Congo: The Epic History of a People

by David Van Reybrouck

The Democratic Republic of Congo currently ranks among the world’s most failed nation-states. Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of this devastated nation from the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, to the struggle for independence and Mobutu’s brutal three decades of rule. David Van Reybrouck ends with the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day—the deadliest since World War II.

Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of this nation and its people. He brings nineteenth-century Africa to life through little-known archival sources and examines the current conflict and its connection to the rare earth mining required to make cell phones.

Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returning a nation?s history to its people.

“Remarkable. . . . Van Reybrouck pulls off the tricky feat of keeping a panoramic history of a vast and complex nation accessible, intimate and particular.”—Michela Wrong, author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Africa, Politics, Society, War, Historical

656 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

David Grégoire Van Reybrouck is a Belgian cultural historian, archaeologist and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. Moreover, he is the founder of the G1000 project in Belgium, a platform for democratic innovation and inclusive participatory politics.

He was born into a family of florists, bookbinders and artists. His father, a farmer's son, spent five years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a railway engineer immediately after independence.

He studied archaeology and philosophy at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and obtained a Master's degree in World Archaeology from the University of Cambridge. He also holds a doctorate from Leiden University.

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David Grégoire Van Reybrouck is een Vlaamse cultuurhistoricus, archeoloog en schrijver.

David Van Reybrouck in de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia

David Van Reybrouck in de Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren

David Van Reybrouck bij "Schrijversgewijs"

Reviews

[Orsodimondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

CUORE NERO SUL PIANETA TERRA



L’opera inizia al meglio, ha un bell'incipit che ricorda quello del magnifico libro di Robert Hughes La riva fatale: già a 800 km dalla costa, arrivando in nave, David van Reybrouck, scrittore belga fiammingo (da qui in poi DvR per semplicità), inizia a descrivere le acque del fiume - i colori, che dal blu si fanno sempre più tendenti al marrone - sono acque che dopo aver percorso centinaia di chilometri raccogliendo terra, piante, tronchi e detriti di ogni genere, sfociano in un estuario grandioso.

È un’opera sterminata, come sterminato sarà probabilmente il mio commento, così come sterminato è il paese che racconta, grande da solo come tutta l’Europa Occidentale.
DvR ha compiuto un’impresa pari a quella di Stanley, un’impresa memorabile.


Il fiume Congo, verde cuore di tenebra.

Un libro che arriva spinto da vendite record, trecentomila copie solo in Belgio, Olanda e Congo (nazione in cui i quotidiani vendono al massimo 1500 copie!), e da una forte promozione: il noto esperto di storia africana, Roberto Saviano, firma la fascetta, le librerie hanno esposto il volume in vetrina per settimane, i giornali e le riviste ne hanno parlato, con recensioni lunghe (Adriano Sofri su Repubblica) e molte brevi.
Anche questo ha dell’incredibile: come mai un libro di giornalismo, e storia, e ricerca, un saggio di settecento pagine su uno dei paesi più dimenticati da dio ma non dagli avvoltoi umani, vende così bene, suscita tanto tam tam?

I problemi iniziano molto presto.
L’edizione Feltrinelli relega venti pagine fitte fitte di note in fondo al volume, che data la mole richiede l’uso di entrambe le mani, così facendo sconsigliandone la consultazione dopo il secondo tentativo, causa laboriosità dell’operazione e perdita del segno sulla pagina in lettura.
Le pagine dedicate all’indice dei nomi non vengono neppure numerate, manco facessero parte del libro per sbaglio.
Le note sono comunque redatte in modo sintetico, e anche questo ne scoraggia l’uso. Eppure le note sarebbero parte del testo, almeno per me, mica solo per David Foster Wallace.


Amputati: la giustizia belga.

I problemi aumentano perché DvR, lo scrittore, fa ampio uso di interviste, da lui stesso condotte.
Non si capisce bene come questa parte di fonti possa essere verificata dal lettore, o da studiosi e ricercatori.
Se poi l’intervistato ha 126 anni e parla di fatti successi prima della sua nascita, la credibilità crolla.
La testimonianza in sé come fonte storica è da prendere con le molle: sappiamo bene che la memoria riscrive e riplasma la realtà facendola diventare presunta realtà - la memoria di un uomo di 126 anni che valore storico può avere, che grado di attendibilità?!
E comunque, l’uso di testimonianze e interviste come fonte storica è argomento sul quale gli storici, quelli veri, ancora si confrontano prendendosi anche a cornate.
Se poi testimonianza e intervista sono solo fonte orale, senza supporto audio registrato, ma affidandosi alle pagine di appunti e al ricordo di chi scrive, come pare il caso di DvR, l’attendibilità risulta ben più che compromessa. Dovrebbero al massimo essere usate ‘a corredo’ di altre fonti principali, secondarie, non primarie come tende a fare DvR.



Ma quello che mi ha colpito anche di più dopo qualche decina di pagine, e reso la lettura zoppicante fino alla fine, è l’impianto adottato da DvR, l’ordine di precedenza degli argomenti e dei commenti, l’insistenza su alcuni aspetti invece di altri, lo spazio dedicato a questo invece che a quello, il sottolineare X invece di Y…
Una serie di scelte che mi ha suggerito l’impressione che DvR stia cercando di riscrivere la storia coloniale facendo degli europei i filantropi e degli indigeni dei miracolati da cotanta manna.
Ho avuto l’impressione che lo studio di DvR fosse impresa finanziata dal governo belga e dagli eredi di Leopoldo II, entrambi in cerca di rifarsi una verginità storica che gli studi, quelli veri e seri, gli hanno portato via da tempo.

I belgi sono stati tra i colonialisti più feroci, più assassini, più repressivi: ma qui si deve arrivare oltre pagina cento per leggere di qualche crimine di cui si sono macchiati, peraltro liquidato in un numero di pagine che non supera le dita delle mani, e peraltro infarcite di statistiche e numeri, cosa che si sa bene essere il modo per assopire qualsiasi pensiero critico e riflessivo di un lettore.

La chicote, la terribile frusta di pelle d’ippopotamo con i margini sfrangiati, è nominata solo quattro volte, la prima a pagina 99, e non si spiega com’era fatta e che effetti aveva.


La chicote era una frusta fatta di pelle di ippopotamo, fu inventata dai portoghesi mercanti di schiavi, era capace di sgarrare la carne e provocare più bruciore, sangue, cicatrici e dolore di qualunque altro scudiscio.

DvR contesta l’uso del termine genocidio e olocausto, e si può assentire: ma che si sia trattato di uno sterminio senza limiti è altrettanto incontestabile, considerato che nel giro di meno di venti anni la popolazione del Congo fu ridotta di circa la metà.
Certo non li si voleva far fuori tutti, non si voleva eliminare scientemente una determinata razza o tribù, la manodopera serviva, le schiave del sesso anche, quindi tecnicamente non è 'genocidio' (come per Clinton e Madeleine Albright, e l'ONU in genere, quello che è successo in Rwanda tra il 6 aprile e il 10 luglio 1994 erano 'atti di genocidio', non 'genocidio').
In ogni caso, DvR provvede a scaricare la maggior parte della responsabilità sulla malattia del sonno e la mosca tse tse, raffinata ed elaborata interpretazione di un massacro.

Per evitare di parlare male dei missionari cattolici, co-responsabili dell’orrore, DvR parla molto bene dei missionari protestanti.



Quando il Belgio passò dalle mani di Leopoldo II a quelle dello Stato belga, gli etnologi si scatenarono, studiarono a fondo le vare tribù congolesi, che fino ad allora erano state fluide e avevano sempre interagito una con l’altra, arrivando a classificarle, considerarle come un concetto assoluto, cristallizzarle in una rigida e immutabile identificazione etnica.
A DvR sembra sfuggire che si tratta dello stesso sistema messo in atto dagli stessi Belgi nel confinante Rwanda, che portò alle carte di identità etniche e creò il clima favorevole ai ripetuti tentati genocidi degli hutu verso i tutsi culminati in quello del 1994.
D’altra parte, a pag. 472 si legge: Dopo la fine della Guerra fredda, i reporter occidentali tendevano a riferirsi in misura crescente a un quadro di ordine morale per indicare le guerre: in Jugoslavia erano i serbi i grandi criminali, in Ruanda i tutsi venivano presentati come vittime innocenti…
In Ruanda i tutsi venivano presentati come vittime innocenti, scrive DvR: chissà chi altro avrebbe presentato lui come vittima innocente se ne avesse scritto. Probabilmente i gorilla.
Sotto il regno del terrore instaurato dai militari, funzionari, agenti, impiegati e missionari inviati da Leopoldo II (che non mise mai piede nella colonia così fortemente voluta e difesa), la popolazione del Congo si ridusse della metà, con la morte di circa dieci milioni di africani.
Il colonialismo, dipinto per quello che è veramente stato (conquista, sopruso, rapina, devastazione, violenza, sopraffazione, sadismo, crudeltà, ingiustizia, tortura…), genera la nascita dei primi movimenti in difesa dei diritti umani.



È sintomatico che un capitolo sia intitolato ‘I belgi ci hanno liberato’, come veniva detto nelle canzoncine che i missionari cattolici costringevano i locali, soprattutto bambini, a imparare.

Come sintomatico è anche il fatto che la ricchezza naturale del Congo (prima l’avorio, poi la gomma, poi i giacimenti, tra i più grandi del mondo, oro, diamanti, rame, uranio, zinco, coltan…) venga più volte definita fortuna, quando per i congolesi si è soprattutto rivelata una jattura.

