Ben Affleck in eastern Congo, 11/19/08

Ben Affleck has already chronicled the dire conditions in the war-torn African Congo region with a documentary and an appearance on Nightline. He’s made three treks to the Republic of Congo, hoping to raise awareness of the ongoing atrocities brought on by civil war, including violence against women and children. One of the most prevalent forms of violence there is rape - in fact, 2 out of 3 women in the Congo are rape victims. Most of these women never seek medical help or report their rapists. Now, Ben is returning to the region, hoping to raise more awareness and to urge people to donate money or resources to humanitarian organizations servicing the Congo.

“I’m not an expert in international affairs or diplomacy, but it doesn’t take that to see the tremendous suffering here,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday in Goma, the regional capital. “It’s not something that we as human beings can, in good conscience, ignore.”

Years of sporadic violence in eastern Congo intensified in August, when fighting heated up between the army and fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.

Some fear the current crisis could once again draw in neighboring countries. Congo’s devastating 1998-2002 war split the vast nation into rival fiefdoms and involved half a dozen African armies.

“I’m really glad that more people are paying more attention to (Congo) now but I’m really saddened that it’s taken this uptick in violence to make that happen,” Affleck said.

“The primary reason I am here is to urge people to give money to the NGOs and charities doing hard work in eastern Congo on meager funds,” he said. “And if people out there have an existing relationship with a charity, to urge that charity to get involved in eastern Congo. To let people know, ‘Don’t just read the horror stories in the newspapers and turn off.’”

Affleck said he first became interested in Congo a few years ago, when Hollywood’s attentions began to focus another African crisis, Darfur. After doing more research on Africa, he was shocked to learn about Congo’s four-year war, during which an estimated 5 million people died.

“I thought a lot of people are advocating on Darfur. I’d just be a very small log on a big fire. I started getting interested in Congo and I thought, this is a place where I can have a really big impact,” he said.

[From Huffington Post]

My daughter’s best friend, who is 13, and her family had to return to the Congo last year to help ailing family members. they own a plantation in the Congo and several family members have AIDS. Their land is constantly being attacked and set on fire and they’ve lost most of their livestock, but they haven’t been hurt yet. There are often many months that go by before we get word from her, and we always fear the worst. Some of the stories my daughter’s friend has told us are truly chilling. If I had the celebrity status of someone like Ben Affleck, or Brangelina, etc., I would probably be doing the same thing - using that status to raise awareness of situations like this.

For those who will inevitably slam Ben for having the audacity to raise awareness of an atrocity outside of the US borders, keep in mind that Ben is a co-founder of an annual charity poker event along with Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler which benefits U.S, organizations such as The United Way and the American Red Cross. He’s also hosted charity benefits for elementary schools and colleges in the Boston area and in the hometown of wife Jennifer Garner.

Ben Affleck is shown picking up daughter Violet from school on Nov. 10. He looks less than thrilled that photographers feel the need to immortalize this everyday activity. Photo credit: Bauergriffin.

Source: Cele|bitchy