A portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo's tropical forests has fallen into the hands of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, following their advancement in Eastern DRC earlier this year. As the insurgents maintain their positions, illegal logging has surged. Environmental advocates have cautioned that the increase in charcoal and timber smuggling is an industrial loot-operation that could turn vast swaths of the DRC’s tropical forest into a wasteland and push countless species toward extinction. Every felled tree bankrolls the proxy war and drains Congo’s ecological future. Swipe for a hard look of the current situation.
🤬16
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
‘DON’ TRUMP’S ‘JUST-BUSINESS’
RWANDA-DRC DEAL
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have just signed Donald Trump's 'peace deal' in Washington, D.C. To us, it all smacks of a Mafia-style operation.
To make our point, we decided to indulge in a bit of amateur theatrics by updating the opening scene of the cult film The Godfather. Our skit features Ahmed Kaballo as US boss Trump, Clinton Nzala as Rwanda's president Paul Kagame and William Sakawa as DRC's Félix Tshisekedi. But while we're having a laugh, the point is serious: we highlight the exploitation, coercive diplomacy and resource plundering that define Congo's ongoing conflict.
The DRC is a nation rich in minerals such as cobalt, coltan, gold, and tin, which are crucial for global industries ranging from electronics to electric vehicles.
RWANDA-DRC DEAL
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have just signed Donald Trump's 'peace deal' in Washington, D.C. To us, it all smacks of a Mafia-style operation.
To make our point, we decided to indulge in a bit of amateur theatrics by updating the opening scene of the cult film The Godfather. Our skit features Ahmed Kaballo as US boss Trump, Clinton Nzala as Rwanda's president Paul Kagame and William Sakawa as DRC's Félix Tshisekedi. But while we're having a laugh, the point is serious: we highlight the exploitation, coercive diplomacy and resource plundering that define Congo's ongoing conflict.
The DRC is a nation rich in minerals such as cobalt, coltan, gold, and tin, which are crucial for global industries ranging from electronics to electric vehicles.
👍10👎1👏1
Continued……. Despite this vast wealth (estimated at a staggering $24 trillion), the Congo remains one of the poorest nations on the planet, beset by chronic instability, humanitarian disasters and rampant human-rights violations.
Neighbouring Rwanda has been instrumental in plundering this wealth. According to UN reports, Kigali supports the M23 rebel group, which has seized control of key mineral-rich areas in eastern DRC and has been facilitating the illicit flow of minerals across the border into Rwanda, where they are laundered and integrated into international supply chains.
Now, the 'Don' (godfather) in the White House has secured his 'protection fee' - in the form of US access to Congolese mineral resources. Trump praises the agreement inked in Washington between the Central and East African neighbours as a move towards genuine peace, but in truth, the DRC has handed over control of its minerals in return for a security 'guarantee' that US 'associate' Rwanda will halt its hostilities in eastern Congo.
We didn't mean to make light of a serious situation, but sometimes it's essential to be creative to convey the message effectively. Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Sources
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/congo-courts-trump-for-strategic-minerals-tie-up-as-war-looms-2025-03-05
https://panzifoundation.org/conflict-minerals-and-sexual-violence-in-the-drc/
https://discoveryalert.com.au/news/natural-resources-democratic-republic-congo-2025/
https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/03/congo-peace-means-halt-brutal-illegal-mining
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/energysource/illicit-mineral-supply-chains-fuel-the-drcs-m23-insurgency/#:~:text=Illicit%20mineral%20supply%20chains%20fuel%20the%20DRC's%20M23%20insurgency%20%2D%20Atlantic%20Council
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/13/as-the-drc-battles-rwanda-backed-m23-whats-needed-to-stop-the-fighting
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2024/10/why-is-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-wracked-by-conflict/#:~:text=There%20are%20also%20deep%20divisions,historical%20grievances%20from%20almost%20five
Neighbouring Rwanda has been instrumental in plundering this wealth. According to UN reports, Kigali supports the M23 rebel group, which has seized control of key mineral-rich areas in eastern DRC and has been facilitating the illicit flow of minerals across the border into Rwanda, where they are laundered and integrated into international supply chains.
