Page 11 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 23

L e ader s hip
has been raped over and over
and over again for centuries by
the very people she has made
fat with her resources.
Before the falsehood called
independence, the Congolese
people of what is now known
as the Democratic Republic of
Congo were enslaved, beaten,
butchered, raped, dehumanized,
and made weak by the wicked
rule of imperial Belgium and its
wicked king Leopold II or many
years. Congolese children’s
legs and hands were cut off if
their fathers or mothers refused
to work like slaves for the
enforcers of King Leopold, who
claimed for himself Congo as
his personal property.
Even after the horrors that
Belgium carried out in Congo,
even till the present day,
no words of apologies or
reparation have been extended
to the Congolese people by
Belgium. But instead, in this
present day of democracy and
the global noise about human
rights, the killing, the raping,
and the pillaging continued
even by those who say they are
the creators and protectors of
democracy and human rights in
the world.
The killings, the rapes, the
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Leadership
dehumanization, the pillaging enriched by it? The questions
of natural resources, and are unending.
the destruction of families,
communities and people are still It’s all about the wealth
going on as we speak. Still, the
international community seems Without mincing words, Congo
to be very quiet about it all. is one of the wealthiest nations
on earth in natural resources.
Our question is, when will the
people of Congo get justice for Congo is massively blessed with
their ancestors who were killed, mineral resources. She sits on
maimed and dehumanized by an estimated $24 trillion worth
the king of Belgium because of natural resources, including
of their natural resources? I am 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural
speaking of no less than ten gas.
million Congolese killed by the Congo has oil, diamond,
Belgian authorities under the coltan, copper, platinum, gold,
rule of Leopold II, and all for uranium, tin, cobalt, a vast
the greed and insatiable quest forest cover, 106270 square
for the riches of another nation. kilometers of arable land for
agriculture, wildlife, you name
When will the people of Congo it. It is the uranium from Congo
get justice for the killing of their that was used in the atomic
first prime minister, Patrice bombs dropped on Japan in
Lumumba, by America’s CIA 1945 by the US. Today, its
and the other high-profile massive coltan reserves are used
killings that have been going to make everyday electronic
on in Congo? When will Congo devices like cell phones for the
and its resources be free for global market.
use by the people of Congo?
When will they be allowed to This means that while the
live in peace, enjoy the fruit of people of the world and even
their natural resources, and be in Africa are standing in those
So Congo makes the world rich but the sad
reality is that, with all the wealth of Congo,
Congo is considered one of the poorest nations
in the world with 63% of the people living under
the poverty line. The question is, why?
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