June 30th | Congo Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all Congolese!! This year marks our 60 years of independence from Belgium. Belgium was especially cruel to the Congolese. King Leopold II used the entire country as his personal property. He required the Congolese to meet a certain rubber collection quota per day. The rubber quotas were unrealistic and a lot of people weren’t able to meet them. The rubber is/was located in Kasai where my family is from. The gendarmes cut off children, men, women’s hands and feet as punishment. There’s a photo of a fellow Congolese that has stuck with me throughout my life. He is looking at the severed foot and hand of his five year old daughter. This is the cruelty and barbaricness that my people had to overcome. All this happen because King Leopold II (who never step foot in Congo) always wanted to be richer. He and the Belge got rich off of the backs, hand, foot and land of my people.

It is always important to remember the past so we don’t make the same mistakes. The Congo has only been free for 60 years. I have people in my life who have been alive before we gained independence. When people talk about the Congo it is usually in regard to poverty, corruption, and all the bad things in the Congo. Let’s not forget that when the Belge left they purposefully set us up to fail. Let’s not forget that when we wanted Patrice Lumumba to lead our country they and the Americans decided to assassinate him, burn him and quell any progress we were making.

Congo is celebrating it’s sixty-year of Independence but let’s be honest - we haven’t really been free these past sixty years. We have had to pay colonial debts to France, Belgium, World Bank, IMF, etc. This is one of the many legacies of colonialism. Your oppressors take money from you, pillage your resources, and then give you “aid” and judge you when your survival of the fittest instincts kicks in. We’ve had more people die in Congo over minerals than the holocaust. Unspeakable atrocities have been committed by internal and external forces on our people, women's bodies, and our psyche.

We have also had some wins. We’ve had our first peaceful transition of power in 2019. President Felix Tshisekedi made primary school free for all the children in Congo. Recently, the ex-Chief of Staff to the President was arrested and sent to prison for 20 years for stealing money that was meant to help Congolese people and improve infrastructure. We were also able to win the fight against ebola and control Covid-19 from spreading.

Where do we go from here? I don’t like to say we are a young country. We have an amazing history pre-1885 and the transatlantic slave trade. Maybe the best way to differentiate is to call it PC-60 (Post Colonialism ). We are PC-60 and we have had time to learn from our mistakes, learn who not to trust and to know that the only way to move forward to is find African solutions to African problems.

There is an awakening all over the world. Burna Boy recently said on BET that “In order for Black lives to matter Africa must matter”. For Africa to matter, Congo needs to thrive. We are the size of Eastern Europe. Our Inga dams can provide electricity to the entire continent. We have the raw materials and now we just need to harness our power.

One of our responsibilities as free people is to share our stories, history, write our own narratives and help our fellow citizens that are less fortunate than us. We will tell our story without the colonial interpretation, without false narratives and with pride. We have overcome so much! We also have so much to look forward to in the Congo. We have a young population who is eager to contribute, innovate and create a change that will lift us out of these tough times. We have a President who cares about the rule of law and his fellow citizen. Most importantly, we have each other. We will not leave anyone behind. We all have a responsibility to help the person in front, besides, behind and next to us up. Congo is changing!! I see it with my own eyes when I go home. I’m so excited for our future.

Let’s all celebrate our 60 years PC while looking forward to what is ahead for us. Congo is the heart of Africa. Africa does not rise and meet its potential if Congo is always in a state of conflict from external forces. We do not rise if we don’t put the needs of our fellow citizens before lining our own pockets. We do not rise if we don’t find specific solutions to our problems.

Bonne fête D'indépendance (Happy Independence Day)

Vive la Nation congolaise unie et forte! (Long live a united & strong Congo)

Que Dieu et notre ancêtres bénisse la Republique Démocratique du Congo! (May God & our ancestors bless the Democratic Republic of Congo).

Toujours Ensemble,

Adolophine