King Leopold, a clever politician,
convinced most that his aim was to improve the lives of the people
even as he looted their resources. Stanley kept order using a
new invention, the automatic rifle, which he noted was wonderfully
designed for that purpose. Eventually, in March 1908, Leopold
was forced to sell the Congo to Belgium. William Shepherd, the
first black missionary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was
an outspoken critic of Leopold’s rule and contributed to
his downfall.
During the time of Leopold, 50 percent of the population of the
Congo died, about 10 million people. Under Belgian rule some of
the same activities continued but with less bloodshed. Belgium
continued to exploit the resources and allowed little leadership
among the native peoples of the Congo.
A new era dawned when the world began to reject the idea of colonization,
and colonized peoples demanded their independence. Independence
came abruptly to the Congo on June 30, 1960. Earlier in June Patrice
Lumumba was elected Prime Minister in an open election. At the
time there were only a handful of college-educated people in all
of the Congo. There were no Congolese army officers and no physicians.
Among the 25,000 management civil servants, only three had been
Congolese. This was also the era of the Cold War.
Lumumba unsuccessfully tried to get help from Europe and the
United States and then turned to the Soviet Union. According to
numerous reports, President Eisenhower had ordered his assassination
but Belgian agents got to him first. At the time, the United States
had already started courting Joseph Desire Mubuto, the general
who took power and ruled for the next 30 years. Mubuto was an
understudy of Leopold and originally used terror, torture, and
murder to control any opposition. Later, he simply paid off those
who opposed him, as he had almost unlimited wealth. He built palaces
in Congo and purchased others around the world. He took profits
from the copper and diamond mines and directed deposits from World
Bank loans to his private accounts. At the time, he was the richest
man in the world, with some 10 billion dollars, yet he was hailed
by presidents as a great man because he was on our side of the
Cold War. The World Bank repeatedly reorganized the debt knowing
that it would be impossible for it to be repaid while Mubuto continued
to steal. The world knew, we knew, but nobody cared.
In 1997 Mubuto was ousted by Laurent Kabila, who was supported
by Rwanda and other nations. He fell into disfavor almost immediately,
and the current civil war began. During this war, 3 to 5 million
people have died. Fighting continues in the northeast. Despite
the fighting, minerals have continued to be mined and sold by
the “war lords” who continue in the old pattern of
trading Congo’s riches for arms. Kabila was assassinated
in 2001, and his son Joseph assumed the presidency. Talks have
taken place recently with agreement on a transitional government.
Elections are planned for 2005.
In terms of natural resources, Congo is said to be the richest
nation in the world. But it is those riches that have kept it
poor. Why are the Congolese so far behind the developed world,
living in the same huts and struggling to survive? Why is their
educational level so low? Why? It is not hard to imagine!
God’s peace from the Congo (temporarily in the United States).
Mike and Nancy Haninger
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study p.
31 |