Now, the 'Don' (godfather) in the White House has secured his 'protection fee' - in the form of US access to Congolese mineral resources. Trump praises the agreement inked in Washington between the Central and East African neighbours as a move towards genuine peace, but in truth, the DRC has handed over control of its minerals in return for a security 'guarantee' that US 'associate' Rwanda will halt its hostilities in eastern Congo.
We didn't mean to make light of a serious situation, but sometimes it's essential to be creative to convey the message effectively. Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Sources
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/congo-courts-trump-for-strategic-minerals-tie-up-as-war-looms-2025-03-05
https://panzifoundation.org/conflict-minerals-and-sexual-violence-in-the-drc/
https://discoveryalert.com.au/news/natural-resources-democratic-republic-congo-2025/
https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/03/congo-peace-means-halt-brutal-illegal-mining
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/energysource/illicit-mineral-supply-chains-fuel-the-drcs-m23-insurgency/#:~:text=Illicit%20mineral%20supply%20chains%20fuel%20the%20DRC's%20M23%20insurgency%20%2D%20Atlantic%20Council
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/13/as-the-drc-battles-rwanda-backed-m23-whats-needed-to-stop-the-fighting
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2024/10/why-is-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-wracked-by-conflict/#:~:text=There%20are%20also%20deep%20divisions,historical%20grievances%20from%20almost%20five
Mining Weekly
Congo courts Trump for strategic minerals tie-up as war looms
The Democratic Republic of Congo has offered the US exclusive access to critical minerals and infrastructure projects in exchange for security assistance as it battles a rebellion backed by neighbouring Rwanda. In a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio…
👎4
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
DIVERSITY IN MEDICINE
Representation saves lives. Research by the National Center for Health Statistics in the US reveals that Black people live longer in areas with more Black primary care doctors. For every 10% rise in Black doctor representation, Black life expectancy increases by about a month, even for those who don't see a Black doctor directly. This isn’t just about care, it's about trust, understanding and diversity in medicine.
Sources
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/study-finds-black-people-live-longer-in-places-with-more-black-doctors
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/21/health/black-doctors-shortage-us/index.html
https://www.aamc.org/news/what-s-your-specialty-new-data-show-choices-america-s-doctors-gender-race-and-age
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/proportion-black-physicians-little-change
https://apnews.com/article/doctors-dermatologist-medical-school-diversity-black-americans-c85e959fd1a08431377f18693ec6d77c
Representation saves lives. Research by the National Center for Health Statistics in the US reveals that Black people live longer in areas with more Black primary care doctors. For every 10% rise in Black doctor representation, Black life expectancy increases by about a month, even for those who don't see a Black doctor directly. This isn’t just about care, it's about trust, understanding and diversity in medicine.
Sources
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/study-finds-black-people-live-longer-in-places-with-more-black-doctors
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/21/health/black-doctors-shortage-us/index.html
https://www.aamc.org/news/what-s-your-specialty-new-data-show-choices-america-s-doctors-gender-race-and-age
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/proportion-black-physicians-little-change
https://apnews.com/article/doctors-dermatologist-medical-school-diversity-black-americans-c85e959fd1a08431377f18693ec6d77c
👍11
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
IMF & WORLD BANK HAVE NOT HELPED AFRICA
How can we trust institutions established during colonial times by the very forces that colonised us? This is the question posed by Fadhel Kaboub (@FadhelKaboub on X), an associate professor of economics at Ohio's Denison University, who critiques global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Despite their inclusive names, these institutions act as neo-colonial tools, deepening poverty and dependency in Africa and the Global South.
How can we trust institutions established during colonial times by the very forces that colonised us? This is the question posed by Fadhel Kaboub (@FadhelKaboub on X), an associate professor of economics at Ohio's Denison University, who critiques global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Despite their inclusive names, these institutions act as neo-colonial tools, deepening poverty and dependency in Africa and the Global South.
💯14❤2
Continued……. After decades of so-called ‘aid,’ little progress has been made in Africa, while Western countries advance by exploiting its resources. For example, the foreign-backed proxy war over natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has lasted over 30 years. Instead of addressing exploitation, the World Bank supports projects like the Inga Dam, which critics say facilitate further resource extraction under the guise of aid.
