World Heritage in Danger
Content warning: following some of the links in this post will expose you to some harrowing images that you may not be able to forget. Please use caution in following the links.
The Garamba National Park, Congo -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980 and also having the dubious privilege of being on the World Heritage Sites in Danger since 1996 -- is home to the endangered northern white rhino (which may have gone extinct in the park), along with other animals, and refugees and armed rebels. The park's 4,920 km² is patrolled by park rangers who are losing a battle to preserve the park in the midst of heavy fighting between Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and forces from Uganda, the Congo and South Sudan. The leaders of the LRA are wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court -- but not for the disaster they're making of Garamba National Park. There aren't courts set up to try and execute bastards such as Joseph Kony, who currently leads the LRA, for the crimes against nature that is being committed.
Recently, in response to the hunt for their leaders, the LRA has taken to launching attacks against the park rangers of Garamba, and the neighbouring villages of the park. Not only have the rebels been bathing in the rivers of blood from the wild animals they slaughter for food in Garamba -- they've now taken to use the animals and civilians as weapons of war. The message is clear -- if the LRA is pursued, they will lay waste to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as they have been doing to people in areas they operate. Garamba is just not a park that belongs to the Congo -- Garamba is a piece of the planet that belongs to everyone in the world -- everyone here today, and everyone that is to come. As the LRA persists in their rebellion -- and let's face it, they're not fighting for some romantic and just cause -- they're just criminal thugs -- the world takes a prosaic approach to ending the irreversible destruction they leave in their wake. We spend billions to fight proxy wars, prop up dictatorships, endorse the lesser of evils in failed states, and send navies to battle fishermen off the Somali coast -- but we can't afford to assassinate people who are literally, destroying pieces of the world forever.
What's wrong with our priorities?
I realized for a lot of you, empathizing with the destruction of nature -- especially in a place as far off as Africa -- may be a bit of a struggle. Who gives a shit, right? Want to know about the kinds of people it takes to make it in the LRA? Read about the 139 female school girls that were abducted by the LRA to become sex slaves. Joseph Kony himself may have made wives of some of the 27-50 abducted girls, out of the 60,000 abductees the LRA is estimated to be responsible for. The boys, and girls not found to be attractive, are given guns, join the army and are taught to kill.
Final note: the LRA would not be able to sustain itself without external support. Take a wild guess who has been the LRA's patron? Answer: North Sudan. The North Sudanese government that has laid waste to everything alive in Darfur.
The Garamba National Park, Congo -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980 and also having the dubious privilege of being on the World Heritage Sites in Danger since 1996 -- is home to the endangered northern white rhino (which may have gone extinct in the park), along with other animals, and refugees and armed rebels. The park's 4,920 km² is patrolled by park rangers who are losing a battle to preserve the park in the midst of heavy fighting between Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and forces from Uganda, the Congo and South Sudan. The leaders of the LRA are wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court -- but not for the disaster they're making of Garamba National Park. There aren't courts set up to try and execute bastards such as Joseph Kony, who currently leads the LRA, for the crimes against nature that is being committed.
Recently, in response to the hunt for their leaders, the LRA has taken to launching attacks against the park rangers of Garamba, and the neighbouring villages of the park. Not only have the rebels been bathing in the rivers of blood from the wild animals they slaughter for food in Garamba -- they've now taken to use the animals and civilians as weapons of war. The message is clear -- if the LRA is pursued, they will lay waste to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, as they have been doing to people in areas they operate. Garamba is just not a park that belongs to the Congo -- Garamba is a piece of the planet that belongs to everyone in the world -- everyone here today, and everyone that is to come. As the LRA persists in their rebellion -- and let's face it, they're not fighting for some romantic and just cause -- they're just criminal thugs -- the world takes a prosaic approach to ending the irreversible destruction they leave in their wake. We spend billions to fight proxy wars, prop up dictatorships, endorse the lesser of evils in failed states, and send navies to battle fishermen off the Somali coast -- but we can't afford to assassinate people who are literally, destroying pieces of the world forever.
What's wrong with our priorities?
I realized for a lot of you, empathizing with the destruction of nature -- especially in a place as far off as Africa -- may be a bit of a struggle. Who gives a shit, right? Want to know about the kinds of people it takes to make it in the LRA? Read about the 139 female school girls that were abducted by the LRA to become sex slaves. Joseph Kony himself may have made wives of some of the 27-50 abducted girls, out of the 60,000 abductees the LRA is estimated to be responsible for. The boys, and girls not found to be attractive, are given guns, join the army and are taught to kill.
"The first thing, you're beaten. The beating is to initiate you into the army. The second thing, you're forced to kill someone. The more you abduct, the more they give you a rank." -- Grace Akallo, a survivor.The human toll is unimaginable -- and I don't mean to distract from it -- it's important -- but so is the toll being paid by the forest, the savannah and the animals, that have no voice. It's harder to convince a world to care for nature, when the world doesn't care about the people either.
Final note: the LRA would not be able to sustain itself without external support. Take a wild guess who has been the LRA's patron? Answer: North Sudan. The North Sudanese government that has laid waste to everything alive in Darfur.
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