tintincongoWhy Congo Matters

You can recognize a Congolese expatriate quite easily: ask them to count to a hundred in French.

Being a former Belgian colony, they will not say “soixante, soixante-dix, quatre-vingt, quatre-vingt-dix” as they do elsewhere in Francophone Africa, but “soixante, septante, octante et nonante”. Trivial you may think, but knowledge of Congo matters and that starts with history and its relationship with Belgium.


The horrors of Leopold’s personal rule

Congo’s history is a long litany of wars, imperial jostling and misery, and the situation has not improved of late. Once the personal property of the King of Belgium, Leopold the 2nd, the country’s colonists brutalized the local population and exploited its resources from rubber to ivory and minerals.

leopoldTen years before World War I, the government of Belgium, under international pressure, wrestled away the stewardship of Congo from their own genocidal king. It is estimated 3 million Congolese died under his rule.

“I have seen photographs of the natives with their hands cut off because the did not bring in the requited amount of rubber. If Leopold had only killed them outright it would not be so bad; but to cut off their hands and leave them helpless to die in misery–that is not forgivable.” - Mark Twain

Political Independence and Neocolonialism

In May of 1960, after a near century of colonial rule, Congo achieved a quick and badly prepared independence. Belgium abandoned political rule but maintained military control of the Congolese army, Belgian and other foreign interests remained in control of the economy (diamonds, copper) and entire regions of the country threatened the new government with secessionism (Katanga). Fear of a rapprochement with the Soviet Union put an end to the leadership of a charismatic and brilliant political leader; Katangan and Belgian paratroopers with the support of Belgium and the United States executed Patrice Lumumba in January of 1961. [I strongly suggest viewing Lumumba, 2000 with Eriq Ebouaney]

Following years of unrest, the country came under the firm grip of a pro-American dictator, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu who not only renamed the country Zaire (1971–1997) but also renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga. Mobutu was overthrown during the First Congo War (1996-1997) with the support of neighboring countries, a spill over crisis from the Rwandan genocide. Shortly thereafter, the Second Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War engulfed the nation until 2008. By then, 5.4 million people died from direct or indirect consequences of this conflict that involved the nations of Uganda, Rwanda, Burindu, Angola, Chad and Namibia.

Conflict Minerals: from the Congo to your iPhone - Plus ça change, plus c’est pareil

Today, the country remains fragile and the country’s incredible mineral riches continue to fuel a number of simmering conflicts, some of which can be linked all the way to our Computers, iPods, iPads and iPhones: “Greed for Congo’s mineral wealth has been a prime cause of the atrocities and conflict, and multiple armed groups use mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control communities as they profit from the illicit trade in Congo’s conflict minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. Many of these same conflict minerals end up in our own electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, and digital cameras.” - raisehopeforcongo.org

Is Coltan, columbite–tantalite, today’s blood diamond? Even if Congo’s world production is somewhat anecdotal in world wide economic terms, the increasing demand for this mineral means there is growing pressure on Africa’s most mineral rich country and its people.

Read more :

  1. Act !
    1. Raise Hope for Congo
    2. Congo NGOs
  2. History
    1. Congo State Blog - Historical content
    2. King Leopold’s legacy of DR Congo violence
  3. Congo in the news
    1. ABC News, The Conversation: Congo and Your Computer
    2. Conflict minerals: The new blood diamonds?
    3. Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC — Here’s How I Help Fuel the World’s Deadliest Conflict

Note: there are two countries named Congo. We’re interested in the latter of the two.

  1. The former French colony is called the Republic of Congo or Congo-Brazzaville, the smaller of the two countries. Brazzaville being the capital of the Republic of Congo.
  2. The former Belgian colony is called the Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo-Kinshasa, the larger of two countries who was once called Zaire.

À mes amis congolais.