Non che DvR si dimentichi di dire che la ricchezza veniva poco redistribuita in loco, ma anche qui non dà mai il giusto peso.


Una statua di Leopoldo II perfezionata dai suoi fan.

Il romanzo di Conrad 'Cuore di tenebra' è considerato da DvR un’allegoria, o una parabola freudiana – e Kurtz, il suo protagonista assassino, un folle che ha letto troppo e mal digerito Nietzsche.
In realtà, Kurtz fu basato su un collage di figure storiche e l’orrore descritto era realistico quanto mai, il romanzo di Conrad è un ritratto preciso dettagliato e profondo di quello che era il Congo sotto la dominazione del re del Belgio, Leopoldo II, negli anni a cavallo della fine del secolo XIX (1885-1908), quando fu perpetrato uno degli stermini di cui si è parlato meno e dimenticato di più.

La storia si è poi ripetuta, le Grandi Guerre Africane a cavallo dell’inizio del terzo millennio, con oltre 5 milioni di morti nel solo Congo, chi ne parla, chi se le ricorda, che segno hanno lasciato?
Per fortuna, qui DvR esprime la sua parte migliore, più giornalistica che storica, più descrittiva che riflessiva, ma comunque molto interessante.



Il giorno dell’indipendenza (30 giugno 1960), il primo ministro Lumumba pronunciò un discorso di soli pochi minuti, che è rimasto nella memoria collettiva come uno dei grandi discorsi della storia – parole che fanno ancora tremare i polsi cinquantacinque anni dopo essere state pronunciate.
Ma DvR, il nostro giornalista sedicente storico, usa queste espressioni per commentarlo: tempismo disastroso…Lumumba parlava come se fosse ancora in campagna elettorale…rientrava nella retorica esaltata dell’epoca…uno sguardo più rivolto al passato che al futuro…
Senza tenere conto che pochi minuti prima la cerimonia era stata introdotta dal discorso di Baldovino, re del Belgio, il quale per guardare al futuro anziché al passato, aveva appena detto: L’indipendenza del Congo costituisce la realizzazione dell’opera concepita dal genio di re Leopoldo II, intrapresa da lui con coraggio tenace…siamo pronti a restare al vostro fianco per aiutarvi con i nostri consigli.

Patrice Émery Lumumba, 2 luglio 1925 – 17 gennaio 1961. Fu giustiziato e smembrato, i suoi resti fatti sparire nell’acido.

Leggendo le pagine che gli sono dedicate, è difficile capire e spiegarsi come mai Lumumba sia così famoso, sia entrato nella storia come uno dei più importanti leader della lotta africana al colonialismo – come mai quando si sparse la notizia del suo atroce assassinio, lo sconcerto fu totale, da Oslo a Tel Aviv, da Vienna a New Delhi, da Belgrado e Varsavia al Cairo, e molte persone scesero in piazza, e qua e là furono prese d’assalto le ambasciate belghe.

Credo che la spiegazione di tutto risieda nel fatto che DvR tema di sconfinare nell’ideologia se per caso gli sfuggisse la stessa indignazione di qualche altro storico, da lui considerato manicheo.
Per spiegare la complessità della materia, DvR preferisce illuminare i fatti in modo che i belgi, gli europei, il colonialismo risultino forze propulsive moderne, tutto sommato positive, e quindi giuste.


Alla ricerca di diamanti.

[Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Democratic Republic of Congo is about as fucked as a country can get, and one of the most defining examples of a failed state. It is also – and this is not a coincidence – a site of crucial importance for the resources of the modern world, from rubber and ivory in the nineteenth century, through uranium during the Cold War, to the coltan inside every iPhone and Playstation 4 – it's all been supplied from this vast country where life expectancy is 49 and three-quarters of the population have no access to clean drinking water.

This is a book to sap your reserves of hope; at every turn, when some appalling political status quo is finally brought to an end, it seems to be succeeded only by something even worse. A grotesquely oppressive colonial regime is followed by an independent republic of near-total anarchy; this in turn is superseded by a vicious dictatorship, which gives way only to the orgiastic violence that has been the First and Second Congo Wars. All the time DRC sits on a greater natural wealth than probably any other country on earth.

The exploitation started early. The cruelty of the Belgian overlordship has become proverbial, though van Reybrouck – a Belgian himself – takes a much more nuanced view than I had been expecting. Obviously discussion of this period has become dominated by the influence of Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost, and although van Reybrouck does not attack this work directly in the text, he does assert as part of his voluminous bibliography that it ‘depended more upon a talent for generating dismay than on any shades of subtlety; Hochschild's perspective is often very black and white’. Even so, it's not like the Belgians come off well here.

Their regime, under which ninety-nine percent of the country was effectively nationalised, was grossly abusive in its very structure, killing perhaps twenty percent of the population through institutionalised forced labour. But it wasn't all business – the system allowed plenty of leeway to individual sadists too. René de Parmentier, for instance, had the vegetation cleared around his house so that he could shoot at passers-by from his veranda, while Léon Fiévez, a model of efficiency, managed to murder 572 people in his first four months of public service. Perhaps even more sickening, though, was the psychological effect on generations of Congolese who were raised to have as few skills as possible and to think of themselves as inherently inferior beings. The training began early: kids at missionary schools had to sing in Swahili,

Once we were idiots
Sinning day by day
Sand fleas on our feet
Heads full of mould
Thank you, reverend fathers!

To have claimed such a huge colony at all seems like an act of considerable hubris – comparable, as Jean Stengers pointed out, to establishing a few stations along the Rhine from Rotterdam to Basel, and thereby claiming sovereignty over all of Western Europe. It could not hold – and when it did finally collapse, it all happened very quickly. In 1959 the prominent cleric Petrus Wijnants was still exclaiming, ‘Independence? Perhaps within seventy-five years, but certainly not within fifty!’ But the country would be independent by the following year.

Why so fast? Because the Belgians by this stage could see the writing on the wall, and they wanted above all to avoid a conflict scenario – they could see what was happening to France in Algeria. So the delegation of Congolese negotiators, all hopelessly inexperienced and trying to one-up each other in the intemperance of their demands, found to their amazement that their every request was being acceded to on the spot. ‘Independence in five years! – No, two years! – In twelve months!’ The Belgians simply signed on the dotted line, desperate, it seemed, to cut and run.

And they did run. Having gutted the place of rubber and ivory, they departed en masse, leaving Congo with zero administrators or even skilled workers at all: on the day of its independence, the country had a grand total of sixteen university graduates. One-six. Results were horrific. The first republic, van Reybrouck writes, was ‘total, inextricable chaos’, ‘an apocalyptic era in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong’. Thank you, reverend fathers!

The country simply broke. Independent statelets were declared in various places, most dramatically in the mineral-rich region of Katanga in the southeast, where secessionists were backed by – unbelievably – the Belgian military, which had only just left. They also had the help of such notorious and picturesquely-named mercenaries as Colonel ‘Mad Mike’ Hoare and Jean ‘Black Jack’ Schramme; even Che Guevara made a brief appearance before quite clearly deciding, ‘Fuck this.’ A four-way power-struggle between the major political figures, Kasavubu, Lumumba, Tshombe, and Mobutu, ‘was like one of Shakespeare's history plays’, and made worse by Cold War wrangling among the international community.

It was Katangan forces and their international accomplices who eventually murdered the country's first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba has traditionally been seen as something of a tragic hero, fêted in the West as the great lost hope of Congolese politics – this was certainly the received wisdom when I worked in newsrooms. But van Reybrouck argues convincingly that he was irreparably weak and inexperienced, flailing wildly on international assignments and offending the State Department by asking them to arrange him a blonde call-girl during his stay. Five years and as many governments after independence, the whole system was swept aside in a military coup led by Lieutenant-General Mobutu with backing from the CIA.

Mobutu brought stability, but it was the stability of totalitarianism. He Africanised everything: European ‘Christian’ names were out, replaced by ancestral ‘postnoms’ (so his own name changed from Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga), while all the placenames changed too – including that of the country, which now became Zaïre after a cartographer's error (the Portuguese who first landed at the Congo estuary had asked locals what the mass of water was called; Nzadi, they replied, ‘River’! It was written down as ‘Zaïre’. I couldn't help being reminded of the mountain in the Terry Pratchett novel which translates to ‘your finger you fool’, the idea being that explorers simply grabbed the first native, pointed at a landmark, and asked, ‘What's that?’)

Part of Mobutu's nation-building was a crackdown on tribalism: from now on, everyone was simply a Zaïrian. So obsessed was he with national unity that a popular joke went round about how, during lovemaking, he would not cry out Ça va jaillir! ‘I'm going to come!’, but instead, Ça va zaïre! But all of this was predicated on a monumentally strong centre, a dictatorship which arrogated all the country's resources and riches to one central figure plus a few family and friends. While most people saw spending power vanish and lived in complete deprivation, Mobutu kicked back in luxury in Gbadolite, an astonishing palace-complex hidden in the jungle. This Brobdingnagian extravagance featured an international airport big enough to land a Concorde, three palaces covered in jewels and marble, banks, a hypermodern hotel, a new hospital, and even ‘a Chinese village with pagodas and imported Chinese people’. Here Mobutu indulged himself with his ministers' wives and the two identical twins he was sleeping with (one of whom he hastily married ahead of an official visit from the Pope).

