In this region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children are forced into militias and rape is used as a weapon of war ...
Brut reporter Charles Villa went to North Kivu, one of the world’s most dangerous regions.
Brut reporter Charles Villa went to North Kivu, one of the world’s most dangerous regions.
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00:00We're going to climb if we don't get back within the next 14 hours.
00:07It's a problem.
00:14It shouldn't take long.
00:16I think I see a lighthouse on the other mountain.
00:19I think I see a lighthouse on the other hill in front of us.
00:31Here we are again.
00:33Oh yeah, there are a lot of them.
00:36About fifty.
00:38They're all armed with Kalashnikovs.
00:41So, we're going to have to get out of here.
00:44We're going to have to get out of here.
00:46They're all armed with Kalashnikovs.
00:57There are a lot of young people.
00:58There are teenagers with Kalashnikovs.
01:02The two behind me are young.
01:09For over 25 years, Congolese and foreign militias
01:12have been terrorizing the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
01:17For Brut, our field reporter Charles Villa went to meet a local warlord
01:21to better understand the extreme violence taking place there.
01:42How old are you?
01:44I'm 13 years old.
01:4513 years old?
01:46Yes.
01:47You're young to carry a gun?
01:48Yes.
01:51Are there a lot of young people in the group like that?
01:53Yes, there are a lot of us.
01:57I see that.
02:04What's your name?
02:05My name is Richard.
02:09And how old are you, Richard?
02:10I'm 19 years old.
02:12You're only 19?
02:13Yes, yes.
02:15How long have you been in the army?
02:17Yes, since I was three years old.
02:20Have you ever killed people?
02:21No.
02:22Yes, yes.
02:23That's my job.
02:30OK, we're coming.
02:41kia!
02:42Hia kaldu kia.
02:44Kia!
02:45Kia kaldu kia.
02:46Kia!
02:47Kia kaldu kia.
02:48Kia!
02:49Kia kaldu kia.
02:50Kia!
03:00Hello Sir
03:03Telephone
03:05Asking
03:06Whatyr playing at the party
03:08Let's go!
03:14What they are doing is a demonstration of strength.
03:17Because there is a camera and because I am present,
03:19they just want to show that they are well armed and well trained.
03:22Officers!
03:23Uniformed officers!
03:24Attention!
03:25Don't move!
03:34General,
03:35you know that the use of child soldiers is considered a war crime
03:38and there are many army group leaders
03:40who are today in the International Criminal Court for this reason.
04:00But yet, among your troops, you have teenagers.
04:35Who are these teenagers?
04:42He's a former soldier in the Congolese army
04:44who left to start his own militia.
04:46As you'll see, speaking with him was no easy task.
04:52When I was in the Congo,
04:54I was a soldier.
04:56When I was in the Congo,
04:58I was a soldier.
05:00I was a soldier.
05:02I was a soldier.
05:05I was a soldier.
05:07I was a soldier.
05:09I was a soldier.
05:11Do you really have the impression that your struggle is effective?
05:15Women always rape our men.
05:18They rape us.
05:22They rape us.
05:23They rape us.
05:25They rape us.
05:29Do you understand?
05:30General, how many men have you killed?
05:32I don't know what to say.
05:34I don't know what to say.
05:36I don't know what to say.
05:38Please, please, just stay focused.
05:40We don't have much time, just stay focused.
05:42Hey, Luby, is it...
05:44I don't know what to say.
05:46Hey, hey.
05:48Zela, is it...
05:50Is it true that you are a soldier?
05:54Yes, I'm a soldier.
05:56I'm a fighter.
05:58I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:00I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:02I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:04I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:06I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:08I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:10I'm a soldier, I'm a civilian.
06:12Do you know what I'm talking about?
06:14Do you know?
06:16General Bishunga didn't appreciate questions about child soldiers or his victim count.
06:21So to avoid any issues, our reporter changed the subject.
06:26General, I heard that you were hoping to meet me.
06:29between you and me?
06:46General, do you think you have supernatural powers?
07:00Yes.
07:04What do you think you're doing?
07:08You!
07:10You with the small arms!
07:15You with the big…
07:18You are going to take my land!
07:22You are a son of a…
07:26You psycho!
07:29Huh?
07:59I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!
08:08I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!
08:10I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!
08:13All militias in the country are ostensibly illegal,
08:16but despite widespread rapes, pillaging and war crimes,
08:20it is very rare for rebel warlords to be brought to justice.
08:30Over there, a man is fighting for the hundreds of thousands of women
08:33who are victims of these armed groups.
08:35He is a gynecologist and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.
08:39His name is Denis Mukwege.
08:46Women who are subjected to these atrocities,
08:49the big question they ask themselves is,
08:51first of all, why do this?
08:53Rape is already very serious.
08:55My dear mom!
