September 22, 2020
(Version française ici)
#TilTextTime is a series of honest text conversations between peacebuilders about difficult topics.
#TilTextTime 01 features Charline Burton, Executive Director of Search for Common Ground in Europe, and Laurent Kasindi, Search’s Global Program Quality Specialist.
Hey Charline, I was just walking through a museum in Brussels, and it got me thinking…
Hey Laurent! Thinking about what?
We work at a peacebuilding NGO
Yes
And around the world, people are wondering how to deal with racial violence and colonialism
Right, it affects so many countries
Well I grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then moved to Belgium, the former colonial power
You were born in Belgium and moved to work in the DRC for 6 years
And we work together now and we are friends. We’re like a small sample of this colonial history
Exactly, like we have a story to tell.
Hmmm you’re right, but honestly, it’s a difficult topic for me as a Belgian national
What we did to your people is so harsh to conceive. There’s such a dark history
The past may be dark, but I still believe the future can be bright
Just look at the two of us! Working together for peace in the world
I can agree with this ????
But we have to explore our shared past. Where should we even start?
Let’s start with this visit to the history museum in Brussels, where my wife and I paid admission at the door
Those fees can cost you
Really it was the spirit behind it that troubled me
We went to an area with African art, and I saw some masks from my ethnic group in the DRC
Familiar to you?
Yeah, one of the masks has part of my uncle’s name
Wow
I said to my wife, “You can see all these masks, all from our country. I just cannot understand why I have to pay to see them”
This is crazy
Honestly speaking, this is my history, taken by force from my ancestors in the DRC
And I still have to pay money to my Belgian uncles
How much do you feel that Belgian people are willing to confront this violent history?
Well I wish that people acknowledged the pain more directly
King Leopold II ruled from 1885 to 1908, and the brutality is hard to grasp. Many estimate up to 10 million people died from killings, starvation, and disease. It’s so painful
It’s horrifying to think about what King Leopold did
It’s hard to conceive that my country gave him carte blanche in the Congo for over 20 years
It’s interesting…I hear that a lot, that separation of King Leopold from Belgium
But in the DRC, we don’t make the distinction. To us, it was Belgium leadership, companies, and security
It’s important for me to hear that
In Belgium, we place so much importance on that distinction, but we need to be more willing to discuss what happened and how it’s affecting us all today
Many don’t know the extent of what Belgians and other Europeans perpetrated in the Congo
Officials set huge quotas for rubber production and other industries, with villages pitted against each other
If you didn’t meet the quota, the authorities would often chop off your hand
So much violence, and over such a long time
Only after 23 years, and millions and millions of deaths, did anyone speak up about the atrocities that were unfolding
Yes, that’s how the King was pressured by the public into giving up the Congo Free State, as it was called
Eventually, Belgium did take over, and that’s how the colony officially started. Another dark chapter
Yes, there were some changes, but that’s also when the state-sponsored structural violence of colonisation started
I wish that I had sat more with this history before going to the DRC
It would have taught me to act differently, even in small ways
How do you mean?
When I was in the DRC and told people that I was Belgian, they would say, “Oh noko, noko”
Which literally means “uncle,” right?
Yeah, “uncle”, that’s what some people call Belgians in my country
At the time I found it really nice. Like, “Yeah, I’m a noko”
What I am now realising is how the word reflects colonial power dynamics and violence
Don’t feel too bad! The Congolese have managed to joke with it
Maybe it’s better this way, even if there’s still a lot of frustration
I noticed that. But it goes deeper than names
Someone once put it to me this way: “Development aid is like a new colonialism”
How do you take that comment?
Honestly? I have felt defensive for quite a long time about this statement
Most Belgians or aid actors I know join NGOs out of a genuine desire to do good
Has your feeling about this statement changed?
Yes, with all these conversations about BLM and colonial history, I start to see the scepticism more clearly
King Leopold first positioned his company as a charity. Bringing aid and “civilisation” was a front to get a foothold in the country and exploit it. It’s easy to begin to understand the mistrust
I know that many people born after 1960, after independence, have that feeling
They are suspicious of the “help” they see from the West
Very true, I have heard this time after time. It’s hard to hear…especially as a professional peacebuilder, someone who got into this line of work to build community and hope
Charline, I know your heart
I know you and so many others who are passionate about building a better world for all
Thank you, Laurent! Just like you are
Acknowledging past wrongs doesn’t mean that I believe “Belgium is all terrible.” On the contrary, I believe this acknowledgement will make us stronger as a people and better allies to the DRC
This means doing better development work, not giving up altogether, and it starts with listening to Congolese people
So tell me, how do you see all this affecting the DRC now?
