help it was too late to administer medication against AIDS and contraception to all but three of the survivors.

READ MORE: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jPEADE6LA6PT95DxLVS1noE80bwQD9HPEAS02[/QUOTE]
 
@THE-GOD

I think you may well be right as regards some rebel troops claiming they were forced to join as this is of course a way of escaping blame. Many of those involved in the Rwandan massacres probably tried to justify themselves to others by this claim. So this claim by male soldiers is a way of making yourself appear better, more honorable, less evil.

But I think you are totally wrong to apply the same idea to those women claiming to have been raped - I don't know of any society where this is seen as being something good - even in the US or UK a woman who has been raped or forced to have sex will find that society / police will often look for reasons why she brought this upon herself and there is still a kind of stigma attached to it. Its not surprising that many girls decide to keep quiet about it, never go to the police and just try and put it behind them - not that that is always possible psychologically. Now in Africa the stigma of rape is much higher and I cannot believe any woman when interviewed is going to say 'Oh yeah I was raped 12 times' as some kind of light or throw away remark.

Thank you thank you think you for this. :)
 
Just wanted to say that Africa is the second largest continent in the world. Africa is huge, huge, huge. Not all tribes "HATE" each other, even though there might be beef here and there, which is quite frankly understandable cos we are afterall humans. There are parts of Africa that have serious problems and there are other areas that are peaceful and quite frankly, heavenly. I grew up there, so I know. Just wanted to say that cos i see a lot of general statements and ignorance on this thread, pple making comments about Africa like she is one tiny contained village when in fact, she is not.
 

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