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THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. THE WORLD’S TRAGEDY. Map of the Congo. Heart of Africa Straddles the Equator Bordered by 9 countries Third largest country in area and fourth largest in population with 65 million The size of Western Europe Second largest rainforest in

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THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

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  1. THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO THE WORLD’S TRAGEDY

  2. Map of the Congo • Heart of Africa • Straddles the Equator • Bordered by 9 countries • Third largest country in area and fourth largest in population with 65 million • The size of Western Europe • Second largest rainforest in the world behind the Amazon

  3. Scramble for Africa begins • 1884-85 Berlin Conference • 2010 = 125 Year Anniversary • King Leopold's Reign (1885 – 1908) • An estimated 10 – 15 million died David Livingstone British Explorer Henry Morton Stanley American Explorer Leopold II King of Belgium The Berlin Conference

  4. The First Holocaust • Extraction of Rubber • Killing of 10 million Congolese under Leopold’s Rule

  5. George Washington Williams Civil War veteran, minister, politician and historian. Travelled to the Congo Free State and his open letter to Leopold about the suffering of the region's inhabitants at the hands of Leopold's agents, helped to sway European and American public opinion against the regime running the Congo under which some 10 million people lost their lives.

  6. Booker T. Washington American political leader, educator, orator and author. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. He used his platform as a political figure to denounce the crimes of Leopold II in the Congo in his article “Cruelty in the Congo Country” published October 8, 1904.

  7. William Henry Sheppard One of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Kuba and other Congolese peoples by King Leopold II's Force Publique.

  8. Lucy Gantt Sheppard Wife of William H Sheppard. She lived in the Congo with Sheppard at the Presbyterian mission in the Kasai (Central Congo). She was the first person to translate a Congolese language (Tshiluba) into English.

  9. Maria Fearing Born a slave near Gainesville, Alabama in 1838, she learned to read and write at age thirty-three and worked her way through the Freedman's Bureau School in Talladega to become a teacher. At age fifty-six she went to the Congo, where for more than twenty years she worked as a Presbyterian missionary and eventually established the Pantops Home for Girls. Her students nicknamed her, "mama waMputu," (mother from far away) as a symbol of their love and appreciation.

  10. Other Congo Supporters in the 1890-1908 era Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness), Anatole France, Arthur Conan Doyle, (Crime of the Congo), Mark Twain (King Leopold's Soliloquy), Edmund Dene Morel, and Roger Casement founded the Congo reform association

  11. Belgian Congo (1908 – 1960) • Economic Consolidation and Extractive relationship • Independence movements disguised as cultural associations • U.S. provided access to Congo’s uranium for its Manhattan Project during WWII • Belgium accumulates debt in the name of the Congolese people

  12. Patrice Emery Lumumba • Congo elects Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister (June 30, 1960 Lumumba takes office) • Lumumba assassinated on January 17, 1961 with Belgium, French, British and UN Involvement • Lumumba wanted the wealth of the Congo to be utilized for the people of the Congo and Africa at-large • Crushing of the Democratic aspirations of the Congolese people • Set back the advance of the entire African continent

  13. The Mobutu Era (1960-1997) • Mobutu Era (1960 – 1997) • Installed, backed and maintained primarily by the United States • Reign marked by Kleptocracy • Destruction of the country • Overthrown in May 1997

  14. Laurent Desire Kabila • Kabila’s time (1996 – 2001) • Rwanda invades in October of 1996 using the Hutu unchecked presence in Congo as the rationale for the invasion • Kabila made spokesperson of Rebellion • May 1997 - Brought to power by Rwanda and Uganda with the help of Angola and the backing of the United States

  15. The First African World War • Launched in 1998 with the second invasion of Congo by Rwanda and Uganda • Attempt to remove Kabila • Kabila appeals to Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia • Marked by the systemic rape of Congo’s natural resources • Geopolitics - 11 African Countries implicated • Laurent Kabila assassinated in 2001 and replaced by his son Joseph Kabila who later was installed after the 2006 elections

  16. Coltan and the War

  17. Current Situation in the Congo • Transitional Government (2003 – 2006) • One + Four (One president and four vice presidents) • Structural flaws of elections in 2006 • Rebel groups in the North and East of Congo

  18. Predators in the Congo • Forrest International (George Forrest) • Nikanor (Dan Gertler) • Katanga Mining (Glencore) • Dodge Phelps (Freeport McMoRan) • Anvil Mining • First Quantum • Trinitech & Eagle Wings • Kemet • HC Starck • Citibank • American Mineral Fields/Adastra • Cabot Corporation • OM Group • AngloGold Ashanti • World Bank • International Monetary Fund • Heritage Oil • Blattner Group • Banro • TraxisWoldwide • Comprehensive List found on Website

  19. THE FIVE KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING CONGO The affairs of the Congo have not been determined by the people of the Congo 2. Congo is trapped in the midst of a geo-strategic battle for her precious and strategic resources 3. Congo’s challenge is both internal and external 4. Congo is central to the future of the African continent 5. Congo is blessed with enormous natural and human potential

  20. CONGO: CHALLENGES AND PRESCRIPTIONS CHALLENGESHistorical: Slavery, Personal Rule, Colonialism, Assassinations, Dictatorship, Kleptocracy, Wars = Organizational DeficiencyExternal Forces: Foreign Governments, Neighboring States, Multilateral Institutions, Foreign Corporations, Local ElitesPRESCRIPTIONSGlobal diplomatic and political engagement Strengthening of local institutions

  21. Social Media for Advocacy Congolese connecting to the world

  22. HOW CAN I HELP? • Join the global movement by visiting Friendsofthecongo.org and congoweek.org • Text CLUBCONGO to 467467 • Support Congolese petition to Sec. of State Clinton or President Obama • Make a financial or material (phone, camera, laptop, etc) contribution to our social justice efforts • Invite us to your campus or community and encourage your family, friends and loved ones to do the same

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