Pope Francis’s recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo has focused world attention on a “forgotten genocide” in a region long exploited by outsiders and devastated by the consequences of endless wars. For more than a century, Congolese rubber, ivory, and minerals have enriched the coffers of colonial and Cold War powers — and, after the Cold War, China, neighboring countries, and the West. The people and their labor have been ruthlessly exploited, their bodies brutalized, their villages plundered, their women raped, and civilians murdered.

“Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Francis told the cheering crowd. “We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths that remain mostly unknown elsewhere. What is happening here needs to be known.”

What needs to be known is the role that outsiders have played in instigating and exacerbating Congo’s endless wars. Dominating the public relations campaign, perpetrators have successfully blamed victims for their own plight. While local actors certainly deserve a share of the blame, their impact has been intensified by external support.