As so often in this book, you find yourself desperate to see someone get rid of this revolting ogre, only to be schooled yet again in the need to be careful what you wish for. Again the trouble started in the east. Following the Rwandan genocide, when the Tutsi-dominated RPF took power in Kigali, thousands of Hutus fled over the border into eastern Zaïre, fearing reprisals. Subsequent events would show how right their instincts were. In fact, many of the Hutus that entered Zaïre had had nothing to do with the genocide, though some elements of the Hutu armies were among them and were able to organise themselves near the border. This was the reason – or, if you prefer, the pretext – for Rwanda to launch a full invasion of Zaïre, supported by Uganda and with the longtime Congolese rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila as the figurehead.

Kabila marched through the country, pausing at every Hutu refugee camp to chop everybody to death with machetes, until he reached Kinshasa, where, to make a long story short, he deposed Mobutu and became president in May 1997. Curtain. This is what's known as the First Congo War.

The Second Congo War picks up immediately from its prequel. Kabila, desperate to show that he was not in thrall to his foreign backers, promptly ordered all Rwandan and Ugandan troops out of the country (which was now renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo). In response, invoking the need to protect Tutsi groups in eastern DRC, they simply invaded again, only this time against Kabila instead of with him. Having massacred thousands of Hutu refugees during his own march to power, Kabila now – with jaw-dropping expediency – armed these same groups to fight against Rwanda.

The conflict drew in nine different African countries and an alphabet-soup of related militias – the MLC, the RCD-G, the RCD-K, the RCD-N, the RCD-ML…. ‘Since 1998 at least three million and perhaps as many as five million people have been killed in hostilities in Congo alone, more than in the media-saturated conflicts in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan put together.’ Officially it was brought to an end by a treaty in 2003, but in reality the east of the country is still a haze of uncontrol.

Under cover of this haze, the country's mineral riches have simply been removed on a massive scale. By the turn of the millennium, Congo's resource-rich eastern areas were being stripped in bulk by the occupying forces. Rwanda, for instance, a country with minimal gold deposits, was exporting $29 million worth of the metal annually; it has no diamonds at all, but exported up to $40 million of them a year. Between 1998 and 2004 Rwanda produced 2,200 metric tons of tin ore, but somehow exported 6,800 metric tons of it. Neighbouring countries were literally driving truckloads of minerals out of DRC and back to their own capitals to be sold on the international market.

Congo became a ‘self-service country’. The scramble for Africa was now being organised by the Africans themselves.

Economic exploitation is, of course, only one part of the story – the other is the myriad personal miseries that the ethnic violence has brought about. The individual stories that van Reybrouck alights on to illustrate this chaos are sobering, indeed sick-making. (Sensitive readers may wish to skim ahead a little.) To pick just one illustrative case – Masika Katsua, for instance, a forty-one-year-old Nande woman, had to watch as Tutsi soldiers hacked her husband's arm off in front of her, then removed his intestines and heart and chopped the rest of him into small pieces; sobbing, she was then made to gather the chunks together on the floor and lie down on them, while twelve men raped her. Her daughters in the next room were also raped and impregnated; now Masika is raising their children, and when they ask her about her scars she can't bring herself to tell them that it was their fathers who did it.

I mean I can write down the English words to convey these facts. But understanding what really happened in rooms like Masika's hut, and in the minds of victims and perpetrators of a thousand similar scenes, requires greater acts of comprehension and sympathy than I am capable of making without losing my grip on sanity. This, among other things, is the challenge of reading about the Congo.

And in case you are tempted to write the whole situation off as some kind of unsophisticated, pre-modern mess that could only happen far away, van Reybrouck is having none of it. This ethnic violence, he argues, is

no atavism, no primitive reflex, but the logical result of the scarcity of land in a wartime economy in the service of globalization – and, in that sense, a foreshadowing of what is in store for an overpopulated planet. Congo does not lag behind the course of history, but runs out in front.

I hasten to point out that this is not just a political history. Van Reybrouck has compiled his book from a great deal of personal research, oral histories and interviews, and he does spend time on the country's social movements and popular culture, from the wild local religious efflorescence to the Rumble in the Jungle; so much attention is paid to Congolese music, in particular, that I was able to compile a whole accompanying playlist. The last chapter, which examines the Congolese expat community in Guangzhou, China, is a virtuoso and eye-opening essay on globalisation in its own right.

But it's certainly the political ironies and their human cost that stay with you. This is a country whose natural resources are the bedrock of the modern world, and yet many people eat only once every two days and healthcare is so basic that, in some areas, cuts are treated with brake fluid and burns with vaginal mucus. It's an incredible story with a determinedly un-Eurocentric sensibility; English-language readers are lucky to have Sam Garrett's very comfortable translation from the original Flemish. It's fiercely relevant and contains multitudes – and should infinitely repay the attention from anyone who can stand to take a good long look.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent read, mainly due to the balanced composition: a historical narrative interwoven with testimonies that sometimes are really captivating. Of course, Reybrouck depends on witnesses to make things a little more tangible, but this occasionally weakens his story, especially in the turbulent period of Kasavubu and Lumumba. Also the real character of Mobutu remained somewhat obscure, foremost in his later period. And the efforts of Van Reybrouck to give his work some literary flair, at times resulted in rather cheap effects.

That does not mean that this is not a wonderful book. His emphasis for instance on the Congolese music scene was new to me. And then, of course, it really is distressing how such a magnificent country and people, with so much potential, don't get out of the swamp. In this respect the final chapter on the Congolese colony in China certainly is interesting and remarkable; it's an illustration of how people are looking for a way out of misery. But perhaps it was not a good focus to end this book with, because it's all about the big money gain by some handy people. I think that in Congo itself there are to find many more points of light for the future.

[Mikey B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides us with a history of Congo from the days of the Belgian King Leopold II to the present day. It is a history of the exploitation of natural resources. One could at least say that the British in India, for example, provided some education for the indigenous population – whether it was military training or a formal education.

The Belgians just took – first the rubber from the trees, which they didn’t even bother to cultivate like the British did in Malaysia, forcing the Congolese to extract the rubber in the jungle.

Page 95 (my book)
“We ran away, because we could no longer live with the things they did to us. Our village chief was hanged, we were murdered and starved. And we worked ourselves to death to find rubber.”

At the turn of the century, in 1908, the world had learnt enough of Leopold’s exploitation of Congo – and it became the Belgian Congo - meaning that it was now to be administered by the Belgian government. This is not saying that anything improved. The extraction of rubber was replaced by mining of copper, zinc, uranium... Very little of the profits from this trickled down to the local population.

Page 125
Only one out of every eight workers was there voluntarily, the rest had been press-ganged in local villages: human trafficking in other words, and forced labor...They were bound together at the neck by a wooden yoke or a noosed rope.

Essentially a system of slavery existed during the entire Belgian domination of Congo. Sometimes there were uprisings and many turned to religion as a form of rebellion – these were offshoots of Christianity and some were tribal in nature.

There was a strict segregation between the Congolese and the whites – even graveyards were segregated.

The author provides us throughout with many first-hand accounts. And for the most part these are from Congolese people. As much as possible the book tries not to be Euro-centric.

Page 227
In 1955 not a single native organization dreamed of an independent Congo. Five years later that political autonomy was a fact.

Congo was totally unprepared for independence which occurred on June 30, 1960. By this time the Belgian colonialists were leaving by the thousands. The army had not a single black officer.

Page 266
There was not one native physician, not one engineer, not one lawyer, agronomist, or economist.

Many disasters happened after independence. The army was in total disarray after Lumumba (the first Prime Minister) dismissed all the white officers. Due to increasing violence against the white population Belgian troops invaded. At this stage Lumumba asked for intervention by the U.N. – then he asked for aid from the Soviet Union. Some provinces of Congo declared their independence. On January 17, 1961, hardly more than six months after independence, Lumumba was murdered.

Eventually in 1965 Mobutu took over and the country became a dictatorship. It was also renamed Zaire. This was to last to the end of the 1990’s. Mobutu became one of the richest men in the world – along with several of his cohorts. Corruption became endemic, along with the cult of Mobutuism. Most bank notes had a picture of Mobutu.

Page 383 (a letter from some members of parliament)
“On one side we have a few scandalously wealthy members of a privileged caste. On the other we have the masses of the people who live in darkest misery and can depend at most only on international charity to survive after a fashion. And if that charity happens to reach Zaire, these same wealthy few make arrangements to claim it to the disadvantage of the needy masses.”

Then the catastrophe of Rwanda happened. After the genocide over 1.5 million refugees – many of them Hutu fled to Zaire to escape the Tutsi forces of Paul Kagame. Later Rwanda decided to invade Zaire – finally forcing Mobutu from power.

Congo became a fragmented country with militias, child soldiers, exploitation from its neighbors Rwanda and Uganda. In fact all adjoining neighbors (there are nine) of Congo joined in the plunder, extracting its vast mineral wealth like diamonds, gold, coltan (used in mobile phones, computer games...). Suffice it to say that this became the Second Congo War (1997 – 2002) – and it hardly made the news anywhere.
Page 440
The great African or Second Congo War developed into the deadliest conflict since World War II. Most of the casualties were civilians... dying of malnutrition, dysentery, malaria and pneumonia – afflictions that could not be treated because of the war.

When the U.N. finally intervened and monitored elections were held in 2006 there seemed to be hope. To illustrate how impoverished the country still is:

Page 501
When the polls closed the counting began... "we had no electricity and the flashlights they had given us did not work.”