Western powers, led by the US and supported by Europe and the G7, control these institutions. They back initiatives like the Lobito Corridor, a 1,300-kilometre strip of land featuring a railway that snakes through Zambia, the DRC and Angola to ship Africa’s resources across the Atlantic Ocean. The World Bank also supported apartheid South Africa, a history it prefers to forget.
Given that Africa pays out more in debt and resource extraction than it receives in aid, is it not time for the rest of the continent to reject these colonial-era models and pursue African-led development, like our siblings in the Sahel?
Video credit: @lynnngugi on Instagram
Sources
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/11/26/it-is-time-to-decolonise-the-world-bank-and-the-imf
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/04/19/sovereign-debts-colonial-roots-imf-and-the-engineering-of-a-permanent-crisis-in-africa/
https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-faustian-bargain-imf-africa/
https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/The-colonial-roots-of-global-south-debt.pdf
https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2020/12/world-bank-reparations-demanded-for-murder-of-frontline-south-african-anti-coal-activist/
https://www.lobitocorridor.org/history-background
https://g7.utoronto.ca/dev/2024-annex-i-gpii.html
Western powers, led by the US and supported by Europe and the G7, control these institutions. They back initiatives like the Lobito Corridor, a 1,300-kilometre strip of land featuring a railway that snakes through Zambia, the DRC and Angola to ship Africa’s resources across the Atlantic Ocean. The World Bank also supported apartheid South Africa, a history it prefers to forget.
Given that Africa pays out more in debt and resource extraction than it receives in aid, is it not time for the rest of the continent to reject these colonial-era models and pursue African-led development, like our siblings in the Sahel?
Video credit: @lynnngugi on Instagram
Sources
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/11/26/it-is-time-to-decolonise-the-world-bank-and-the-imf
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/04/19/sovereign-debts-colonial-roots-imf-and-the-engineering-of-a-permanent-crisis-in-africa/
https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-faustian-bargain-imf-africa/
https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/The-colonial-roots-of-global-south-debt.pdf
https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2020/12/world-bank-reparations-demanded-for-murder-of-frontline-south-african-anti-coal-activist/
https://www.lobitocorridor.org/history-background
https://g7.utoronto.ca/dev/2024-annex-i-gpii.html
Al Jazeera
Apartheid in the World Bank and the IMF
These institutions, designed with colonial principles in mind, remain largely colonial in character to this day.
🤬5👍2
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
CONGO: VICTIM OF MAFIA-STYLE RACKETEERING
US President Donald Trump is basking in self-praise for what he describes as his 'wonderful treaty' between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). To others, though, it looks more like a successful Mafia operation.
Among them is Kambale Musavuli, a political analyst at the Center for Research on Congo-Kinshasa. He compares Rwanda to a Mafia associate doing dirty work for the US godfather (‘Don’) by extorting mineral-rich DRC.
Just as the Mafia extends beyond national borders, so Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his close ally, James Kabarebe, support rebel factions in neighbouring DRC.
Kagame, who ascended through Uganda's military intelligence, has a well-documented history of military interventions in the Congo, initially backing Laurent Kabila and later changing allegiances, which contributed to the Second Congo War.
US President Donald Trump is basking in self-praise for what he describes as his 'wonderful treaty' between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). To others, though, it looks more like a successful Mafia operation.
Among them is Kambale Musavuli, a political analyst at the Center for Research on Congo-Kinshasa. He compares Rwanda to a Mafia associate doing dirty work for the US godfather (‘Don’) by extorting mineral-rich DRC.
Just as the Mafia extends beyond national borders, so Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his close ally, James Kabarebe, support rebel factions in neighbouring DRC.
Kagame, who ascended through Uganda's military intelligence, has a well-documented history of military interventions in the Congo, initially backing Laurent Kabila and later changing allegiances, which contributed to the Second Congo War.
🤬9👏4❤1
Continued……. Kabarebe, a former Rwandan general and current minister, notably held the position of Chief of Staff for the Congolese army in the 1990s - despite being a Rwandan citizen. He has been identified as a key figure behind the M23 rebel group and is involved in orchestrating the illegal mineral trade from the DRC.
