Cover Story: Greed in a time of cholera; To survive, the people of eastern Congo have a choice: either to risk deadly diseases mining minerals for rebel soldiers, or flee into the jungle. Kate Holt and Sarah Hughes report on how an entire population has been enslaved - and abandoned by the West.(Features) From: The Independent (London, England) | Date: September 21, 2004| Author: Holt, Kate | COPYRIGHT 2004 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Kate Holt and Sarah Hughes

The planes swoop down, sometimes as many as 15 a day. Most are battered and rusty. They land on the makeshift airstrip, a dusty road 23km from Walikale in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By the road is a group of young soldiers wearing a motley collection of camouflage uniforms, multicoloured hats and white wellington boots. They lean on their Kalashnikovs, smoking and watching another group of men trudging to a...