Page 508
But the hospital itself [in Lubumbashi], the country’s second largest, had not had a drop of running water for the last four years.

As the author states on page 512 “Peace, security, and education should go before [elections] ... local elections can stimulate the formation of a grassroots culture of political accountability...Western political experts often suffer from electoral fundamentalism.”

So as all this sadly illustrates Congo has a long journey ahead. And China is now involved, having signed a multi-billion dollar resource deal.

This book gives us a startling view of a country exploited by a European colonial power and falling into total disarray after. It is very readable and personal despite the long historical period it narrates. The translation, from Dutch, is at rare times somewhat awkward.

[Dagio_maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell’immaginario collettivo nominare lo stato del Congo riconduce a immagini di foreste vergini da attraversare a colpi di machete.
Una nazione incastrata tra le tante di un continente spesso e volentieri ignorato e a cui, forzatamente, si bada costretti dalla cronaca urlata di un telegiornale.
Il Congo in realtà non è uno staterello facilmente ignorabile ma “un paese di 2,3 milioni di chilometri quadrati, grande come l’Europa Occidentale e due terzi dell’India, l’unico paese dell’Africa con due fusi orari”.
La vastità del territorio equivale ad una moltitudine di etnie e la storia di questa nazione è, ovviamente densa di avvenimenti.
David Van Reybrouck - archeologo belga con doti da romanziere- si è dedicato per dieci anni allo studio storico-sociale del Congo.

”Alla memoria di Étienne Nkasi (1882?-2010), come segno di profondo riconoscimento per la sua eccezionale testimonianza e per il casco di banane che mi ha offerto durante il nostro primo incontro.
E per il piccolo David, nato nel 2008, figlio di Ruffin Luliba, bambino-soldato congedato, e della sua sposa Laura, che hanno voluto dare il mio nome al loro primogenito.”


Questa l’epigrafe che introduce il testo e mette in risalto il metodo dell’autore:
le fonti storiche tradizionali (come diari e documenti più o meno ufficiali) si alternano strumenti più diretti come le interviste e le chiacchierate con i congolesi stessi.
Étienne Nkasi, qui citato aveva all’epoca dell’incontro con Van Reybrouck, la bellezza di 126 anni!!!
Nkasi, dunque, si rivela fonte utile quando dai suoi racconti emergono collegamenti che contribuiscono a ricostruire la scena del colonialismo. Gli avventurieri ed esploratori che aprirono letteralmente la strada (su tutti Stanley, il primo bianco che attraverso l’intero Congo) alle prime stazioni commerciali con le loro prove tecniche muovevano i primi passi in quella corsa all’accaparramento coloniale che imperversava tra le potenze europee.
Il re belga Leopoldo non voleva certo essere da meno è con un filo di bava da acquolina radunò esploratori, geografi e uomini d’affari che lo aiutassero a mettere le mani su “ce magnifique gâteau africain”.
I primi goffi approcci commerciali si tramutano in vere e proprie operazioni politiche a cui si affiancano progetti di evangelizzazione invadendo l’enorme territorio del Congo boccone dopo boccone.
Una storia di un lungo e laborioso pasto.
La terra del Congo si mostra come una tavola imbandita: se in principio fu l’avorio (con il conseguente sterminio dei legittimi possessori detti pachidermi) nel 1888 l’invenzione rivoluzionaria dello scozzese Dunlop, dello pneumatico dà l’avvio per l’assalto ai numerosi alberi di gomma del Congo. Un miracolo economico i cui proventi sono reinvestiti in Belgio mentre nella colonia si sommano abusi e violenze che costringono la popolazione alla raccolta dell’ambita gomma:

“Il lavoro sporco della riscossione delle imposte fu lasciato a dei subalterni armati di fucile. Siccome i loro capi bianchi volevano essere sicuri che non si servissero impropriamente della loro arma per cacciare animali selvaggi, dovevano provare l’uso che avevano fatto dei loro proiettili. Così, in diversi luoghi, prese piede l’abitudine di tagliare la mano destra della vittima e di portarla come prova delle munizioni utilizzate. Le mani venivano arrostite su un fuoco di legna, come si fa ancora oggi con i cibi, per non farle marcire. L’esattore vedeva il suo capo a intervalli di settimane, ecco il perché della pratica. Quando gli rendeva conto delle sue attività doveva mostrare le membra come pièces justificatives, come “note di spesa”.

E’ il 1885 quando Leopoldo II proclama Lo Stato Libero (!!!!!) del Congo e da lì Van Reybrouck ci accompagna nei meandri dei torbidi avvenimenti che fanno legge il sopruso e la pura e gratuita violenza.
Il congolese da una generazione all’altra vive l’epoca coloniale travolto da un incessante processo di sradicamento e degradazione umana. La distruzione di un popolo, difatti, non si racconta solo con la devastazione del suo territorio. Se il rapporto voluto da un potere centrale è giocoforza asimmetrico, il governo coloniale non solo trova lecito lo strumento della forza ma fa di tutto per annichilire i nativi con comportamenti che calpestano la dignità di uomini e donne.
Le promesse non mantenute di Leopoldo II fanno sì che il dominio passi nella mani dello stato Belga e con ciò si consolidi lo stato coloniale vero e proprio: si proclama il Congo Belga
Col passare del tempo, un esiguo –ma significativo- numero di congolesi ha la possibilità di istruirsi e così germoglia la classe cosiddetta degli évolues.
Mentre il territorio è sempre più sfruttato per le ricchezze minerarie si comincia a fare pressante la richiesta d’indipendenza (“VOGLIAMO ESSERE CONGOLESI COLTI, NON ‘EUROPEI CON LA PELLE NERA’)
Ven Reybrouck sostiene che la rapidità degli eventi che portarono all’autonomia furono talmente fulminei da giocare a sfavore dal paese che si trovò totalmente impreparato ad occuparsi della gestione dell’enorme stato senza preparazioni specifiche. A ciò si aggiunse i differenti obbiettivi degli aspiranti alla guida del paese sommariamente divisi tra chi cercava l’unità nazionale e chi, invece, tendeva a difendere gli interessi etnici e quindi puntava ad uno stato federale.
Ribellioni, l’uccisione di Lumumba, la dittatura di 32 anni di Mobutu, il genocidio ruandese, Kabila e la Great Afrian War…..
Tantissimi nomi, avvenimenti, scenari che si possono ricondurre a un semplice schema:
governi totalmente indifferenti ai bisogni del paese e della gente, corruzione dilagante, violenze inaudite che portano ad esempio lo stupro ad essere una normale modalità di conquista di un territorio.
Van Reybrouck ci racconta una storia che non schiera buoni e cattivi ma:
” Proprio come a teatro, anche qui la tragedia della Storia non derivava dalla contrapposizione tra esseri ragionevoli ed esseri insensati, tra i buoni e i cattivi, ma tra persone che si riunivano e che si consideravano, tutte indistintamente, buone e ragionevoli. Degli idealisti si contrapponevano ad altri idealisti, ma ogni idealismo difeso con troppo fanatismo conduceva all’accecamento, all’accecamento dei buoni. La Storia è un piatto abominevole preparato con i migliori ingredienti.”
Si va dunque al di là delle dicotomie che distinguono la letteratura coloniale tanto quella post-coloniale. La complessità e gli intrecci di questo paese sono molteplici e non è più tempo per analisi parziali: è una matassa che va districata
Le potenzialità date dalla grande ricchezza del territorio avrebbero potuto condurre il Congo ad essere una potenza mondiale tra i primi della classe invece è uno tra i paesi più poveri ed affamati del paese.
Le divisioni etniche sono separate dall’odio ma trovano terreno comune nel linguaggio della violenza tanto che ormai il Congo è stato denominato “la capitale degli stupri” !!!!
Chi vuole provare a sopravvivere e cambiare qualcosa fugge o cerca di avviare attività alternative. In questo senso Van Reybrouck dedica un ultima capitolo alla Cina, nazione che ha aperto un varco di speranza.
Un saggio di oltre 600 pagine, note comprese, che si legge con facilità perché Van Reybrouck sa raccontare questa storia senza algide elucubrazioni accademiche.
Sembra strano ma questa storia ci riguarda da vicino perché il Congo così lontano dalle coscienza è una delle nazioni che è entrata maggiormente nelle nostre case e nella Storia mondiale.

” Che le risorse naturali del Congo abbiano contribuito a colorare l’economia mondiale è abbastanza risaputo. Dalle palle da biliardo, passando per pneumatici e bossoli, fino alla bomba atomica e al telefonino. * Ma questo ritornello puramente utilitario mi sembrava troppo limitato e banale, come se il Congo, questo paese bello e potente, fosse solo la dispensa del mondo, come se, al di là delle sue materie prime, non avesse contribuito molto alla Storia. Come se il suo sottosuolo fosse importante per tutta l’umanità, mentre la sua storia restasse un affare meramente interno, pervasa da innumerevoli sogni e ombre. Mentre io così spesso ho constatato l’opposto, nelle mie conversazioni e nella mia lettura. All’inizio del ventesimo secolo la politica della gomma innescò una delle prime, grandi campagne umanitarie della storia. In entrambe le guerre mondiali i congolesi contribuirono a vittorie cruciali sul continente africano. Fu in Congo che negli anni sessanta cominciò la Guerra fredda e fu lì che le Nazioni Unite lanciarono la prima grande operazione. Ciò che conta non è attribuirne i meriti ai congolesi, ma riconoscere che la storia congolese ha contribuito a determinare e a dare forma alla storia mondiale. La guerra del 1998-2003 sfociò nell’operazione di pace più grande e più costosa di sempre e nel primo intervento militare dell’Unione europea della storia; l’esito portò a una combinazione unica di diplomazia multilaterale e bilaterale che permise di seguire da vicino la politica del paese. Le elezioni del 2006 furono le più complesse di cui la comunità internazionale si sia mai fatta carico. La Corte penale internazionale produrrà una giurisprudenza essenziale con un primo giudizio di imputati, tre uomini provenienti dal Congo. È un fatto che la storia del Congo sia stata più volte di cruciale importanza nella definizione esitante di un ordine mondiale. Allo stesso modo anche il contratto con la Cina è un’importante pietra miliare in un mondo irrequieto in pieno movimento.”

