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Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a population
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of over 14 million, itís the largest French-speaking city in the world.
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The streets are bustling with activity.
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Many people take on multiple jobs to get by.
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Among them are couriers, street-sweepers, maggot sellers, bread
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sellers, and jewelers.
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Each day they count their earnings, dreaming of becoming one of
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Congoís super-rich.
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Everyone in Congo dreams of getting rich. Thereís money if you
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know where to find it.
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But large parts of the population live below the poverty line.
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Albert is a fisherman. He earns less than one euro seventy cents per day.
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Just opposite from his poor neighborhood live some of Congoís
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richest people.
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Thatís ìLa CitÈ du Fleuve.î The rich live there. They do business deals,
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we catch fish.
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The residential complex is for Congoís new upper class, including
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the countryís millionaires.
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Uninvited guests arenít allowed in.
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Fally Ipupa has the kind of life most Congolese can only dream of.
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I never imagined Iíd have multiple cars. I just wanted to sing and
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make a name for myself in Kinshasa and in Africa.
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Fally Ipupa is the DRCís biggest star, and heís known internationally. He
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is also a multi-millionaire.
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ant a photo?
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My God, I love you man!
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I love you too.
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Heís just invested more than 600,000 euros in a new home in ìLa
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CitÈ du Fleuve.î
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Are the doors open? Go on, open them!
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I really like being here, especially on Sundays. I can relax here. Iíve
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always liked coming to the river with my family, so I decided to put
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down a few bricks.
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Those ìfew bricksî amount to a Californian style villa, which stands
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out here in the DRC, one of the worldís poorest countries in terms
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of GDP per capita.
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It doesnít have to be that way. With its abundance of mineral
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resources, the DRC could be one of the richest countries in Africa.
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Mining is the countryís most important industry. Many of Fallyís
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neighbors have made a fortune selling raw materials to a resource-
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hungry world.
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Fally likes to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city center.
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The Congo River is one of the longest in the world. For the local
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fishermen, itís also vital to their livelihood. They recognize the
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singer immediately.
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They say theyíre my brothers. Iíll give them something. Fifty bucks.
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Fally gets one of the marina workers to hand out a few notes.
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This is a lot! We called out to him, and he gave us fifty bucks to share
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amongst ourselves.
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Each fisherman just got the equivalent of about seven euros,
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the amount theyíd earn in a whole week.
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These people have different problems than we do. They even
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work on Sundays. I often give them a little something, even if itís
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just so they can take home a treat for their children. Iím happy to do it.
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Fally Ipupa is one of about 600 millionaires in the Democratic
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Republic of Congo.
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The DRC is the largest country in Central Africa, about six times the
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size of Germany. Itís home to nearly 100 million people. Its
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history is one of conflict and exploitation. The ongoing violence
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has resulted in six million deaths in the past couple decades.
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In 1965, Mobutu Sese Seko came to power. Nicknamed the ìLeopard of
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Zaire,î he ruled for nearly 32 years, embezzling the equivalent of more
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than four billion euros during his reign.
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In 1996 civil war broke out. Militias, supported by neighboring countries,
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enlisted thousands of child soldiers as they attempted to seize the
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countryís wealth. Mobutu died a year later in exile.
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2001 saw Joseph Kabila step into the political spotlight. During his 18
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years in power, he amassed an estimated fortune of more than 13
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billion euros. Because of its instability, the DRC is today
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regarded as a failed state.
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Weíre traveling across the Democratic Republic of Congo to
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understand why some are getting richer and richer, while others are
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struggling to survive.
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In Kinshasa, the roads are unpaved and difficult to navigate.
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Amid this chaos, a young woman named Moukembi is trying to build
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a future.
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Tell me what to do! The officers are supposed to direct traffic but
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one of them says go to the left; the other one says go to the right.
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What am I supposed to do?
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Moukembi is in the middle of a test. In the back seat, Arnaud is
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evaluating how well she navigates the traffic.
