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Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
In a Town Hall meeting in Cape Town South Africa, influential leaders from the global south including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan sat down with Al Jazeera to discuss some of the world’s most pressing and complex questions. Among the questions was the hot debate over military intervention, and whether prevention is better than intervention. Annan specifically addressed what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, emphasizing its complexity because of the actors involved and the role that natural resources play in the continuation of the violence. He also recognized the role of mediation in the peace process, with eleven countries currently involved in peace negotiations.
Around $500 million of gold is smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of Congo each year by rebel groups. Switzerland has opened an investigation into a leading gold refiner, Argor-Heraeus, for possible involvement with war crimes connected to the Congo. Argor-Heraeus denied accusations that it processed almost three tonnes of traced back to M23 rebels in the Congo. A Swiss NGO stated that the gold purchased by the refinery was sold through Uganda from the rebel group FNI.
The banning of books by Sudanese authorities has inspired a new reading culture in Khartoum. Sudanese writer Fathi al-Daw published a book about the State Security Apparatus and quickly discovered that it had been placed on the banned book list. Following the ban, the book became a sought-after in Khartoum and travellers who arrived in Khartoum with book began to experience heavy airport security. The public protested, hosting sit-ins at the airport and social media campaigns to find confiscated books.
Trading secret books is somewhat similar to organising a protest in Sudan. Code words are used, the planning takes places only through trusted sources, and personal security becomes important.
Award-winning photographer Pete Muller spent most of his autumn in eastern Congo,where he captured the precise moment that Congolese soldiers took back the last major stronghold of M23 rebels in Bunagana. This New York Times photography series is part of a larger project that will explore the notions of masculinity in eastern Congo, Namibia, and South Africa, and how they translate into certain behavior when conflict is involved.
A new documentary titled “The Longest Kiss” allows viewers an intimate look at the lives of six Sudanese youth of different cultures, origins, and religions as they search for their own identity and a place they can feel at home. Traveling along the White Nile, the youth give accounts of daily life under the regime in the North, while South Sudanese express hopes and fears about starting over from scratch.
Kateri Kramer contributed to this post.