*



Digita coltan nella stringa di un qualsiasi motore di ricerca e scopri l’inferno che ci permette di avere telefonini, computer e quant’altro!

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Reybrouck makes history personal, interviewing vast numbers of Congolese people of all kinds, sometimes visiting for several days. He finds some people in their 90s, or even over 100 years old. He talks to child soldiers, refugee women, mine workers, high-level bureaucrats, warlords, local merchants, and rumba superstars. The book achieves a kind of intimacy I’ve rarely seen in a history book. And it’s highly revealing. For example, I’d heard a lot about how the Rwandan genocide spilled over into the Congo, after Hutu-tribe leaders tried to exterminate the Tutsi people of Rwanda. But I hadn’t realized how an avenging Tutsi army repeatedly invaded the Congo, chasing and massacring vast numbers of Hutu refugees, and turning the Congo into a zone of ethnic-cleansing war and militarized resource plunder. Concerning the profitability of this force-backed free enterprise, Van Reybrouck explains

“Westerners have been used to seeing wars as exorbitantly expensive money-guzzling enterprises that are disastrous to the economy. But in Central Africa, exactly the opposite was true: fighting a war was relatively cheap, especially in the light of the magnificent profits to be made from raw materials. And this was no high-tech war. The oversupply of light secondhand firearms, often from post-Communist regimes of Eastern Europe pushed prices down, and (child) soldiers who were allowed to plunder their own salaries cost nothing at all. They kept the population cowering, while the ore was there for the taking. War, in other words, became a worthwhile economic alternative. Why would one want to call a halt to such a lucrative business? Under pressure from the people themselves? But that’s what guns were for, right?” (pp. 449–459)

Considering global trends in the arms trade, population pressure, and environmental degradation, he states it like fact: “Congo does not lag behind the course of history, but runs out front.” (p. 471)

But the Congo is too vast and unpredictable for predictions of doom and gloom. The music industry is booming, the young women are launching businesses, Chinese investment is pouring in, the Pentecostal churches are rocking. It’s always a tragedy and always an adventure.

[Benny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gigantisch gehypet en een onwaarschijnlijk verkoopsucces, maar ondanks de indrukwekkende hoeveelheid voetnoten, heb ik het hier inhoudelijk soms erg moeilijk mee.

Congo is heel knap gecomponeerd en prachtig geschreven, dat maakt het extra jammer dat de auteur inhoudelijk een paar keer wel erg kort door de bocht gaat. Met name de inmenging van het westen (van België, maar zeker ook van de USA) blijft onwaarschijnlijk onderbelicht.

Een klein voorbeeld? 0p p.301 staat "Bij de historische koninkrijken in de savanne leidde troonswisseling altijd tot een hevige machtsstrijd. In 1960 was dit niet anders. Ging het tenslotte niet om wie koning Boudewijn mocht opvolgen?" Van dit soort revisionisme krijg ik het danig op mijn heupen. De latere moord op Lumumba wordt zo al bij voorbaat herleid tot een historisch onvermijdelijke twist tussen negerstammen. Pijnlijk!

Verder erger ik mij ook aan de fenomenale goedgelovigheid die de auteur aan de dag legt bij al de sterke verhalen die de geïnterviewde Congolezen voor hem opdissen. Zo is de man die Van Reybrouck opvoert als diegene die de sabel van Boudewijn stal, zo goed als zeker niet de juiste. Op zich niet zo belangrijk misschien, maar binnen de compositie van het boek neemt die figuur wel de centrale positie in.

In dit artikel op Apache vind je een zeldzame, maar broodnodige KRITISCHE noot bij deze bestseller. Een aanrader.

Zelf ben ik benieuwd hoever Van Reybrouck nu zal gaan in de herziene druk van zijn kassucces (als die er ooit komt). Maar, haalt het nog iets uit? Dit subliem verkochte boek moet ondertussen in zowat elke Vlaamse boekenkast staan.

[Iwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van Reybrouck is erin geslaagd om uit talloze (eigen) interviews, films en boeken een reportage van ruim 580 pagina's te componeren. Een verhaal waarbij mijn aandacht geen moment verslapte. Iets wat me bij de standaard-historische werken nog wel eens overkomt.

Ik las het boek om iets te begrijpen van een land dat met zijn koper, cobalt, zink, goud en diamant over de rijkste voorraadkelder van Afrika beschikt maar waar toch steeds gedoe is.

Nu weet ik dat die voorraadkelder juist het probleem is. Congo werd door verschillende landen leeggeroofd: door de Belgische Koning Leopold II maar ook door andere landen.

Ook snap ik nu een klein beetje meer van de genocide in buurland Rwanda en de rol van Congo (Zaïre) in dit trieste hoofdstuk.

Met stip aan kop van mijn Top 3 geschiedenisboeken...

1 Congo - David van Reybrouck
2 In Europa - Geert Mak
3 1968 - Mark Kurlansky

The New York Times over Congo


Tip: check Marktplaats
Wil je het boek aanschaffen? Maak een zoekopdracht aan op Marktplaats. Ik kocht de paperback voor € 10 (incl verzending).

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dutch // English

Dit stukje tekst van mij mag geen recensie heten, daartoe voel ik mij niet capabel gezien het onderwerp en de veelomvattende behandeling ervan. Niettemin wil ik iets over dit boek zeggen. Het is een m.i. goed boek en ik vind het ook een belangrijk boek. Het is belangrijk omdat het systematisch de geschiedenis van Congo behandelt, naar mijn idee tamelijk diepgaand, met aandacht en respect voor de mensen. Van Reybrouck behandelt niet zozeer het grote vanuit het kleine, wel brengt hij macro-ontwikkelingen in verband met de concreetheid van activiteiten en mogelijkheden van de Congolezen op allerlei gebied. Eigenlijk, en dat doet de auteur dan ook, moeten we spreken over een zeer grote hoeveelheid etnische groepen, waarvan de geografische afbakening enigszins toevallig tot stand is gekomen.
Wat Leopold II heeft laten gebeuren, is bepaald niet opbeurend. Het etiket ‘koloniale misstanden’ is helaas uitermate passend voor die periode. Maar rondwarend in de periode van het regime Mobutu, lieve help, dat is ook verschrikkelijk. Wat daarna geschiedde aan oorlogvoering en gewelddadigheid is ook te verklaren vanuit machtswellust gepaard aan het gretige reiken naar het grote geld. Het zijn steeds wisselende en complexe situaties die zich hebben voorgedaan, met een veelheid aan buitenlandse inmenging, die het land bleven verlammen qua – ik durf het woord nauwelijks te gebruiken, zo lokaal beladen als het in de Nederlandse politiek geworden is – bestaanszekerheid en vooruitgang en zelfstandigheid.
Als dan in het slothoofdstuk de Chinese invloed in Congo aan de orde komt, vind ik dat een passend slot, want een open einde met een impliciete signalering c.q. waarschuwing die verder strekt dan Congo op zichzelf. We hebben in Nederland enkele uitstekende reeksen reportages gezien van Ruben Terlou, eerst op reis door China, vervolgens ‘De wereld van de Chinezen’ waarin de wereldwijde invloed wordt belicht – de tendens is kortweg investering plegen in handel en industrie inclusief infrastructuur in ruil voor grondstoffen die nodig zijn in hoogwaardige technologieën.
In de boekgedeelten die de genocide Hutu’s/ Tutsi’s behandelen, raakt dat aan dat uitstekende essay van Roxane van Iperen De genocidefax, dat in het kader van de Boekenweek 2021 werd gepubliceerd; ook lezing daarvan aanbevolen!
Gelukkig is de hartverscheurende en vaak gewelddadige inhoud - door sterk gefaseerd lezen - uit te houden, mede door het zeer prettige taalgebruik van de auteur en wegens de vele positieve anekdotes van ooggetuigen, die het geschiedenisverhaal kleur geven. JM

This piece of writing of mine should not be called a review, I do not feel capable of doing so given the subject and the comprehensive treatment of it. Nevertheless, I would like to say something about this book. In my opinion it is a good book and I also think it is an important book. It is important because it systematically covers the history of Congo, in my opinion quite in depth, with attention and respect for the people. Van Reybrouck does not so much deal with the big from the small, but he connects macro developments with the concrete activities and possibilities of the Congolese in all kinds of areas. Actually, and that is what the author does, we have to talk about a very large number of ethnic groups, the geographical demarcation of which came about somewhat by chance.
What Leopold II allowed to happen is certainly not encouraging. The label 'colonial abuses' is unfortunately extremely appropriate for that period. But roaming around in the period of the Mobutu regime, my goodness, that's also terrible. What happened next in terms of warfare and violence can also be explained by the lust for power combined with the eager reaching for big money. These are constantly changing and complex situations that have arisen, with a multitude of foreign interference, which continued to paralyze the country in terms of - I hardly dare to use the word, as locally (in the Netherlands) charged as it has become in Dutch politics - social security and progress and independence.
When in the final chapter Van Reybrouck discusses Chinese influence in Congo, I think that is a fitting ending, because it is an open ending with an implicit signaling or warning that extends beyond Congo itself. We have seen some excellent series of reports in the Netherlands by Ruben Terlou, first on a journey through China, then 'The world of the Chinese' which highlights the global influence - in short, the trend is to invest in trade and industry including infrastructure in exchange for raw materials needed in high technologies.
In the book sections that deal with the genocide of Hutus/Tutsis, this touches on that excellent essay by Roxane van Iperen The Genocide Fax, which was published in the context of the Book Week 2021; reading it is also recommended!
Fortunately, the heartbreaking and often violent content is bearable through very phased reading, partly due to the author's very pleasant language and because of the many positive anecdotes from eyewitnesses that add color to the history story. JM

[Dax · Rating 5 out of 5]

While difficult to read at times, "Congo" is a horribly mesmerizing account of the last 150 years of Congo's history. From Leopold II and early colonialism to present day conflicts, life in the Congo has been an endlessly bloody affair.

