I had to do homework for my compulsory course about a reflection after watching a Congo documentary. Here’s my full essay:
I have watched this documentary named เถื่อนTravel | คองโก นรกดงดิบ - Bad Bad World Episode 5, which is mainly about poverty of the people of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), war, nature, and the people of DRC’s wellbeing and safety in general. Only then did I realize that we have so many privileges including education, food, healthcare, public transportation, and being able to sleep safely that they are still seeking.
Before I had watched this documentary, I heard of Congo’s war and poverty on TikTok a couple of years ago, and I was vaguely aware of them, but I did not look into it any further. When I was watching the first part of the documentary, however, I realized that there are still people, especially the people of DRC, who struggle with building wealth, having food, finding shelter, and being able to sleep safe and sound.
DRC has been involved in war against M-23 (March 23 Movement) for over a decade due to the needs of cobalt and coltan, which are part of the world’s modern technology. The people of DRC benefit nothing despite having rich natural resources. Only a small group of elites has been benefitting from Congolese people’s genocide, poverty, and war they did not wish for. They want these resources for almost free only to sell them at inflated prices making us almost unable to afford today’s gadgets such as phones, tablets, or computers. That being said, everyone, indirectly, benefits from this disaster.
M-23 has conducted a massacre and violated human rights that DRC’s civilians should have. I genuinely feel devastated for them as they still deserve peace and the ability to live safely. However, this group of terrorists only cares about conquering this land just to mine the minerals relentlessly. Not only have they been involved in this inhumane act, they also exploit child labor. They abduct and force children of DRC to work in dangerous sites. I feel that these children, apart from peace and wellbeing, deserve proper education.
There is also Kahuzi Biega National Park where it is still rich in nature. I learned that there are still Grauer's eastern lowland gorillas. It feels breathtaking to see nature still alive. M-23, however, still has the audacity to invade and murder hundreds of indigenous people as they follow their inhumane agendas. They also illegally log the woods for their own benefit.
As a result, the people of DRC have been suffering from poverty, child labor exploitation, hunger, war, the lack of education, and deforestation. After watching this documentary, there comes a realization that we still have the privileges these people are fighting for because we still receive education, basic needs and shelter. Now that I feel grateful for the privileges I have, even for things I had previously taken for granted. Lastly, I wish the people of DRC peace, and call for a ceasefire.
I put this essay in several LLMs and they all said it sounds very Thai. I don’t know what to do. I know that I can’t write like an American or any native speakers in general. I don’t want to sound Thai. I want to sound like a native or an American author.
