Posted on 05/26/2004 2:08:31 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
United Nations peacekeeping troops are sexually exploiting teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to an investigation by the The Independent newspaper of London.
Many of the girls, as young as 13, are mothers who give up their bodies to the U.N. soldiers in exchange for food to feed their hungry children.
The girls, who live in the Internally Displaced People camp in Bunia, northeastern Congo, already are victims of multiple rape by militiamen.
The British paper interviewed girls and aid workers who said every night girls crawl through a wire fence to an adjoining U.N. compound to sell their bodies to Moroccan and Uruguayan soldiers.
In exchange, they receive a banana or a cake.
The U.N. has pledged a "zero tolerance" attitude to cases of sexual misconduct by its respresentatives and has announced an inquiry into the allegations. But the London paper says doubts remain about the effectiveness of the probe and the ability of the U.N. to bring the perpetrators to justice.
A 13-year-old girl, Faela, told The Independent her infant son is the result of rape by militiamen in her village. Consequently, she is ostracized in the camp and has no one to take care of her.
"It is easy for us to get to the U.N. soldiers," she told the paper. "We climb through the fence when it is dark, sometimes once a night, sometimes more."
The Independent said it spoke to more than 30 girls over five days, and half said they made the journey under the fence to the compound run by MONUC, the U.N. mission in Congo.
A worker with the aid group that manages the camp, Atlas, said staff knew about the sex trade but were afraid to address it.
"There is nothing to stop them and the girls need food," he told the paper. "It is best to keep quiet, though. I am frightened that if I say something I may lose my job, and I have children of my own to feed."
The head of the U.N. in Bunia, Dominique McAdams, said she she saw no evidence of sexual violence in the camp, although she believe it was taking place.
Ping...
The question wasn't if the UN was raping these refugees, but whether they were paying to have sex with young teens who needed food. Nice denial.
There ARE UN representatives who HAVE raped teens in America and fled the country.
A functioning American media would connect the dots between this and the American presidential candidate who wants to defer to the UN.
Let's ignore this one. It's Glow Gate all the way! Panty-Gate, Maxipad-Gate. It's Madonna and crotch grabbing rappers joining our military, which is why we must put half our military in front of the firing squad [unless they join our porn industry, I guess].
We cannot slime this organization: Kerry needs the UN to clean up our act in Iraq.
I'd start off with outrage at the UN, but after a month of all this scum we've been led through, even with porno pictures and possible violations of 'don't ask don't tell', I can see this one needs to be used as a mere counter-charge, category: media bias. Too bad. We don't need to prove media bias anymore. We need opportunities to jump ahead, such as kicking out the UN.
Will this be the final straw regarding the UN? Our moral authority is apparently slimed worse than Clinton's now, at least during the left's orgasmic milking of it. However, we can, at the very least, cut back our donations to the UN in protest of this outrage. It's the least we could do, considering how strongly our left wing media 'cares' about the prisoners in Iraq. These children were EXPLOITED VICTIMS. That is a million times worse than putting panties on a likely terrorist, a thousand times worse than forcing a likely terrorist to whack the monkey. Cutting funding to the UN ought to escalate hostilities between us and the blue hats, which will ultimately earn our freedom from them.
Bingo
I had heard, not sure I heard correctly, that the UN bigwig in Sudan was recently promoted.
Bump
Bump
and the UN OUT of the US!
The truth of third world countries. It happens everyday, by troops of all origins. Sex paves the way for the next meal. Been going on for centuries, this is nothing new.
During the 2nd world war it was the Italian women who performed this act with GI's, or the German women later. The French women had sex with the Germans, it isnt pleasant , but it happens. Men the age of warriors have sexual drives , now we see women do too with the Iraqui prison thing. Been happening since the beginning of time, doesnt make it right, I have more substantial reasons for doing away with the UN than a soldier getting laid.
Reference bump.
I suspect it is the unspoken reason that many a young man has joined the military. I had thought of it more as "Rape & Plunder", I hadn't really thought about the fact that even the most attractive girls would do this for a banana or a piece of bread.
OTOH, if these girls are living in an Internally Displaced Persons camp, run by the UN, why in God's name aren't they getting enough to eat? This sounds like another scam against the world body, which means another scam on the American Taxpayer since we practically fund the UN.
Every time we try to kiss up to the euros, they try to steal another little bit of our sovereignty with scams like UN, EU, ICC, NATO, Kyoto, World Bank, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.
Here's the original report
UN troops buy sex from teenage refugees in Congo camp
By Cahal Milmo
25 May 2004
Teenage rape victims fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being sexually exploited by the United Nations peace-keeping troops sent to the stop their suffering.
The Independent has found that mothers as young as 13 - the victims of multiple rape by militiamen - can only secure enough food to survive in the sprawling refugee camp by routinely sleeping with UN peace-keepers.
Testimony from girls and aid workers in the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Bunia, in the north-east corner of Congo, claims that every night teenage girls crawl through a wire fence to an adjoining UN compound to sell their bodies to Moroccan and Uruguayan soldiers.
The trade, which according to one victim results in a banana or a cake to feed to her infant son, is taking place despite a pledge by the UN to adopt a "zero tolerance" attitude to cases of sexual misconduct by those representing the organisation.
One girl, Faela, 13, whose son, Joseph, is not yet six months old, has described how the social stigma of her fatherless child, the result of repeated rape by militiamen in her village, mean she is treated like a pariah in the chaotic and violent Bunia camp, which is home to 15,000 people.
She said: "It is hard in the camp for the girls like me with little babies and no husbands. We have no men to look after us. We have been dirtied by the soldiers who came to our villages. No one will take us as their wives and it is hard to get food in the camp for us."
She added: "It is easy for us to get to the UN soldiers. We climb through the fence when it is dark, sometimes once a night, sometimes more."
During a five-day period, The Independent spoke to more than 30 girls, half of whom said they made the 20-metre journey from the camp to gaps in the wire fences of the compound run by Monuc, the UN mission in Congo.
One worker, employed by Atlas, the aid group that manages the camp, confirmed that staff were aware of the trade in sex but were too frightened to tackle it.
He said: "There is nothing to stop them and the girls need food. It is best to keep quiet, though. I am frightened that if I say something I may lose my job and I have children of my own to feed."
The UN has announced its own inquiry into the allegations, warning that it will apply "all available sanctions" against those responsible. But doubts remain about the effectiveness of the investigation and the ability of the UN to bring those responsible to justice.
Dominique McAdams, the head of the UN in Bunia, said she believed that there was sexual violence in the camp, but said she had yet to see any evidence.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=524674
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