Reybrouck's book is an important work. He uses memories and anecdotes of natives to tell the country's history. Most histories, particularly African histories, have been written by the colonizers. As Reybrouck says, "All I know is that I would rather talk to normal people than with politicians, that I learn more from anecdotes than from rhetoric." This book uses this approach with great success.

The violence in these passages is brutal, but "Congo" is a special book that brings these atrocities to light and takes a good hard look at the long term implications of colonialism.

[b0yc0tt amaz0ñ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tis zo'n onwaarschijnlijke aanrader, ik durf zelfs zeggen verplichting, niet perse omdat we Belgen zijn maar ook gewoon om de wonderbaarlijke geschiedenis van het land, om in te zien hoe alles van (de)kolonisatie en globalisatie zo'n impact heeft tot nu en hoe Congo soms al voorloopt op de geschiedenis, maar daarvoor moet je het zelf lezen

Regine vatte het resultaat subliem samen: 'Wij wilden de dictatuur ontwortelen, ja, maar je kunt niet zomaar een baobab vellen want dan valt hij op je. Je moet één voor één de wortels doorhakken en hem dan samen van een afstand omvertrekken.'
Onder het gewicht van de vallende baobab raakte het volk vermorzeld.
(context: 1992, einde Nationale Soevereine Conferentie: nieuwe grondwet Zaïre voor 3e Republiek georganiseerd wanneer Mobutu 1 partijstelsel afschafte)

Eén van de talrijke heerlijke metaforen in het boek, ze maken, samen met de prachtige en even vaak gruwelijke en onthutsende mondelinge getuigenissen, het boek toegankelijk én tonen David Van Reybroucks meesterlijke schrijfstijl aan voor een historische non-fictie.

Het enige wat stoorde was het continu gebruik van 'blank' terwijl het juist in dit verhaal toch zo cruciaal is om 'wit' te gebruiken, maar goed dat lag misschien aan mijn editie

zoek eens baobab op, is prachtig ++++ synoniem weetje: apenbroodboom
groeten dit was mijn langste goodreadsreview ooit

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early on, I was prepared to give this book a 2- or 3-star review. I found Chapter 4 (about Congolese religion) quite interesting, but other than that there wasn't much in the first 5 chapters that really grabbed me.

The early chapters are a menagerie of names, places, dates. The years and characters change quickly. There’s not much to grab hold of. Every chapter feels like the start of a new book.

Finally, things start to pick up in chapter 6, at which point you're already 227 pages in. Chapters 8-12 are probably the best in the whole book, with chapter 9 perhaps being the best of all. This is the most cohesive part of the book because it all revolves around Mobutu and his three-decade dictatorial reign over Zaire (Congo).

During the first part of chapter 11 the Congolese are trying to create a new government with a new constitution (kind of like colonial America). Then, during the second part, Reybrouck describes the absolute horror of the Rwandan genocide spilling over into Congo.

And what's really weird/shocking/disturbing to me is this: During May 1997, I was finishing my final weeks of high school. I was celebrating. Hosted a graduation party at my house. Then went to Red Rocks, Colorado where I received my diploma. And while I was doing that, hundreds of thousands of people were being butchered in eastern Congo.

The crimes against humanity documented in this book are absolutely horrifying. Torture and murder are prominent themes throughout.

The final three chapters feel like picking up the pieces after a nuclear bomb has detonated. The narrative thread frays as we meet new characters, new places, new problems. Reybrouck covers corporatism, pop music, and religion in a country without a strong government, as well as recent developments with China. I found it humorous and appropriate that the book ends with a chapter that's set in China, not Congo.

Prior to reading Congo, I knew very little of African history. Now I feel like a huge blank spot has been filled in with the richest of color.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was widely popular in Van Reybrouck's native Belgium when it first came out in 2010, and with good reason. He goes back to essentially prehistoric times and traces the history of the Congo (or today, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) up until the times leading up to just a few years ago.

It is an expansive history which of course encompasses the history of Central Sub-Saharan Africa, and per usual much attention is given to colonial times, through independence and up until the present day. However, Van Reybrouck pulls this off without coming across as Eurocentric; instead he wonderfully incorporates what must have been hundreds of in-person interviews with more academic and political histories, using the personal narratives to illustrate and add life to the facts and dates. We get to witness the rise of the Congo Free State, the independence movement, the development of the resource economy, the accent of Mobutu and the kleptocracy that followed, all through the eyes, sounds and words of those who lived through these periods. He does actually interview two people who claim to be over 100 years old, and therefore provide an otherwise unlikely firsthand source to the horrors and corruption of the Free State period. The men's stories back up their alleged ages.

Any history of the Congo will include descriptions of some of the most inhumane acts and blatant evisceration of human rights ever recorded in print. This work is no different. While certainly not exclusive to the Congo, these parts of the nation's history are tough to read. I've read extensively about the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia and am also well-read on the brutality of apartheid South African, and yet I still had to pause and reflect at times over what I was reading. But the histories of nations is rarely sparkling clean, and they certainly are not when Central Africa is concerned.

I enjoyed the book's depth of coverage of the independence period and the numerous players who were associated with this time. We get a well-explained background of how the structure of the independence government came about in 1960, including a not-always-flattering picture of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, who is often portrayed as a martyr for Congolese freedom to the West. While he indeed was a staunch supporter of independence, he, like all of the men involved, was not without fault and had little to absolutely no experience with how to run a country. Van Reybrouck presents all of these players, warts and all.

Then of course we get to witness the Mobutu regime in all of it's glory. His is largely a textbook story of a Mid-20th Century dictatorship and it's inevitable evolution (devolution?) into extreme, naked corruption and paranoia. But it is interesting to watch it unfold and I found that this book filled in many of the gaps I had in the history of this part of the world. It is interesting to see how Mobutu used the Cold War rivalries, and an almost "Second Scramble for Africa" to his advantage.

Finally, the only thing that bothered me about this book was something I've never encountered before - an amazing amount of typos, almost all included in the first few chapters. It was uncanny. I almost grabbed a red pen to mark them, just to keep count. I understand that this happens nowadays with all the spellcheck and editing programs being used. And, it must be noted, this is the first English-language edition as translated from the original Dutch. But read this edition and tell me if you think a human being (who was fluent in English at least, if not a native speaker) couldn't have read it over once and made the elementary-level corrections. Tsk tsk.

Overall, an excellent, vastly interesting and encompassing read on the history of this ravaged nation, a country which will only play a larger factor on the world scene as the 21st Century proceeds.

[Louisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other books with different views on Congo Free State under the rule of king Leopold II, are for example Adam Hochschild's book, or Conan Doyle's The Crime of the Congo, or Twain's King Leopold's Soliloquy with excerpts of the Casement Report.

