Ben Affleck on Nightline, Part 1. The rest of his segment is below
Last week we mentioned that Ben Affleck would have a segment on Nightline covering one of his trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo. An estimated 45,000 people a month die of starvation and violence in the war-torn nation and by some accounts nearly 2 out of 3 women have been raped. More people have died there in the four and a half year Second Congo War, from 1998 to 2003, than any other conflict since World War II, with 5.4 million people killed to date and millions left injured, homeless and starving.

Some commenters expressed skepticism in our last post that Affleck chose to take up this cause. His trip to the Congo covered by Nightline was his third in eight months. He’s earnest about this and has said several times that he’s just a celebrity and that it’s only natural that people have doubts about his reasons for getting involved. He asks us to focus on the cause, not him.

I haven’t seen other articles specifically with his Nightline footage and I wanted to post it here. Watching his segment was educational for me and I was moved by the plight of the people there. I consider myself a relatively well-informed person and while I was aware there were problems in the Congo I had no idea how difficult it is for the people nor did I grasp the extent of the humanitarian crisis there.

He really brought it home for me with this very simple statement about how the Congolese people were affected by war:

“They’re literally in a living hell. These are people – teachers, farmers, regular people like you and I… with regular jobs. People came through shooting guns and kicking doors down, burning houses and raping women and they had to run for their lives. They’re just decent good people who have been in these places, many of them for years.” [Transcribed from Affleck’s Nightline appearance above]

There’s a new guest essay by Affleck on ABCNews.com along with video of his travels. His Nightline segment is below.

Here’s part of Affleck’s essay, it’s very well written and moving:

Over the last year, I have been traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an effort to learn more about the country.

I view this as a long and ongoing learning experience to educate myself before making any attempt to advocate or “speak out.” My plan has been to explore, watch, listen and find those doing the best work with and on behalf of the people of the DRC, in an effort to give exposure to voices which might not otherwise be heard.

In short, I want to listen before speaking and learn before taking action. The “Nightline” segment airing Thursday June, 26 is an attempt to take the viewer along with me in that process.

It makes sense to be skeptical about celebrity activism. There is always the suspicion that involvement with a cause may be doing more good for the spokesman than he or she is doing for the cause.

I welcome any questions about me and my involvement, but I hope you can separate whatever reservations you may have from what is unimpeachably important about this segment: the plight of eastern Congo.

Anyone familiar with the Congo has heard the mind-numbing statistics: more than four million dead since 1998 (and many more before then), the most killed in any conflict since the Second World War. 1,200 people a day are still dying from conflict and conflict-related causes such as starvation and preventable disease.

[From ABCNews.com]

He noted that it’s a desperate situation for the people he met with in the refugee camps, because “In the past few months, these families that I met with who never got enough food to begin with have had their rations cut in half. The same forces that are causing our food and gas prices to soar higher at home are pushing these people to the brink of starvation.” Affleck asked a man what it’s like every day in the camp and he said “hunger.”

Affleck took a trip with the UN and armed guards into the headquarters of the most brutal militia group, the FDLR, who committed genocide in Rwanda and are staying in nearby Congo. He spoke with men who said they could not leave the militia out of fear of reprisal at home.

He then went to a hospital and met with a woman who was raped and burned by FDLR soldiers who attacked her village. Her child was killed in a fire that FDLR soldiers set to her hut, badly burning her entire body. When Affleck told this woman’s story he got teary-eyed and looked like he was about to cry. Try and watch her story, it’s part 3 below, and not cry your eyes out.

Affleck’s message is more important than his status as a celebrity or his personal journey. I know I learned a lot about the terrible crisis in the Congo. The segment really moved me.

Ben Affleck on Nightline Part 2:

Ben Affleck on Nightline Part 3, the militia group FDLR and a rape victim’s story:

Ben Affleck on Nightline Part 4, cause for hope and programs to help victims:

Here are links to some charities that support victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
Stand Proud for children with Polio.
Treatment for Youth with Disabilities in Congo
Women for Women: help for rape victims in the Congo
IMC: Healthcare for people in Eastern Congo
Theater for Reintegrating Child Solders

Thanks to ABCNews for these photos.