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Sheís clearly feeling the pressure.
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Youíll have to turn soon. You can tell you donít know your way
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around here. Follow this car.
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Moukembi has applied to be a driver at a taxi start-up. The
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company was founded by a Congolese businesswoman who
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wants to lift women out of poverty.
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The pink cars are the serviceís trademark.
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Previously, Moukembi worked as a nurse. If she passes the test, sheíll
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triple her salary, earning around 250 euros per month.
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I canít wait to start the job. Letís hope I pass the test.
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Okay, back to the office.
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Moukembi plays the part of a professional chauffeur until the
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very end, but it will be a few days before
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she finds out if sheís landed the job.
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The cab companyís customers are middle and upper class.
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To make the time spent in Kinshasaís traffic jams more
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enjoyable, passengers are offered drinks, snacks, and even WiFi.
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Weíre the first to offer this.
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Patricia Nzolantima wants to give women better employment
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opportunities. After completing her studies, she returned to Congo and
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started this cab service with the help of investors. Today, she pays it
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forward and supports other female entrepreneurs.
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We want to have more millionaires. Congo has more than
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80 million residents, and weíre rich in natural resources. Itís time
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for Congolese women to get a piece of that wealth.
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Despite the instability in the country?
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Give me two of those.
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?Patricia believes the economy will take off.
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You canít reduce Congo to rape and wars. There are young people,
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especially young women, who are trying to make real change. So itís
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wrong to reduce the country to just the things that donít work.
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This new generation will move the country forward.
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Like Patricia and her friends, more and more Congolese people are
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returning from abroad to work and invest in their homeland. These so-
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called ìrepatsî live in secure areas
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that offer a Western standard of living.
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Back at La CitÈ du Fleuve, the high-end residential complex sitting
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on a couple hundred hectares, two new residents are moving in.
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Olivier and Naomie have just relocated from Johannesburg,
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South Africa.
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Most important for us was the washing machine. And the bed.
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The couple works in finance. New job prospects convinced them to
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return to their home country.
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This will be the living room. The carpet can go here. There ? the
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table, the TV.
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This will be the bedroom.
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The apartment also offers a great view of the Congo River. Olivier and
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Naomie are newlyweds and want to start a family here.
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The couple earns about 3,500 euros per month. Thatís more than 100
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times the average salary. A third of it will go toward rent ? the steep
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price of security.
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You know, I want a place where my kids can play in the street and
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they donít have to worry about 100 other people on the street,
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and they donít have to worry about air pollution, noise pollution.
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They can do their homework in peace. Itís also very much about
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the environment, but also yes, it is a whole lot safer than the inner city.
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A brand-new apartment, brand new furnishings. The next thing we
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need is a brand-new baby!
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The couple has found their safe haven.
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Beginning of a new life for us. -Yes.
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Thereís growing demand to live in this new residential complex.
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Eventually, la CitÈ du Fleuve will have more than two thousand
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homes? including singer Fally Ipupaís.
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We meet him at an estate he rented to film his new music video.
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The dancers are dressed as Congolese warriors.
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The shoot is going well, until suddenly the music stops. Thereís
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been a power outage in the area.
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Thereís no electricity. Weíre trying to work it out.
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Fally and his team are stuck.
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Finally, a technician tracks down an emergency generator?
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?but that quickly breaks too.
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Fally is frustrated, even though heís used to these sorts of challenges.
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You see this tattoo? It means Iím Congolese. Iím not going to leave
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my country just because of a few power outages.
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Eventually, Fally Ipupaís assistant Manon
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tries using the carís sound system.
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We make do with what we have. Iíll connect my phone to the car for now.
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It works, and the video shoot can continue.
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In his twenty-year music career thus far, Fally has joined the club of
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multi-millionaires. And the number of members is increasing.
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The country is rich in minerals, including coltan, from which
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tantalum is extracted. The metal is used
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in the manufacture of mobile phones.