08:57But raping with this extreme violence,
09:03why do this extreme violence?
09:05Why rape a 12-year-old woman?
09:07And after raping her at 12,
09:09why set fire to her?
09:11Why shoot at her genitalia?
09:14Women ask these questions,
09:16and I think that one day,
09:18these members of armed groups
09:20should be able to answer these questions,
09:22because it disturbs these women.
09:24There are women who no longer have sexuality,
09:26who no longer have maternity because of these acts.
09:57The rape they are subjected to,
09:59is often rape with extreme violence,
10:02where they are humiliated in front of their husbands,
10:05in front of their children.
10:08They are humiliated in front of their community.
10:12These are women who are walking at night,
10:15who are left at night for hours,
10:17sometimes days.
10:19These are women who are impaled,
10:22who have serious burns
10:25at the level of the genitals.
10:28Often they say,
10:30when I was raped, I was killed.
10:33When I was raped, I no longer feel like a woman,
10:36I no longer feel like a human being.
10:50When I was raped again,
10:53I saw myself as a woman.
10:56I was a woman.
10:58When I got home,
11:00I realized that I was no longer a woman.
11:03I started to cry a lot.
11:06I said to myself,
11:08I prayed to God,
11:10to help me,
11:12so that I would not find my husband,
11:14who left me sick.
11:17My name is Vesos Rowede.
11:33It is a pride and joy that I have,
11:37that I cannot lie.
11:41It is a pride and joy,
11:43We don't just care for the medical or surgical aspects,
11:50but we also consider the psychological aspect, which is very, very important.
11:55Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
11:58Hallelujah, hallelujah!
12:04The goal is to restore dignity.
12:07The goal is that they can return to a normal life.
12:12In the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
12:14mass rape is used as a weapon of war,
12:16not only to terrorize victims,
12:18but also to provoke massive population displacements.
12:24Unfortunately, when the population leaves the area,
12:28the area remains free to be exploited.
12:32And so it's a very effective weapon,
12:34because this weapon, rape as a weapon of war,
12:36produces the same consequences as conventional weapons.
12:40We are in a situation where there is no state of law,
12:45where there are people who believe they have every right
12:49to kill, rape, plunder natural resources.
13:02In the DRC, one of the main natural resources is coltan,
13:06a mineral used in the manufacture of certain electronic devices
13:10like computers and cell phones.
13:12The country is home to some 60 to 80% of the world's total coltan deposits.
13:22We are on our way to Rubaia, one of the most important mining cities
13:25in the region of North Kivu, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
13:37We are in the middle of a second rain.
13:39There is a bridge that has collapsed, so we have to go down,
13:42cross a river and change cars afterwards.
13:49There is the whole population that is stuck because of the rain.
14:06We just crossed.
14:10We have to cross.
14:20I don't know if you can see the color of the water behind me.
14:23It is a bit brownish, even orange.
14:25It is linked to the treatment of the mines upstream of the river.
14:29It means that we are approaching the city of mines.
14:40It is impressive.
14:44OK, let's go.
14:46We are going to go down and see how it goes in the mine.
14:59There is a small difference.
15:02We can feel that they are used to it.
15:05There are several steps before being able to collect coltan.
15:08The first one is the one they are doing behind me.
15:11They are digging in the ground to build tunnels.
15:16How many workers work here?
15:19Here, on average, there are 150.
15:22Currently, there are 48 people in the tunnel.
15:27Here, on average, there are 150.
15:31Currently, there are 48 people in the tunnel.
15:35Once they are inside the tunnels,
15:37they collect mineralized sand of this slightly yellow color.
15:40It is in this sand that the coltan minerals are found.
15:43How much do you sell the kilo of coltan to the merchants?
15:47Before, we sold it for 20 dollars.
15:50Today, the price has dropped.
15:54It is between 10 and 12 dollars.
15:56Why such a big drop?
15:58We don't know.
16:00The price comes from the consumers.
16:07The multinationals should be very careful
16:10when it comes to resupplying.
16:12The responsibility of us humans is to protect each other.
16:17I believe that today we have machines
16:21capable of doing this extraction
16:23without being able to use human beings as slaves
16:27who take the risk of dying at any time.
16:31For me, it is hateful, it is shameful
16:34that we can consume these minerals
16:37in our computers, in our phones,
16:40which are exploited in such inhumane conditions.
16:46Let's go.
16:51Let's go.
16:58OK, dad.
17:02If there is any problem,
17:05given the distance to cover, it is deep.
17:08I can't get through.
17:12Wait, dad, I can't get through.
17:16Fuck.
17:18If there is any problem,
17:21it is impossible to get in and out in time.
17:24Does it continue?
17:25It continues.
17:26Come on, let's continue.
17:28My dad.
17:30Are there people down there?
17:32Yes, there are people.
