ABC News to Host Five Part "Nightline" Series on Congo
ABC News (Washingotn, DC)
PRESS RELEASE
September 7, 2001
Posted to the web September 7, 2001
Washington, DC
ABC News "Nightline" will devote five programs to the catastrophic war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo beginning Friday, September 7. "Heart of Darkness" looks at the conflict that has taken more than 2.5 million lives over the past three years, a conflict that is being called "the first African World War." Ted Koppel anchors and reports the series. ABC News correspondent Martin Seemungal also reports for "Heart of Darkness."
"Heart of Darkness" is scheduled to air on ABC News' "Nightline" FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 and TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 (11:35 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network.
"On the issue of the Congo, you are dealing with a disaster in which more people have died over a shorter period of time than anything comparable in recent memory. By way of contrast, NATO went to war over Kosovo, where 20,000 people were killed. That many people are dying in the Congo every two weeks," said "Nightline" anchor and managing editor Ted Koppel.
"Heart of Darkness" is a story of murder, greed, violence, the quest for power, and, ultimately, the strength of the human spirit. The series explores a largely unreported story: the fighting in Congo that has involved as many as seven nations since 1998, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and has killed millions more. The conflict, with roots in the genocide in Rwanda, has been brutal and countrywide, with rebel groups and the government all fighting for power as well as control of Congo's immense natural resources. As a new administration in Congo shows signs that it may be more open to seeking a peace, "Nightline" uses this slowdown in the fighting as an opportunity to examine the impact of a war that many journalists have considered too dangerous to cover.
A carefully constructed study by the International Rescue Committee concluded that at least 2.5 million people have died as a consequence of the fighting that has, at various times, involved the governments of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a range of rebel groups allied with those governments. The fighting has driven civilians away from their homes, and hundreds of thousands of those who fled to the rainforest have died. And yet the story of the war in Congo remains largely unfamiliar to the Western world.
During the two weeks Mr. Koppel spent reporting in Congo this July, he traveled with the first relief flight to reach the city of Shabunda in more than three months. One program will focus on how this city and its people have been ravaged by the war and the efforts of one Catholic priest to protect the community from the brutality of the conflict. The story of rape as weapon in this war is played out across this community and the entire country: nearly 200 women gathered in a Shabunda classroom to tell "Nightline" of their own horrifying experiences with rape.
Later in the series "Nightline" reports from Kisangani, a city on the Congo River which was once an economic center. Now the war has choked off all river commerce. The conflict dried up all fuel supplies, forcing civilians to move supplies by bicycle and on foot .
"Nightline" also spends a day in the life of a Congolese porter. She is an extraordinary woman who is supporting ten children as a roadside carrier. On a good day, she will make the equivalent of one dollar by carrying loads of up to 200 pounds up and down a mountain.
The series concludes with a look at how the quest for control of Congo's immense natural resources, including gold, copper, diamonds, and coltan, has been driving the war. Mr. Koppel reports from a coltan mine privately owned by a Congolese who has partnered with an American doctor from Baltimore. Coltan is currently one of the most sought-after minerals in the world, as it is essential to the production of cell phones.
Ted Koppel is the anchor and managing editor of "Nightline." Tom Bettag and Leroy Sievers are the executive producers. "Nightline" airs at 11:35 p.m. weeknights on the ABC Television Network.
PROGRAM LISTINGS
SERIES TITLE: Heart of Darkness
SERIES AIRDATE Friday, September 7, and Tuesday, September 11 - Friday, September 14 on ABC News "Nightline" (11:35 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network. SUMMARY ABC News "Nightline" will devote five programs to the catastrophic war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo beginning Friday, September 7. "Heart of Darkness" looks at the conflict that has taken more than 2.5 million lives over the past three years, a conflict that is being called "the first African World War."
FRIDAY, SEPT. 7 Ted Koppel begins five nights of reports from Congo. The series explores a largely unreported story: the fighting in Congo that has involved as many as seven nations since 1998, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and has killed millions more. The conflict, with roots in the genocide of Rwanda, has been brutal and countrywide, with rebel groups and the government all fighting for power as well as control of Congo's immense natural resources. Pillaging armies and starving refugees have killed all the elephants, and most of the lowland gorillas in a national park designated by the United Nations as an international treasure.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 11 "Nightline" travels with the first relief flight to reach the city of Shabunda in more than three months. The program focuses on how Shabunda and its people have been ravaged by the war and the efforts of one Catholic priest to protect the community from the brutality of the conflict. The story of rape as a weapon in this war is played out across this community and the entire country: nearly 200 women gathered in a Shabunda classroom to tell "Nightline" of their own horrifying experiences with rape.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12 Mr. Koppel reports from Kisangani, a city on the Congo River which was once an economic center, where many of the country's diamonds were sold. Heavy fighting has killed many civilians. The war has choked off all river commerce for the community, drying up fuel supplies and forcing civilians to move supplies by bicycle and on foot. Kisangani is a city that is slowly dying.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 13 "Nightline" spends a day in the life of a Congolese porter. She is an extraordinary woman who is supporting ten children as a roadside carrier. On a good day, she will make the equivalent of one dollar by carrying loads of up to 200 pounds up and down a mountain.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 "Nightline" examines how the quest for control of Congo's immense natural resources, including gold, copper, diamonds, and coltan, has been driving the war. Mr. Koppel reports from a coltan mine privately owned by a Conglose from Goma who has partnered with an American doctor from Baltimore. Coltan has become one of the most sought-after minerals in the world as it is essential to the production of cell phones. |
