Turning the lens on a harsh reality

NOW in its sixth series, the hard-hitting What in the World? returned on Tuesday on RTÉ One.

The first of the four-part documentary, which aims to raise awareness of global economic inequalities and human rights violations, began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Conflict has rendered the DRC one of the poorest nations on earth and it explored how the never-ending battle for control of the resource-rich country has impacted its citizens.

Beginning in 1998, the Second Congo War devastated the country and despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east, where the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. The second largest country in Africa with a population of over 74 million, the war is the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, killing four and a half million people between ’98 and 2007.

It has been especially marked by the use of child soldiers, who are often forcefully enlisted into militias as young as 12 years of age. These children often take alcohol and drugs to help them overcome the fear of what they are doing, so there is a vast amount of substance abuse.

Putting a human-interest spin on the facts and figures are 17-year-old Benjamin and David, two former child soldiers with the FDLR militia, who are now in the Don Bosco centre. The centre has seen over 37,000 children pass through its doors, many of them orphans due to the conflict and the poverty. The boys are receiving an education and trying to forget the horrors of their time in the militia, but it’s not that easy and they are among the lucky ones that escaped.

We also heard from 20-year-old Funaha, who was held as a sex slave by one of the many militias that continue to terrorise the population.
Funaha only escaped when her guard fell asleep one day and she eventually found her way back to her village. She could not stay however as her family were afraid of the militia finding her and killing her so they sent her to Goma. Pregnant by one of her rapists, she lives in fear of being recognised.

These heart-breaking tales only touch the plight of these people however and even in the relative safety of Goma, which is largely under UN protection with a 20,000-strong force in situ, the poverty is astounding. The UN-led Monusco is the second largest peace keeping mission in the world after Darfur.
Move outside Goma’s borders however and the poverty is even more profound but beyond that, it is also extremely dangerous with abductions, robberies and murder a daily part of life.  Fear hangs on every street corner and when the camera crew move into areas controlled by the militia, the people are unwilling to speak and are nervous of being filmed least they become a target.
The norms of a functioning society do not exist neither is there much in the way of infrastructure. Although the land is relatively fertile, agriculture is very under-developed and markets are almost non-existent due to the lack of roads.

It took the camera crew five hours to travel 80km due to the dirt tracks. As it turns out, they needn’t have bothered with all that travelling, as after hours of futile negotiation, the local militia commander doesn’t give permission to film and orders them out of the area. The commander also happens to be from Rwanda, which gives an idea of the melting pot society the Congo has become since wars in neighbouring countries meant huge amounts of refugees spilled over its borders. He is also living in a two-storey house with flat screen TV, in stark contrast to the surrounding shacks inhabitated by the locals.

As the credits roll, narrator Peader King informs us within weeks of leaving the DRC, there was a massive explosion of violence with over two million people displaced.  There would appear to be no end to the conflict in sight for the people of the DRC.

A thought-provoking series, it continues in post-conflict East Timor, now Timor Leste, Ethiopia and Honduras over the next few weeks.

One to watch: I missed all of last season’s Grey’s Anatomy, having decided it couldn’t be possible for so many bad incidents to happen to one group of people and was, therefore, ridiculous. Then I went and watched the last episode and guess what, another mass accident, this time a plane crash. Find out who survived when it returns to Sky Living next Wednesday at 10pm.

Also starting next Wednesday on Channel 4 is the four part British drama Secret State, starring our own Gabriel Byrne. Deputy Prime Minister Tom Dawkins (Byrne) takes on an American petrochemical company after a devastating accident on British soil. But following the suspicious death of the prime minister in a plane crash, Dawkins’ political ambitions are tested along with his quest for justice when two other political heavyweights vie for the top job. It also stars Douglas Hodge, Gina McKee, Charles Dance, Rupert Graves and Dubliner Ruth Negga.