Rwanda's strategy of supporting the M23 rebels mirrors Mafia-style racketeering and territorial dominance, ultimately benefiting the 'top boss' when the victim (DRC) is forced to pay the boss (Trump) a protection fee (minerals). The M23 rebels have established illegal taxation systems in the areas they control, reportedly generating nearly $1 million per month from mineral operations alone, in addition to taxing other valuable resources, such as charcoal and timber.
Video credit: AfroDominion Media
Sources
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/m23-rebels-take-hold-eastern-congo-islamic-state-capitalizing-chaos
https://greatlakescrisis.org/the-overlooked-story-of-ugandas-role-in-the-drc-conflict/
https://integralleadershipreview.com/8287-mafia-organization-governance-processes-and-leadership-function/
https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/congos-fragile-truce-foreign-interference-and-conflict-minerals-drc
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/13/people-need-a-break-drc-conflict-reignites-dark-memories-of-congo-wars
https://www.newsweek.com/how-dispute-between-friends-congo-sparked-africas-deadliest-war-534272
http://www.hscentre.org/global-governance/rise-m23-ties-ethnic-tension-rwanda-drc/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Kagame
https://lieber.westpoint.edu/conflict-eastern-drc-state-responsibility-rwanda-uganda/
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/18/dr-congo-m23-armed-group-forcibly-transferring-civilians
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/m23-rebels-take-hold-eastern-congo-islamic-state-capitalizing-chaos
Rwanda's strategy of supporting the M23 rebels mirrors Mafia-style racketeering and territorial dominance, ultimately benefiting the 'top boss' when the victim (DRC) is forced to pay the boss (Trump) a protection fee (minerals). The M23 rebels have established illegal taxation systems in the areas they control, reportedly generating nearly $1 million per month from mineral operations alone, in addition to taxing other valuable resources, such as charcoal and timber.
Video credit: AfroDominion Media
Sources
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/m23-rebels-take-hold-eastern-congo-islamic-state-capitalizing-chaos
https://greatlakescrisis.org/the-overlooked-story-of-ugandas-role-in-the-drc-conflict/
https://integralleadershipreview.com/8287-mafia-organization-governance-processes-and-leadership-function/
https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/congos-fragile-truce-foreign-interference-and-conflict-minerals-drc
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/13/people-need-a-break-drc-conflict-reignites-dark-memories-of-congo-wars
https://www.newsweek.com/how-dispute-between-friends-congo-sparked-africas-deadliest-war-534272
http://www.hscentre.org/global-governance/rise-m23-ties-ethnic-tension-rwanda-drc/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Kagame
https://lieber.westpoint.edu/conflict-eastern-drc-state-responsibility-rwanda-uganda/
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/18/dr-congo-m23-armed-group-forcibly-transferring-civilians
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/m23-rebels-take-hold-eastern-congo-islamic-state-capitalizing-chaos
ReliefWeb
As M23 rebels take hold of eastern Congo, the Islamic State is capitalizing on the chaos - Democratic Republic of the Congo
Analysis in English on Democratic Republic of the Congo about Protection and Human Rights; published on 18 Jun 2025 by ACLED
🤬4👏1
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
PALESTINIAN LANDS BEFORE ISRAEL DISPLACED THEM
The human cost of the Israeli state today, which sits on Palestinian land, has been the uprooting and destruction of millions of lives and communities!
This animation depicts what Tel Aviv looked like the 1948 Nakba (an Arabic word for 'catastrophe'), during which Z*onists burned and destroyed over 500 Palestinian towns and villages, displacing between 750,000 and 1 million Palestinians, with many forced to flee Palestine altogether. The Z*onists also destroyed or confiscated their archive of about 70,000 texts.
Despite nearly 75 per cent of the Palestinian population being expelled or fleeing during this period, the Z*onist expansion project continues to seek to erase the people of the Occupied Palestinian Territories while the West stands by and enables the Z*onist project.
