The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (HBO Documentary) Review

This is the story of one filmmaker's crusade to break the silence surrounding this shocking reality, armed with a firsthand connection with the women and men she meets. Winner of a Special Jury Prize (Documentary) at this year's Sundance Film Festival, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo premiered Tuesday, April 8, 2008."

We decided to Tevo the documentary and recently watched it. Wow! The horror that I saw in this movie was completely incomprehensible. Could countries really allow women to be so mistreated?

Rape is an understatement for what happens to the poor women in the Congo. Women and girls, from ages 2 to 80 are not only gang raped by 20+ soldiers at a time, but are then mutilated (yes, down there!) and left on the side of the road. The women often suffer such severe damage to their uterus, anus, and bladder that they need extensive surgeries that keep them bedridden for nearly a year-- that is, if they can get treatment. Did you happen to notice that I said 2 year olds? 80 year olds?!  Yes, my daughters age and my grandmothers age. Horrifying!!!!

The other interesting thing is how many women get pregnant as a result of the rape. So, there is an over abundance of children born under extreme circumstances. Those poor, poor children.

The Filmmaker, a NY woman who was gang raped herself in D.C., decided to hunt down some of the rapists and interview them. They agreed- in closed quarters- and their excuse for raping and mutilating women was that they needed to do this to become strong warriors in the field. They also noted that they would kill anyone that performed this heinous crime on their sisters, mothers or daughters. Hmmmmm... Are you kidding??? Some of the men cited raping 25+ women.

I typically appreciate that different cultures treat women differently (and I cant get too sensitive about it), but mutilation?! Rape is horrible, but physical mutilation is another thing!
The astounding thing about the movie to me was the lack of the governments involvement. It was a complete free-for-all in the Congo and nobody was there to protect these women except the 1 woman assigned to sexual crimes in the entire region. And, of course, she has no resources, a shack she is working out of, and is spending her own money on visiting women via cab.

But, perhaps the most amazing thing about the movie was the strength and passion these women had for life. The women of the Congo were accountable for everything-- feeding their children, supporting a family, taking care of the sick, etc-- and while they were violated, abused and mistreated, they still have a passion for living.

I have to admit that I have a really hard time watching such movies. They are a great reality check for me and a reminder of how very lucky we are to be living this life in the United States. While daily I get fired up about the primaries, the candidates, gas prices and war, I need to put it in perspective. l have a great (safe) life, a wonderful family, a great job and live in a country where even a woman can run for president. Now, if I could convince my husband to let me adopt, we can actually get a young, abused girl out of that environment. I am ready to hop on a plane now. Help me lobby my hubby. ;) (he is sooo gonna kill me!)

If you can deal with the subject matter, I strongly recommend that you see The Greatest Silence, Rape in the Congo. It is a great story for all women and men to hear.

P.S. Here is the website: http://www.thegreatestsilence.org/main.html