17:34Let's go down again.
17:36My dad.
17:38My dad.
17:40So now he's calling and we can't hear him
17:43because he's so deep.
17:45He's deep, but ...
17:47Here we are at easily 30 meters deep,
17:4930, 40 meters.
17:51It's starting to get hot too.
17:53I can't breathe.
17:55I can't even imagine
17:57when you spend 12 hours a day in the mine.
18:00It must be hell.
18:03Yes, I'm fine.
18:05Look at this.
18:09Oh la la.
18:11It's so dangerous, damn it.
18:13Yes, I'm fine.
18:15It's super narrow, it's barely consolidated here,
18:17it's going to collapse.
18:18Everyone will die instantly, actually.
18:21Sorry, dad, sorry.
18:23I dropped some sand.
18:25Do you get in by slipping there?
18:27No, it's a little like that.
18:29Yes.
18:32Yes, I'm coming.
18:44I can't be closer, damn it.
18:50Here we are.
18:52Here we are.
18:54Jumbo.
18:56Sana.
18:58Damn it.
19:00This is what they harvest,
19:02the mineralized sand.
19:06Honestly, it's incredible.
19:08They put it in small bags
19:10and then they go up those bags to the surface.
19:13I brought my light,
19:15but otherwise they are just with frontal flashlights,
19:17so they don't see much.
19:19What time did he enter the mine?
19:21He entered at 8 o'clock.
19:238 o'clock.
19:25So he spends 8 hours in the mine in these conditions.
19:27Yes.
19:29Can you ask him if he brought anything to eat today?
19:35They ate potatoes.
19:37Do they have water to drink or not?
19:42Are they afraid when they work here?
19:46No, they are not afraid.
19:49Day 2
19:54Come on, jump.
19:58Damn, it's so high.
20:00You can't go up there?
20:02No.
20:05I can't go up there.
20:09It's hell.
20:19Are you following, dad?
20:21Yes, yes.
20:23Are you okay?
20:25Do you want me to help you?
20:27With the bag?
20:29Ah, he must be carrying the bag.
20:31The bag.
20:33Mineralized sand.
20:35Okay, I'm moving on.
20:44Damn, I see the exit.
20:48Ah.
20:56Look at them, they're making fun of me.
20:58Damn.
21:02It's serious.
21:05How many meters?
21:07We went all the way down.
21:1140.
21:13Can you translate, please?
21:15Frankly, you have a lot of courage.
21:17You have a lot of courage.
21:21I was very scared inside.
21:34The young people you saw
21:36going down tunnels
21:38where they can leave their lives
21:40while they can cultivate
21:42on the surface and be safe.
21:45Often, they are in denial
21:47of their own humanity.
21:49The value of their lives no longer exists.
21:51And so, they do things
21:53that are quite dangerous
21:55for their lives.
22:07How old are you?
22:0919.
22:12How old are you?
22:14I am 22 years old.
22:1622 years old?
22:18Does it scare you to work
22:20in a mine?
22:22We are afraid
22:24because every time we pass
22:26even this earth can come down on us.
22:30Because it starts to collapse.
22:34We go out
22:36because we are afraid
22:38that this earth can kill someone.
22:42In fact, he stays all day in the tunnel
22:44and he works in rotation.
22:46As soon as the one who is digging is tired,
22:48he is replaced by someone who is waiting.
22:50And so on until the end of the working day.
22:53How old did you quit school?
22:56I quit school
22:58when I was 19 years old.
23:00Why did you quit school?
23:02Why didn't you continue your studies?
23:04It's because I missed the money.
23:08Money.
23:11Money.
23:29Once the mineral sands have been mined,
23:31they are taken down into streams
23:33in order to extract the coltan.
23:41We have reached a stream.
23:43I will show you how they clean
23:45the mineralized sand.
23:49Isn't that coltan?
23:51Yes, it's coltan.
23:53So you see, the coltan
23:55cleans it there in the stream.
23:57That's also why a little lower
23:59the stream has an orange color.
24:01And they put it in bins like that
24:03before going back up
24:05to dry it on the rocks.
24:07And then they take it
24:09before going back up
24:11to dry it on the rocks.
24:19Come on, let's go back to the other side.
24:21I would like to film the orange water there.
24:25No matter the weather conditions,
24:27they keep working.
24:31Their working conditions are really horrible.
24:40I'm so wet.
24:50It's a disaster.
24:52All the miners went out of the tunnels
24:54because they risked their lives.
24:56We had to leave too because
24:58otherwise the roads would be blocked.
25:01We have to go,
25:03otherwise we won't be able to leave
25:05Roubaillat because of the mud.
25:19From start to finish,
25:21it was an adventure to film in these mines.
25:23I hope this documentary has interested you.
25:25See you soon.
25:30Ciao.