Jon L. Christensen: “Mr. Speaker, I want to say something briefly about three different issues because of the tremendous and tragic toll they…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to say something briefly about three different issues because of the tremendous and tragic toll they have taken on the people of the countries involved, because they are representative of the challenges facing Africa, and also because of the relative indifference of this country and the global community to addressing them. The first is the 5-year civil war in the Republic of the Congo, Africa's third largest country and the native country of one of my closest friends and medical school classmates, Dr. Louis Kanda, who often shares the grave concerns he has over the ongoing conflict and his and the frustration of many others over the lack of attention it has received from this country despite repeated calls from members of the Congressional Black Caucus. With many of its bordering countries involved in the conflict, it has become Africa's first continentwide war. Just today, The New York Times reported that an estimated 500 civilians have been killed in just one province in the northeastern region between July 2002 and March 2003. There is elsewhere children as young as 10 who have been robbed of their childhood and trained as guerilla fighters and terrorists.”