From our post-colonial view, we tend to generalise anything that looks like colonial power
We see everything through the lens of history
How do you mean?
Well when I moved from the DRC to Belgium last year, I understood why the DRC is so bureaucratic
It’s the same system as Belgium, even if improved with the use of technologies
And our bureaucracy can be pretty maddening
Hahaha but it is profound to see
Almost 100 years ago, Belgium put in place its bureaucratic system in the DRC
But the system in the DRC didn’t improve a lot since the independence
And now divisions and instability in the DRC prevent progress
So the country can’t take advantage of its mineral wealth
Many people in the DRC believe that Belgium and other countries maintain the crisis in the DRC for that purpose
It surprises me that many Congolese people think Belgian companies still have so much influence in the DRC
To my knowledge, Belgian business influence has dropped a lot in past decades
I think in the DRC, many people don’t necessarily see much difference between European countries when it comes to their relationship with our country
There is even an assumption that Western countries together have some kind of a secret agreement
An agreement to maintain the DRC and other African countries under control
This is helpful to know. And people see Belgium as part of this agreement?
Yes
Even though Belgium is not that big as a country
Belgian still has quite some influence in DRC politics, I think
Maybe not direct influence, but because Belgium has such a large Congolese diaspora
Yes, authorities in the DRC keep traveling to Brussels to advance their agenda
Congolese people see Brussels mentioned as the capital of Europe
And we know that it was the capital of our colonial state
Interesting
Meanwhile, in the DRC, all the books that I read in primary and secondary school were written by Belgian and European authors
Really? I thought that this was no longer the case!
Oh yes, all through school
It’s quite ironic to study colonialism through the books of those who committed it
What was your education like about colonialism?
Not a lot honestly
How do you mean?
Learning about Belgium’s role in the DRC was just a few hours in the curriculum during the sixth year
That little?
We were 17, 18 years old, so that tells you about how much we studied
Although today I find that many Belgians are trying to reverse this shortcoming, learn more about the troubled past, and have Belgium deal with it
How did you get interested in the DRC then?
The final project of high school, you have to choose something, and I chose to focus on the slave trade in Africa
Why?
I don’t know. I had been collecting African art when I was 15, 16 years old
It’s embarrassing to remember how I thought of DRC at first
What do you mean?
Like this simple idyllic place with traditional clothes and practices
But it led me to learn more and finally get into peacebuilding
You might have a different impression if you knew that, in the DRC, our teachers talk about colonialism as a victimisation story
An image of pain caused by Belgian citizens in the past against the Congolese population
And today?
It’s funny, there’s such a generation gap
After colonialism ended, there were troubles for the first five years. Remember that it was the Cold War, and Congo was a high stake in that war with all our uranium, gold, and diamonds
Yes, somehow the Congo became a battlefield of the Cold War. That’s how Belgium and Western countries supported President Mobutu’s 30 years of dictatorship
Then, after the Cold War, vicious new wars erupted over political power, with fighting and food insecurity in the DRC. Not an easy history
Today, we are still trying to heal and deal with new forms of violence and oppression
How do you mean?
After independence, new leaders struggled to manage the Western systems already put in place
Yes, this is crazy. Belgium favoured large-scale primary education but feared the creation of a Congolese elite
Therefore they didn’t create a Congolese university until 6 years before independence
Without healthy systems, still dependent on our former colonisers, we sank into chaos
We’re still looking for our way, and the ravages of colonisation will take time to be repaired
You’re right, it takes time
More than time. Learning and reflecting
Vigilance for the inequality that is still here
Commitment to fight injustice, to recognise violence and build peace for everyone
Conversations like these
Something I have noticed in Belgium are all the old statues, many depicting a harmful 1950s perception of Congolese people as “savages”
Like the statues of King Leopold II that honuor the person who ordered horrible atrocities in Congo
Meanwhile I can’t think of any streets named after Congolese politicians
Except for one, Lumumba Avenue
Just now Belgium is acknowledging openly that Belgians helped to kill Lumumba
And Lumumba was the hero of DRC independence
It took this long
But the acknowledgement is important. This is how we start to grow
So what should we do?
Speaking as a Belgian, I think we need to acknowledge the pain
To discuss colonial history more and ensure that our children are taught that history in schools…and not just from the Belgian point of view
We need to create forums for Congolese and Belgians to discuss that shared experience, the harm that was done, and the path toward a brighter future
Speaking as a leader in the NGO world, I also think we need to start taking a closer look at our sector
How can we change to be better partners?
I agree Charline, and for deeper empathy and patience in taking all these steps
Just like you showed me in these messages
Thank you Laurent for this chat. I know it’s just a start
Thank you Charline, I’m glad you ended it for now
I have to get back to work ????
