The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo officially ended 12 years ago. It was the bloodiest conflict since World War II, leaving more than five million dead.
The end of the war has not meant the end of violence in that country. The nation's abundance of natural resources still curses the Congolese.
Corruption is an endemic evil. One ranking shows the DRC as the 23rd most corrupt nation in the world.
Because he rejected corruption, Floribert Bwana Chui was killed in 2007.
FRANCESCO DE PALMA
Author, 'Il prezo de due mani puliteâ?
'Floribert opposed the dictatorship of materialism, the idea that money is everything. He opposed evil with bravery, setting an example for Africa and Europe alike.'
Francesco de Palma's book 'The Price of Clean Hands' tells the story of a 25-year-old Congolese member of the Community of Sant'Egidio.
After college, he began working in an organization that inspected food. One day, he found a parcel of damaged rice. He was offered a bribe to ignore the problem but did not accept it.
FRANCESCO DE PALMA
Author, 'Il prezo de due mani puliteâ?
'From that moment, his fate was decided. They kidnapped him on a Saturday afternoon, killed Sunday night or Monday morning, and his body was found later that Monday. His corpse was discovered with signs of torture. It is a story of cruel evil against a clean, honest and bright person.â?
'Better to die than risk the lives of people,' he said as threats were increasingly serious. That stance brought about the end for him.
He made the decision that took his life with this Bible in his hands. Today, that bible is preserved in the Roman church of San Bartolomé, along with the personal belongings of other contemporary martyrs.
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