Congo Wars

The eminence of Things Fall Apart is largely due to its insider recount of the everyday lives of a group of Nigerians. Achebe does so masterfully, in an objective way that describes a culture in full, not sugar-coating or justifying it to to the west. So, for many, this novel is their first glimpse into the quotidian life of a people in Nigeria (granted, from a long time ago). Just that specificity, of the novel being about one group of people in Nigeria, leaves us coming away from the novel wondering how we know so little about not just the Igbo people or Nigeria, but the African continent as a whole. 

I recently read an article that really left me feeling this way. The article discusses the conflict in Congo, which has claimed anywhere between one and five million lives between 1998 and 2003. In this time, Mobutu, who is described as a president, tyrant, or military dictator depending on the source, gutted Congo, which he renamed “Zaire” in 1971. His government, a one-party state known to some as a “kleptocracy” was extremely corrupt and collected an incredible amount of money from economic exploitation (“incredible” amount being far into the billions). Nevertheless, he had US backing for being anti-soviet.

The Congo, which was still reeling from its recent independence from Belgium in 1960 when Mobutu coup d’etat-ed his way to power in 1965, crumbled even more under his reign which lasted until 1997. 

Then, another blow. When the people behind the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, in which about 1,070,000 people where killed in 100 days, came into the Congo, the Rwandan government invaded the Congo (still Zaire at this point). Rwanda succeeded, and replaced Mobutu with Laurent Kabila. Kabila quickly flipped and started supporting those committing the genocide, so Rwanda overthrew him. Rwanda overthrew their overthrow, essentially, which became the Second Congo War, or the Great War of Africa. 

Eight countries became involved, and the war basically ended when everyone had exhausted themselves. In the Congo, Laurent Kabila had been shot in 2001, and at the end of the war his son Joseph Kabila had taken power. There isn’t an incredible amount of change with his government. There is still corruption, killing, and nominal protection or security for citizens. 

Kabila’s term ended in 2011 but he remains in office. He is backed by no more that 10% of the Congolese. They protest against him in the capital, but Kabila shuts these gatherings down easily with gunfire and tear gas. In the rest of Congo, people are still fighting. 

Last year two million left their homes, for a total of around four and a half million displaced. People are watching another civil war bubble. Their glimmer of hope is South Africa’s recent expulsion of Jacob Zuma, who was on par with Kabila. 

To quote the article:

“…why should we care? Congo is far away and has no discernible effect on global stock markets…Congo matters because its people are people, and deserve better.”

I do not mean to compare Nigeria and the Congo. The only line I draw between the two is the continent to which they belong. This is the story of of essentially one country, and in every source its perils are compared to that of the holocaust and other western-type atrocities. Yet, I had never heard of most of it before this singular article. So why is Africa so often kept off of the radar of the west? I think books like Achebe’s Things Fall Apart are pivotal in changing this. 

Article Link (I highly recommend reading it)

https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21737027-how-stop-catastrophe-congo-sliding-back-bloodshed