Video credit: @Yplusmedia on Instagram
The human cost of the Israeli state today, which sits on Palestinian land, has been the uprooting and destruction of millions of lives and communities!
This animation depicts what Tel Aviv looked like the 1948 Nakba (an Arabic word for 'catastrophe'), during which Z*onists burned and destroyed over 500 Palestinian towns and villages, displacing between 750,000 and 1 million Palestinians, with many forced to flee Palestine altogether. The Z*onists also destroyed or confiscated their archive of about 70,000 texts.
Despite nearly 75 per cent of the Palestinian population being expelled or fleeing during this period, the Z*onist expansion project continues to seek to erase the people of the Occupied Palestinian Territories while the West stands by and enables the Z*onist project.
Video credit: @Yplusmedia on Instagram
❤11
Continued………Sources
https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba
https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/15/nakba-mapping-palestinian-villages-destroyed-by-israel-in-1948
https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/JVP-Nakba-Fact-Sheet.pdf
https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba
https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/15/nakba-mapping-palestinian-villages-destroyed-by-israel-in-1948
https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/JVP-Nakba-Fact-Sheet.pdf
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU)
Quick Facts: The Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe)
The Nakba was the mass expulsion of Palestinians (1947-49) to establish Israel. Over 750,000 were displaced, 400+ villages destroyed, and the crisis continues today.
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
YOUR MOBILE - PAID FOR IN BLOOD?
Did you know that your Tesla, your iPhone or even your favourite Google product may have all been paid for with the lives of children worked literally to death?
If you ask the mega corporations and the US justice system, there's nothing to answer for here. But the abundant presence of certain minerals in our everyday gadgets is hard to explain otherwise. Congo, where kids are sent into dangerous mines for a pittance, is torn by conflict over its enormous mineral wealth. And it is a key artery in the global tech supply chain.
It's a story of exploitation and abuse for profit - taking place right now in the heart of Africa.
Sources
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/14/child-labor-and-human-rights-violations-mining-industry-democratic-republic-congo
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/tech/big-tech-child-labor-congo-lawsuit
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/natural-resource-governance/itsci-laundromat/#resource-library
Did you know that your Tesla, your iPhone or even your favourite Google product may have all been paid for with the lives of children worked literally to death?
If you ask the mega corporations and the US justice system, there's nothing to answer for here. But the abundant presence of certain minerals in our everyday gadgets is hard to explain otherwise. Congo, where kids are sent into dangerous mines for a pittance, is torn by conflict over its enormous mineral wealth. And it is a key artery in the global tech supply chain.
It's a story of exploitation and abuse for profit - taking place right now in the heart of Africa.
Sources
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/14/child-labor-and-human-rights-violations-mining-industry-democratic-republic-congo
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/tech/big-tech-child-labor-congo-lawsuit
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/natural-resource-governance/itsci-laundromat/#resource-library
💯16❤2👏2
The recent mauling of a young Black man in Florida by police dogs - and his subsequent death from organ failure linked to an untreated infection caused by the bite - highlights a particularly vicious form of state violence against our community. Swipe though for a look at how attack dogs - be it in the streets of the US or of Soweto, or on slave plantations - have long been, and are still being, used to hunt and control Black bodies.
Sources
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-rapper-dies-getting-bit-145106943.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHudwBKViSMCb-npFNZCwRv-DY55O7AZuoQrHG4BiWXQ4V8cl1-rg0VTze4LB4bLpzoP2aXiYyOThHlozG_wL5BLRqK4PL4rlUAY3VhQ8ov2PTkUpodPtVamjCtAp5HBp3zkcuB4iOdabmRlOMccch_HTB7Ducs9ckovT-APwpSN
Sources
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-rapper-dies-getting-bit-145106943.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHudwBKViSMCb-npFNZCwRv-DY55O7AZuoQrHG4BiWXQ4V8cl1-rg0VTze4LB4bLpzoP2aXiYyOThHlozG_wL5BLRqK4PL4rlUAY3VhQ8ov2PTkUpodPtVamjCtAp5HBp3zkcuB4iOdabmRlOMccch_HTB7Ducs9ckovT-APwpSN
🤬4💯3💔1