The war is often called Africa's First World War and its ingredients are a volatile mix of social upheaval, economic insecurity, power, greed, and revenge. The war has caused 1.7 million deaths and the displacement of more than 1.1 million people. Only a fraction of those deaths can be attributed to acts of violence. A large number are due to the collapse of the nation's health infrastructure. Clinics have been looted or destroyed.
Women live in fear.
I heard horrific stories of rape, abuse, and torture. Women are being raped in front of their husbands and children. We were told that just two days before I arrived in Bukavu, a woman was raped in the marketplace at 10 a.m. and no one intervened. Priests are targets, too. At least six have been killed in eastern Congo since 1998.