Some Facts About Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hasn't always been called that. When I was growing up, it was called the Belgian Congo, translated "hunter." Under Mobutu, from 1966 to the mid-90's, Congo became the Republic of Zaire, which is a distortion of the Kikongo word "nzere" or "nzadi," meaning "the river that swallows all rivers." When Mobutu was overthrown in 1997, the country was renamed the DRC, but the city names of the capital Kinshasa, Kisangai and Lubumbashi were retained.

From 1870 to 1908, Leopold II of Belgium, designated the Free State of Congo as his personal colony. He was ruthless in his exploitation of the country and its people. If you want to learn more about his inhumanity to man, consider reading King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. You've probably read Heart of Darkness, a gripping narrative of Conrad's journey on the Congo River during Leopold's reign. Facing the Congo, by Jeffrey Taylor, tells of a similar journey on the Congo River during the 1990's, about 100 years later.

A couple of movies that dramatize the Congolese history are Lumumbo and the Last King of Scotland. I have seen the first, which tells about the conflict between Lumumbo, the first Congolese prime minister, and Mobutu. Although it has some difficult scenes, it is very helpful in understanding some of the issues behind the shift in power. I hope to catch the latter movie within the next 2 weeks before I leave.

Size-wise, Congo is the third-largest country in Africa, making it 1/4 of the size of the United States. The Congo River is approximately 3000 miles long. The country straddles the equator, with Kinshasa being about 10 degrees below the equator. More about the geography next time. If you have suggestions for movies or books, feel free to post a comment about them.

For those of you who know me personally, today is not just the Labor Day holiday, but is also being taken literally by daughter Virginia (see previous post), who is in the process of having my first grand-child. Very exciting! I hope to have good news (and a photo, of course!) very soon!