Introduction: A Tragedy That Barely Made the News

On the night of February 13, 2025, in the small Congolese village of Mayba, terror arrived in the form of armed militants. Seventy Christians, including women and children, were forcibly taken from their homes, marched to a Protestant church in Kasanga, and brutally executed—most of them beheaded. Their crime? Simply being Christian in a region where violence is a daily reality.

I remember waking up to the news, scrolling through my phone, expecting to see international outcry. But there was barely a whisper. No trending hashtags. No emergency UN meetings. No global protests. Just another footnote in the long, bloody history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a country where the right to life seems conditional on whether the world is watching.

The Price of Being Forgotten

This was not an isolated incident. In December 2024, another series of massacres swept through the eastern DRC:

• December 28: A Christian man was beheaded near Eringite.
• December 29: Another beheading in Ofaye Otto Maber, with two more Christians abducted in Oicha.
• December 30: A full-scale attack in Kanzoka, where 22 villagers were slaughtered, and over 50 homes were burned.
• December 31: 12 more people were stabbed to death in a neighboring village, their homes reduced to ashes.

These aren’t just numbers. They were people—mothers, fathers, children, friends—ripped away from their loved ones in the most horrific ways imaginable. And yet, the world continues as if their lives were worth nothing.

The Uncomfortable Double Standard

One cannot help but notice how global attention works. A mere threat against certain groups can mobilize world leaders, flood the media with coverage, and spark mass movements. But for the people of Congo? It takes the beheading of 70 Christians just to get a passing mention.If this had happened in Paris, London, or New York, the response would have been immediate.

Governments would have issued strong statements, security councils would have convened, and newsrooms would have covered every angle of the tragedy. But because it happened in a poor, war-torn African nation, the response is silence.

I do not say this to minimize the suffering of others—I say it because we must acknowledge the brutal truth: some lives are treated as more valuable than others. Maybe we live in the reality of the famous saying from the book Animal Farm by George Orwell “… some animals are more equal than others.”

The Right to Life Is Not a Privilege—It’s a Human Right

In Article 3 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights it states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” Ideally this shouldn’t be something to explain to humanity but in the DRC, this right is little more than an illusion.

For over two decades, violence has plagued this region. More than 6 million people have died due to conflict, displacement, and atrocities committed by armed groups like the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) among others. And yet, the global response has been sluggish at best, indifferent at worst.

Why has the world failed the people of Congo? Where is the international community when entire villages are wiped off the map? If we truly believe in human rights, we must stop treating them as optional, as privileges that depend on one’s nationality, race, or religion.

Conclusion: Who Will Speak for Them?

The seventy Christians who died in Kasanga will never see justice. Their families will mourn in silence, their homes turned to ashes, their names forgotten by the world. But we cannot allow this pattern to continue.

If we claim to stand for human rights, then we must stand for all human lives—not just the ones that fit neatly into media narratives or political interests. Their blood cries out from the ground. The only question is: Will we finally listen?

Arindagye Mercy Melody