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The mines are in the Great Lakes region, in the eastern part of the
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country, near the Rwandan border.
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Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, has been shaken by
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bloody conflicts for more than two decades. Armed groups fight each
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other for control of the mineral resources.
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The UN has stationed 16,000 peacekeepers here, to shore up a
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fragile peace.
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The residents in this region are poor and traumatized by violence.
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Those who have made their fortune live along the shore of Lake
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Kivu. Including one of the regionís most influential businessmen.
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His villa is guarded around the clock by police. Itís like a fortress.
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Robert Seninga is a multi-millionaire.
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Hi, how are you?
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His wealth comes from coltan mining. He was once a rebel leader.
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In 2006, he was elected to parliament in the Masisi district.
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Even when youíre a politician, you can still do business.
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Robert Seninga freely admits that political clout has helped him. He
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runs the mining cooperative Cooperamma, which extracts
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coltan. His bodyguards never leave his side.
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I ask him where we are.
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This is Cooperammaís headquarters. The heart of the mineral trade.
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The simple building belies the millions that Cooperamma turns
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over each year.
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Robert Seninga looks at the production figures of the last few days.
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On the 6th, it was four tons and 668 kilos.
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The numbers are looking pretty good.
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Itís 40 tons in total.
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I ask how much thatís worth.
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A kilo is about 42 to 45 dollars. You can do the math.
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In the last few days, the mines have brought in close to two million
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euros. With three thousand mine workers, Cooperamma is the
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regionís biggest employer.
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I ask if any children work in his mines.
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No, thatís illegal. There are officers who make sure they donít.
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Children should be in school, not the mines.
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Helmets, boots and masks are mandatory in the mines to ensure
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the workersí safety. According to Seninga, the mines are seen as a
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model for the region.
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Theyíre situated about 60 kilometers from Goma, in one of
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the most beautiful landscapes in Africa.
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But itís also among the most dangerous regions. Conflict has
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raged on here for more than 20 years.
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In 1994, one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century took place in
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neighboring Rwanda: a genocide that killed almost one million
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people. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to the Democratic
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Republic of Congo, including many of the perpetrators.
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Since then, survivors and perpetrators have lived side by side
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in this volatile region. Meanwhile, armed rebel groups clash over
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Congoís valuable resources.
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We head to the mines with Landry, Robert Seningaís chief engineer.
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Seninga has saved the Masisi community. Thanks to him, life can
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go on as normal.
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But little seems to have changed in the region in recent years. The
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roads are disastrous. Each day, people risk their lives getting to work.
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Several times on our journey, our vehicle
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nearly veers off the road into the ravine.
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That was close. A bit further and weíd have ended up in the river.
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Nearly there.
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After five hours on the road, we reach Rubaya, home to the biggest
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coltan mine in the country. About 100,000 people live here.
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Among them are Gilles, his wife and their three children.
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The family lives in this 15 square-meter home. Everything has its
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designated spot.
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The house is very small. We hang the shoes on the wall. The
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childrenís things are here.
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The adjacent room has the kitchen and the familyís bed.
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The bed is very narrow. We sleep there and my wife cooks here.
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The couple moved here 5 years ago, hoping to get wealthy from the mines.
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I hope God will help me, so one day I can buy a car like this one.
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For now, Gilles earns the equivalent of 5 euros per day.
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His work is many kilometers away from the center of Rubaya. It takes
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him an hour and a half to get there.
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There are hundreds of coltan mines in the area. The one Gilles works in
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is called Bamfou.
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The ore is extracted from the sludge by hand.
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Itís easier by hand. That way we can separate the coltan from the sand.
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Once processed, itís an important part of manufacturing micro-
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electronic components.
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This is coltan. Itís mainly used for mobile phones.
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Gilles has to climb into the mine to dig. The way down is slippery.
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Wait. Stop? If you know how to do it, itís pretty easy.