Desperate "one-dollar girls" exploited by U.N. forces in Congo

The Seattle Times ^ | March 24, 2005 | Emily Wax

[ValerieUSA]

BUNIA, Congo — She's known in the community as a "one-dollar U.N. girl." At night, she sleeps on the cracked pavement outside a storefront. In the mornings, she sashays through the dusty streets, clutching a frayed parasol against the blinding sun.

Yvette and her friends are also called kidogo usharatis, Swahili for small prostitutes. They loiter outside the camps of U.N. peacekeepers, hoping to sell their bodies for a mug of milk, a cold soda or — best of all — a single dollar.

.....Yvette's story is not uncommon. The United Nations is investigating 150 instances in which 50 peacekeeping troops or civilians in the Congo mission are suspected of having sexually abused or exploited women and girls, some as young as 12.

.....Similar charges have been made about U.N. missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as Kosovo and Bosnia in Europe.

The United Nations is also investigating reports of rape or sexual assault in Congo, including one case in which a French logistics employee was found with hundreds of videotapes that showed him torturing and sexually abusing naked girls. Last week, U.N. officials announced they had fired one employee and suspended six others from among 17 civilian staff members being investigated in the Congo abuses....

[ValerieUSA]

If the UN Forces actually kept the peace, these girls wouldn't be raped and the farmers could grow food.... and then their source of cheap hookers would be gone.

[Dubya_4ever_USA]

It's the same everywhere the UN goes: natives are hurt by their actions!

[Darkwolf377]

"She's known in the community as a "one-dollar U.N. girl."

Please, not another Madelain Albright story.

[B4Ranch]

UNICEF was designed to attract these $1 girls for the UN troops.

[Enterprise]

"No, you're not going to buy that for a dollar. Now let's go. Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

[Emmett McCarthy]

Peace Keepers, huh? More like Piece Grabbers. But the U.N., the world's largest criminal organization, continues to enjoy its headquarters in the U.S. What an embarassment.

[Bones75]

It's a shame they way people act. The first thing I would think of if I saw these girls was if they had a hot meal and a place to sleep besides on a filthy sidewalk. It's a shame that the first thing some people thing when they see them is how they can take advantage of them, or their "services".

Shameful.

Bones

[mowowie]

You read my mind!

[Mike Darancette]

More like 1 Euro girls.

[elmer fudd]

Gee, I could cash out my 401K, retire to the Congo and live the good life. At $1 a pop I could outdo Wilt Chamberlain and with enough AZT I might live out the decade.

[FarRightTexan]

Soldiers using prostitutes - not surprising. Its been happening since armies walked the earth.

French logistics guy videotaping himself torturing and raping prostitutes - its letahl injection time.

[ValerieUSA]

UN Peacekeeping Heroes ping

[SunkenCiv]

"Last week, U.N. officials announced they had fired one employee and suspended six others from among 17 civilian staff members being investigated in the Congo abuses."

Gosh, I hope they didn't yell at 'em and hurt their feelings.

[razorback-bert]

What happened to Bang Bang Two Dollar?

[ValerieUSA]

Does the UN health plan for employees cover Viagra prescriptions?

[SunkenCiv]

The French gov't puts it in the wine they bottle especially for French troops.

[monday]

"There are cases of rape by the U.N. But much more than that, there are many cases where girls negotiated obligation sex. In war, it is only soldiers who have money," said Petronila Vaweka, the district administrator of Ituri. "These girls have absolutely no way to make a living. This is their reality, and in some cases, the parents even push it."

So what happens to them if the UN leaves? Are there no relief agencies handing out food? Do they starve to death?

[Always Right]

The same people who were so appalled by Abu Grabe (or however it is spelled), won't blink an eye over the rape and sexualization of 12-year olds.