BRAZIL CARNIVAL SHOWS SOLIDARITY WITH CONGO

Brazil's annual carnival is truly a spectacle to behold. Vibrant costumes, lively samba music and impressive displays dominate the streets before the 40-day Christian observance of charity, fasting and prayers called Lent.

Carnival's Afro-centric indulgences make clear the impact of Afro-Brazilians, who comprise more than half of Brazil’s population. Their ancestors had been kidnapped in what is now Angola and the Congo, dragged onto ships and forced to labour in the former Portuguese colony starting in the 16th century.

That’s why it was heartening for many of our people to see Congolese flags flying on a parade truck this year as a show of solidarity. It comes during a time when many still don’t know about the heartbreaking Western-backed violence that creates the conditions necessary for looting the mineral-rich eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Between 1998 and 2010, the conflict klled about 6 million people. Amidst a recent escalation to capture the DRC's east, the Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 militia had klled more than 8,500 people between January and late February 2025, according to Congolese authorities. Meanwhile, more than 7 million Congolese live in refugee camps after being forced off their lands.

Tech giants like Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla use the DRC’s minerals to power smartphones, laptops and electric cars, among other technologies, which has led many to call out Western powers.

Video credit: @tonton.gloire.98 (TikTok)

Sources

https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war 

https://x.com/trtworld/status/1891713201529585939?t=fzTl_dqH4ZpCPa3HtAkfwA&s=19

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/01/1159541 

https://www.riocarnaval.org 

https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-430?p=emailAkOMNUDrTod0o&d=/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-430 

https://apnews.com/article/brazil-slavery-angola-quilombo-rio-de-janeiro-valongo-48e614e15b317a3ee96a0422c8d7317a 

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo 

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-8-500-people-killed-since-january-in-fighting-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-congo/3495683