Death of a State: Congo and its continued downward Spiral

From Freedom to History: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

No title is more appropriate to describe the atrocities that took place in the Congo. The documentary is disturbing, and the facts shocking. It has been an accepted fact that King Leopold and the Belgians milked the Congo, and left a trail of dead bodies as the reward for all the hardships that the Congolese went through. What was not understood was the extent of the atrocities.

King Leopold convinced European powers that they had nothing to worry about when he acquired Congo. They believed Leopold’s statements of benevolence and to the end, he saw his actions as a way of bringing civilization to Africa. However, history tells of a different story. King Leopold, after fifty attempts finally got the Congo and it became his personal fief at the cost of the hands of the Africans. He used a garrison of soldiers some of them African, to enforce laws that would fill his treasury with money. The film clearly shows how the people of the Congo were King Leopold’s personal slaves. They were forced to work in harvesting rubber, and if they failed to meet the required minimum harvest, they were killed, their wives were raped, and their right hands cut off. These particular methods seemed to work as King Leopold became richer, as the natives died senseless, and were hacked into pieces. For these crimes, Leopold was never put to trial; the Congolese people never received retribution, as Belgium became richer as they became poorer.

Death to Democracy: The Assassination of Lumumba

Congo received Independence, and the world rejoice. The reign of Belgium was over, and the Congolese could look forward to a hopeful future. What they and their upcoming leader, Patrice Lumumba, did not realize was that Belgium and the rest of the super powers were not done with the country yet. Africans might have done the actual killing of Lumumba, but we know different. Lumumba had died the moment he refused to adhere to the ideals of the West. Lumumba’s crime was being too African and wanting change for his fellow citizens. His crime was not choosing to align with the US and Belgium, and to that he signed his death warrant.

Patrice Lumumba was assassinated, buried, exhumed, hacked into pieces, and then burned to un-recognition. What is disturbing is that those who did the killing, not only go on record, but they show no remorse for killing a leader that had been chosen by the people of the Congo. The Western powers chose a different leader who was much more eager to become their puppet, and after the “disappearance” of Lumumba, Mobutu became the new leader. As history shows, Mobutu stole from his people, repressed the Congolese economy and then eventually left the country to live in “exile” Could have things been better with Lumumba in power? We will never know, as that opportunity was taken away from us.