Why is the Genocide Occurring?
There are three main causes of the Pygmy Genocide.
The first is the prejudice that the Bantu people have for the Pygmies. To the Bantu, the Pygmies are sub-human, and as such they treat them like animals. They are frequently hunted down and either raped or cannibalized for their believed medicinal properties.
The second cause of the Pygmy Genocide, is the development of their native lands for state parks. This process removes the Pygmies from their homes without compensation. With no access to their forests and no money, the Pygmies are left no other choice, but to turn to the Bantu people for help. The Bantus enslave them in labor camps, providing just enough food and basic necessities for the Pygmies to avoid starvation.
The third cause is competition for the Congo’s resources between the rebel groups. During the 1st and 2nd Congo Civil wars, the two sides ransacked the forests, stripping crucial resources and severely limiting the supplies that the Pygmies depended on for survival. While the civil wars are now over, the Bantu people and rebel groups are continuing to commercialize the rainforests-- are still cutting down the forest at an exponential rate for farming and money from the selling of natural resources. There is also still the existence of the rebel groups, who are fighting for control over the forest as a source of wealth. These rebel groups are the main ones who are massacring, raping, and consuming the pygmies.
The first is the prejudice that the Bantu people have for the Pygmies. To the Bantu, the Pygmies are sub-human, and as such they treat them like animals. They are frequently hunted down and either raped or cannibalized for their believed medicinal properties.
The second cause of the Pygmy Genocide, is the development of their native lands for state parks. This process removes the Pygmies from their homes without compensation. With no access to their forests and no money, the Pygmies are left no other choice, but to turn to the Bantu people for help. The Bantus enslave them in labor camps, providing just enough food and basic necessities for the Pygmies to avoid starvation.
The third cause is competition for the Congo’s resources between the rebel groups. During the 1st and 2nd Congo Civil wars, the two sides ransacked the forests, stripping crucial resources and severely limiting the supplies that the Pygmies depended on for survival. While the civil wars are now over, the Bantu people and rebel groups are continuing to commercialize the rainforests-- are still cutting down the forest at an exponential rate for farming and money from the selling of natural resources. There is also still the existence of the rebel groups, who are fighting for control over the forest as a source of wealth. These rebel groups are the main ones who are massacring, raping, and consuming the pygmies.