Lumumba

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The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following independence in 1960 was primarily inherited from its European colonizers. The notion that the 80-year exploitative occupation of Belgium could leave the Congo anything but traumatized and unstable is farfetched. This was cogently conveyed in the very first sequence of the film, Lumumba, which presented evidence using actual footage and archival images of the violent legacy of colonization. Far from the benevolent guardianship that King Leopold tried to claim, African rule under Belgium was marked by the physical, psychological, social, economic and cultural subjugation of the Congolese. From the outset we learn that the domination of a people is achieved in many ways, and that the abuses of the Congolese came in many forms. Absolute control of the national military was a central feature of conquest; in this context, Belgians stayed in command of the Force Republique, even after independence was declared. Africans were also pitted against each other by a strategically imposed hierarchical social system among the enslaved. African “masters” were thus compelled to participate in the subjugation of their fellow Africans, a system reminiscent of the divide-and-conquer strategies utilized against the enslaved in plantations stateside, such as we witnessed in the movie Sankofa. In fact, this forced enslavement, hard physical labor, social displacement, the separation of families, cultural domination, and dehumanization of whole populations should all be sadly familiar to Americans given their similar histories. The privileges and benefits the white Belgians enjoyed during this occupation lay in stark contrast with the violence instituted against black Africans on whic... ... middle of paper ... ...ntable. Given the instability Lumumba faced internally, and the stakeholders that threatened him externally, I would have utilized diplomacy and treaded more lightly in his shoes. It did not seem like he tried at all to preempt the various threats that came his way. He neither consulted carefully with those around him, nor made a special effort to win their loyalty. He appeared to be more reactive than proactive in the way he addressed conflict. He undervalued his allies and underestimated his enemies. The newly liberated government was in many ways ill equipped for independence, at least at that point. The viability of the republic was perhaps more reliant on the his ability to positively engage with the international community. Lumumba’s failure to realize or acknowledge the need for interdependence with both internal and external players was his ultimate undoing.

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