Half a world away, in a country that has known little other than hardship for more than 10 years, there is a gruesome, bloody war being fought. But few people are paying attention, educating themselves or demanding help for the conflict-ridden region. International attention has been focused on Iraq and Afghanistan. Celebrities have worked tirelessly to provide relief to war-torn Darfur. One country, however, seems to have been all but forgotten. Deep in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a war rages on, atrocities continue and lives are lost.

The shameful manner in which the international community has ignored problems in the DR Congo is among the world’s most egregious failures. Sadly, Western media have also failed to provide coverage of the brutality that is unfolding in DR Congo every day. It is time to speak out and start talking about what is happening in this region, before it’s too late.

The people of the DR Congo are not strangers to war. In 1996, tensions from neighboring Rwanda spilled over, and the country, then known as Zaire, experienced violence and genocide similar to that in Rwanda. In 1998, the country faced a war of its own that was not prompted by the violence in surrounding countries. To this day, the war has not ended.

To date, the humanitarian crisis in the DR Congo has left more than 5.4 million people dead. It is estimated that the war continues to kill more than 45,000 each month, according to a 2008 survey released by the International Rescue Committee. The loss of life in the DR Congo is almost equivalent to the entire population of Denmark.

One of the most tragic facets of this conflict is the unthinkable use of child soldiers. Both sides of the conflict are guilty for their use of child warfare. The decade-long war is stealing the innocence of children. War is horrendous under any circumstances, but the reliance on child warfare in the DR Congo is inconceivable. Additionally, there are still misconceptions surrounding child warfare. These children, though soldiers, are innocent victims.

Boys and girls, as young as 7, are kidnapped by rebel forces and forced to fight. If they resist, they, and often their family members, are killed. They are taken to camps where they are taught-in just a few days time-to fight and kill. Frequently, rebel forces that arrived with intent to kidnap children taunt families by saying they will spare the children for a fee. But the families are too poor to pay, and the rebel forces know this.

Another equally horrific aspect of this war is the unthinkable atrocities of rape committed against women of all ages. In this ongoing conflict, rape is used as a common form of warfare. Every day, women are being raped, tortured and often killed. Yet few people are working to put an end to these horrors.

Women in the DR Congo are not only raped, they are tortured and brutalized in ways that are inconceivable. Many women who survive the brutal attacks by rebel forces are left permanently disabled as a result of the attacks. Victims endure hours of repeated rape, and the assaults usually include forms of genital mutilation. In an interview with journalist Lisa Ling, one woman told a story about how she was raped for hours. When her attackers were finished, they inserted a rifle in her vagina and fired it. It’s amazing the woman lived, but she can no longer walk. Another victim recounted how rebel forces raped her and then threatened to kill her family unless her 9-year-old son would also rape her. To spare the family, he did.

The acts of violence and type of warfare taking place in the DR Congo are, in many ways, nearly impossible to imagine. These atrocities are taking place, and our government, along with many others around the world, has washed its hands of this problem. The message being sent by our government is that in a land where there in no oil and no anti-American terrorists, there is no reason to attempt to broker peace. After all, what’s in it for us? In the end, turning our backs to this horrific war leaves us with blood on our own hands. Ignoring a war that has killed and maimed so many people is one of the biggest foreign policy failures in years.