[Celien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanneer je de geschiedenis van Congo googelt is dit boek nog steeds de eerste en bijna enige suggestie voor Nederlandstalige lezers. In het jaar dat ik dit boek liet verstoffen op de kast, in 2019 en 2020, kwamen er gelukkig nieuwe "populaire" boeken uit, zoals Koloniaal Congo en Congo 1876-1914. Ik hoop dan ook echt dat we als Belgen binnenkort niet meer als voornaamste geschiedenisboek over Congo een Van Reybrouck in de kast hebben liggen.
Ik ben geen geschiedkundige, dus ik kan niet elke fout uit dit boek halen. Zelf leerde ik ze pas door een bespreking op de universiteit. De reviews van het boek zijn overwegend enorm goed. Dat komt voornamelijk doordat het boek kapstokken biedt voor mensen die, zoals ik, niets van de Congolese geschiedenis ken(d/n)en. Ik moet toegeven dat het mij een tijd later, tijdens mijn eigen onderzoek naar Belgisch Congo, zelfs handige vertrekpunten heeft geboden als beginner. Het boek beschrijft echt een immens lange periode op een zeer toegankelijke manier en haalt ook interessante problematieken over kolonisatie aan.
Als quasi-onwetende lezer merkte zelfs ik dat er op sommige momenten dingen mis zijn aan het verhaal, zoals het door Van Reybrouck wordt voorgesteld. De meest opvallende zijnde de geminimaliseerde rol van België bij de moord op Lumumba en de pure deus ex machina-rol van de Sovjet-Unie en de VS. Opstanden door Congolese rebellen worden steeds met machtige taal beschreven, zeker wanneer het gaat over misdaden tegen eigen bevolking. Het taalgebruik is opvallend heel anders, "neutraler", wanneer het over Belgische misdaden gaat. Het ligt er allemaal vingerdik op en ik hoop echt dat mensen hier meer bij stilstaan. Hoewel Van Reybrouck ook de geschiedenis van Congo voor de Europese aanwezigheid beschrijft, moeten we kritisch blijven denken over wiens geschiedenis we voorgeschoteld krijgen in dit boek. Het gebruik van getuigenissen als bron zie ik zelf als iets waardevol, maar soms strooit Van Reyckbrouck ook iets te veel met namen, tot het overbodige toe én natuurlijk: de betrouwbaarheid ervan is soms twijfelachtig. Het zijn maar korte bedenkingen en ik ben er zeker van dat er zich onder de reviews meer diepgaande kritische besprekingen bevinden.
Ik ben dan ook gestopt toen ik al een deel in de geschiedenis van onafhankelijk Congo zat rond, pagina 400. Ik vroeg me af of ik die nog zou moeten leren kennen door dit boek. 10 jaar na de publicatie van Congo: een geschiedenis ben ik blij dat er nu andere opties zijn, en dat het zelfs niet enkel meer kleppers van boeken hoeven te zijn.

[Noella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeer informatief boek over Congo. Macht, politiek, slavernij, colonisatie, onafhankelijkheid, oorlog, Mobutu, Kabila senior en junior, exploitatie van Congo's natuurlijke rijkdommen zoals diamant, goud, rubber, alles komt uitgebreid aan bod. En natuurlijk ook de rol die Europa, Amerika en China speelden, momenteel spelen, of nog willen spelen in Congo. Zeer leerrijk, maar ook zeer ontmoedigend voor de toekomst van de lokale bevolking.

[Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is partly written with sarcasm but has no intention to offend any of the people of Congo or any other African state.

An interesting well researched book that presents the History of Congo from the beginning of the slave trade until modern times (2010). Some parts of the book were very complex and hard to follow because there are so many people and organizations involved, it became hard to follow. Altogether a nice read if you manage to follow all the different names and organizations and wars and incidents.

CAN YOU SEE THE ABSURD IN THIS REVIEW??????

If the people of Congo would only have a history with less incidents and strange names and organizations and politics then more people would read about them and give this book a high mark in goodreads and then maybe someone would do something !!!!!

However………..

The people of Congo were raped and murdered and robbed and oppressed and sold to slavery and left to starve and forced to work in mines and had their hands cut of and had their children stolen and had their villages burnt and had there minerals stolen were forced to work on rubber plantations and died from sleeping sickness and died from smallpox and had to fight in two world wars and corrupted and caused to live without roads and caused to live without electricity and forced to become refugees and forced to admit refugees from other countries and caused to participate in bogus elections and forced to live without elections

By.......

The slave traders and the King Leopold II of Belgium (and the conference of Berlin that "gave" him the land) and the Belgians and the Force Publique army and Baron Wahis and tribunaux indigènes and Moise Tshombe and South Kasai and Joseph Ileo and Cyrille Adoula and Joseph Mobutu and the U.S (support for Mobuto) and U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush (who met with Mobuto) and Rwanda and the Hutu militia forces (Interahamwe) and the FAZ and the Tutsi's and Uganda and Laurent-Désiré Kabila and the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo AFDL and Paul Kagame and the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD) and the MLC leaded by Jean-Pierre Bemba and Laurent Nkunda and the RCD-GOMA and the CNDP and Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda – FDLR and Bosco Ntaganda and the March 23 movement and Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga and the Mai Mai Kata Katanga and the Nationalist and Integrationist Front – FNI and Joseph Kony's LRA and The Chinese ,

In wars and conflicts such as
The First Congo war and Second Congo war and the as M23 rebellion and the Ituri conflict.

AND THEREFORE, NOBODY REALLY KNOWS AND CAN FOLLOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON THERE BUT:

400000 women are raped annually in Congo

23.6% of men in the Eastern Region of the country have been exposed to sexual violence (as victims)

estimates of the number who have died from the long conflict range from 900,000 to 5,400,000 (and I assume this only in the modern wars)

And the list is long…….

The civil war in Congo was the deadliest conflict since World War II, and it created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
More than five million people died from 1998 to 2007 as domestic and foreign armed groups fought to control the territory, destabilizing much of Central and Southern Africa.
Babies and elderly grandmothers were raped.
Some two million people — and as many as 80 percent of the inhabitants of Congo’s eastern provinces — fled their homes to escape the violence.

And the world does not do much.

If it would be Americans or Russians or Israelis or many other western or nonwestern countries, something would be done.

Why is it?..........

Are we racists?

Is it because we don't care?

Is it because we don't care enough?

Is it because we don't know what to do?

Is it because most of us have not heard of it?


Possibly all of the above in various percentages.


Congo has been a victim of capitalism since the days of the slave trade and is a victim until now.

Slaves, copper , diamonds and cobalt ore have all been in demand by the western capitalistic countries.
How they got to the west was never a concern, as long as they got them.
As long as there is demand there is a fortune to be made for those who supply , and with that fortune comes power.

The welfare of the people of Congo was never a factor in the capitalistic equation. It is a negative result . The more there is demand for the product, the situation of the people of Congo is worse.

I really don't know what to do, maybe some ideas can be found here

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opi...

[Joris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek kwam toevallig op mijn pad. Dit boek is een interessante afwisseling van wat ik normaal lees.

Van Reybrouck heeft een meeslepende stijl die tegelijk journalistiek en literair aanvoelt. Zijn taal is rijk, maar nergens overdreven zwaar. Je merkt dat hij enorm veel research heeft gedaan en weet de feiten te verweven met persoonlijke verhalen en anekdotes. Dit maakt het geheel levendiger dan een droog historisch verslag.

Toch merkte ik dat ik soms de draad een beetje kwijtraakte. Het boek bestaat uit veel losse verhalen en perspectieven, waardoor een duidelijke verhaallijn soms ontbreekt. Vooral in het middenstuk vond ik het tempo wat traag en de focus wat versnipperd. Tegelijkertijd is die verscheidenheid ook de kracht van het boek: je krijgt een rijk beeld van de complexe, vaak tragische geschiedenis van Congo.

Wat me vooral raakte, waren de persoonlijke stemmen van Congolezen zelf, die Van Reybrouck heeft gesproken. Die maken de geschiedenis tastbaar en menselijk. Het boek zette me echt aan het denken over de rol van Europa, de nasleep van het kolonialisme, en hoe lang de schaduwen daarvan blijven hangen. Het is leerzaam en bij vlagen ronduit schokkend, zonder dat het boek zwaar moralistisch wordt.

Ik zou dit boek aanraden aan iedereen die interesse heeft in geschiedenis, kolonialisme of de manier waarop journalistiek en literatuur kunnen samensmelten. Het is geen luchtige kost, maar wel enorm verrijkend.

Samenvattend: Een monumentale lappendeken van stemmen en verhalen die samen de diepe littekens én de veerkracht van een land blootleggen.

[Edmond Dantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alzi la mano chi, da Piccolo, e che ora veleggia sui 50 o oltre, non è stato mai ammonito, da un nonno o uno zio, di non fare il "Baluba" o essere tacciato di essere un pò "Bagongo"....
Adesso scopro che non sono altro che due delle Tribu/Etnie del Congo Profondo, la cui storia, politica, economia , usi e costumi viene analizzata dettagliamente e in maniera chiaara dall'autore, figlio peraltro di un ex dipendente della Union Miniere ne Katanga secessionista (e come non ricordare i Katanghini nostrani...)
Libro Entusiamante ed iluminante su Troppa storia sconosciuta, o conosciuta all'inverso di come realmente Accadde (Henocidio Ruandese) una Guerra Africana da 6 Milioni di morti (che se ha avuto 6 right in cronaca è tanto....) o i sempre più stretti legami tra Cina e Africa con tanto di comunità Africane in Città cinesi..
Scorre impetuosa la storia come il Grande fiume Congo verso il Mare... portando dietro infiniti lutti e tante speranze...

[Yves Gounin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le livre de David Van Reybrouck fera date. Déjà couronné par le prix AKO (le Goncourt néerlandais) et le prix Médicis de l’essai, cette histoire monumentale du Congo de la préhistoire à nos jours dépoussière l’encyclopédisme. À la différence de ces cathédrales empesées qui croulent sous leur propre poids et que personne ne lit, telles L’Histoire générale de l’Afrique éditée par l’UNESCO ou The Cambridge History of Africa, il réussit à brosser l’histoire d’un pays-continent en mobilisant tous les champs de la connaissance (politique, économique, ethnologique, artistique, etc.) sans jamais ennuyer.
La gageure a été relevée par un homme-caméléon : philosophe de formation, titulaire d’une thèse en archéologie, journaliste, dramaturge, David Van Reybrouck écrit un livre qui lui ressemble. Pendant près de sept ans, il a lu tout ce qui a été écrit sur l’ancienne colonie belge, comme en témoigne son imposante bibliographie – éclairée par une « justification des sources » qui permet de la hiérarchiser. Surtout, il a sillonné sans relâche ce vaste pays, à la recherche des témoins de son histoire. Car la caractéristique du livre est la place donnée au témoignage des gens ordinaires, des petites gens, dont le point de vue s’exprime rarement dans l’histoire officielle. C’est ce qui en fait l’originalité, c’est ce qui en fait aussi le sel, tant D. Van Reybrouck a eu la chance de croiser des personnalités qui, chacune à leur façon, livrent un témoignage éclairant sur les étapes de l’histoire congolaise : la colonisation belge, les affres de l’indépendance, la dictature mobutiste, l’avènement de la troisième république…
Cette fresque ne se réduit pas pour autant à un simple exercice de history from below. Il ne s’agit pas seulement de raconter l’histoire du Congo par en bas ou par le petit bout de la lorgnette, mais de faire résonner la petite histoire avec la grande, comme Alain Corbin le fait pour la France du xixe siècle. Le résultat est une étonnante réussite, qui ne verse ni dans la repentance postcoloniale, ni dans l’afro-pessimisme. Le Congo tel qu’il transpire de ce voyage est, comme la splendide couverture qui l’introduit, un pays digne et sombre : les errements de la colonisation belge ont leur part de responsabilité dans son retard, mais les Congolais ont aussi la leur.
L’histoire du Congo de D. Van Reybrouck est une histoire subjective et se revendique comme telle. Contrairement à la règle qui considère le « je » haïssable et oblige l’auteur à s’omettre de son œuvre, D. Van Reybrouck évoque au fil des pages le processus de son écriture. Une telle démarche était déjà celle de Daniel Mendelssohn dans Les Disparus (Paris, Flammarion, 2007) ou Laurent Binet dans HHhH (Paris, Grasset, 2010), sans parler des romans « non fictionnels » de Jean Rolin ou d’Emmanuel Carrère. À la frontière de la littérature, du reportage et des sciences humaines, ces œuvres définissent une nouvelle relation à l’écriture. Plus personnelle, plus modeste, plus moderne. En un mot plus captivante.

[Bfisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unusual in its reliance on oral history. However, given the events that have occurred in Congo-Ziare-Congo over the period 1960-2010, it is difficult to see how a complete picture could have been assembled using only document sources. The necessity of oral history approach also indicates how much Congo has lost in the disorganization of government over the period; the normal archives of a functioning government are not to be had. This is a chilling story of how eastern Congo in the recent past became something like the bloodlands of eastern Europe during WW2.

[Han Duhou-Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zou eigenlijk verplichte lectuur moeten zijn. Ik laat dit boek los met een diep gevoel van nederigheid.

[Nadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

heeft maar 8 jaar ongelezen in de kast gestaan

4.5

[Whitlaw Tanyanyiwa Mugwiji · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is an expansive history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from the pre-colonial era to 2010 when the book was first published. The author brings this epic history to life by combining the DRC´s conventional historical narrative with ordinary people´s tales. The book reads like a novel while at the same time it is as rigorous as an academic text.

I was particularly intrigued by the post independence Congo. How the Belgians, the American in cahoots with their puppet Tshombe assassinated Lumumba 6 months after he had been democratically elected as the country´s first primeminister. It almost seemed as if David Van Reybrouck was blaming Lumumba for his assassination, when he says he lacked tact. On paper, his only crimes were; to the Belgians telling them the truth they did not want to hear and to the Americans, his association with the Soviet Union but his true crime is that he posed a threat to their economic interests in the Congo.

Joseph Kasavabu the first president of Congo must go down in history as responsible for plunging the country into crisis, not once but twice, when he fired two democratically elected primeministers, Lumumba and Moïse Tshombe. And enabling Mobutu to intervene militarily twice.

I loved to hate Mobutu for his part in the assassination of Lumumba and for being a Western puppet but reading through the book I had conflicting emotions because he was also a pan africanist, banning European names and advocating the Congolese to return to their culture and attempting to eradicate tribalism which had been fostered and nurtured by the colonisers. His first ten years were remarkable socially, economically and politically. Thus, I realise human beings are just complex beings and Mobutu is no exception, he is both evil and good at the same time.

The author threw a clear light on the horrific conflicts of the late 1990s and early 2000s in eastern Congo, opening my eyes as to how enormous and complex that conflict was. I had read from newspaper articles, that Rwanda and Uganda were involved in the conflict but I did not know that they were actually participating in the fighting and fermenting of that crisis. Thus, Museveni and Kagame like Mobutu are also good and evil at the same time.

No one book can really make an outsider understand everything that is going on in any country or what that country went through but this book really tried to cover the basics thoroughly. A great read for students of history and those who are interested in understanding the DRC much better.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van Reybrouck is the archetypal historian-voyager whose jargon-less, civil, practical approach to his subject makes one want to go grab a beer with him somewhere. He also shines because much of his writing and research centers around sitting around grabbing beers and time from random Congolese figures, some of note in recent Congolese history, others just random joes and janes he meets about the country.
This is history as it should be written: as an encounter. The Congo is never distant, never bridled and narrowed behind academic blinkers. This is truly and sometimes literally the shit, here people. VR gets down and grungy, visiting shady war criminals, aging Congolese music celebrities, and, in the denoument, traveling to Guangzhou in China where the true nature of the globalized world is revealed to him. Europe and the West, frankly, he admits at the end, have lost their luster, are boring, self-righteous, and wrongfully indignant at the implication. What he presents here is a new, living, breathing, sweating, and swearing world. A third world country that's been teetering on the brink of complete social and economic collapse that's somehow managed to survive. That's what this is at its base: a history of the survival of a country and its people vs all kinds of adversities. One of the best and liveliest history books I've ever read and definitely the best work of African history I've come across.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

On completing this meticulous account of the history of a nation, my only thought was that nobody could possibly top this – van Reybrouck’s tale, now translated into English, leaves no stone unturned and throws up a huge number of new insights. Above all, any attempt to paint Congo as a territory in binary terms is exposed as lacking – so Patrice Lumumba, often portrayed as a saintly presence and deposed by the CIA is portrayed as completely ill equipped for power, the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide is shown to be bubbling under the surface despite the west’s semi-deification of that country’s leader Paul Kagame and the full impact of the extraordinary two way trade between China and Africa exposed in incredible detail.

Above all, it’s a portrait of capitalism taken to its logical conclusion – where a state is pillaged and its natural resources held up for acquisition by the highest bidder. The cast of characters is unforgettable, the horror like nothing that Conrad would have imagined and the first-hand accounts gathered simply jaw dropping. An utter masterpiece.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van Reybrouck kijkt met het oog van de archeoloog en vertrouwt wat hij waarneemt met de pen van een groot schrijver aan het papier toe. Hij ziet tegelijkertijd details en grote verbanden en weet deze helder uiteen te zetten. Hij vertaalt gebeurtenissen in de wereldgeschiedenis naar het leven van alledag van het individu en gemeenschappen en toont de samenhang van verhalen die hij hoort in de talloze gesprekken met Congolezen, hoe verschillend die ook zijn. Door de respectvolle manier waarop hij het handelen van verschillende betrokkenen belicht geeft hij blijk van een groot inlevingsvermogen en begrip van de mens, menselijke relaties, culturen en samenlevingen.
Als feiten en gebeurtenissen zo sprekend, kleurrijk en levendig worden beschreven, wordt geschiedschrijving kunst. Een meesterwerk.

[Jef Gerets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Reybrouck geeft de geschiedenis van Congo weer vanaf Leopold II het land in handen heeft gekregen. Dan begint hij zijn tocht tot het heden. De geschiedenis van Congo is even tumultueus als rijk. Het lijkt soms alsof elke keer Congo zich kan bevrijden van een onderdrukker, dat er een nieuwe achter de hoek staat te loeren. Van Reybrouck geeft een nuchtere vertelling weer over de intriges van een groots land. Een aanrader.

[José Van Rosmalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Reybroek schrijft op een indringende manier over het Belgische kolonialisme en de uitbuiting van Congo. Hij doet dat door veel gebruik te maken van ‘oral history’, het voeren van gesprekken met mensen, waaronder een vrouw die onwaarschijnlijk oud is. Door deze benadering neemt de auteur je mee in het verhaal.

[Luc Meijboom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Dit boek heeft echt indruk op mij gemaakt. Het is alweer 15 jaar geleden dat David Van Reybrouck ‘Congo’ uitbracht, en toch bevindt het reusachtige land zich nog in veel soortgelijke situaties. Vanaf de Belgische koloniale tijd onder Leopold II tot en met de derde Republiek en de steeds sterkere economische banden met China weet Reybrouck de lezer te boeien met de verhalen van zo vele Congolezen waarmee hij optrok en die hij interviewde. Zijn ooggetuigen lopen uiteen van kindsoldaten tot ministers en van Belgische kolonisten tot jonge Congolese ondernemers die naar China trekken. Het biedt uiteenlopende en bijzondere perspectieven van de mensen die zich in het midden van de geschiedenis bevonden.

Wat ik ontzettend interessant vind aan dit boek is hoe Reybrouck de Democratische Republiek Congo in wereldperspectief weet te plaatsen en laat zien welke rol het speelde (en nog steeds speelt) in de geopolitiek, vanaf de ‘scramble for Africa’ tot de Wereldoorlogen, en vanaf de Koude Oorlog tot de geglobaliseerde wereldeconomie en de opkomst van NGO’s. De immense bodemschatten die Congo rijk is waren zowel een zegen als een vloek, en zullen dat de komende decennia waarschijnlijk nog blijven.