OUTRAGED IN CONGO
“You,”
a small gaunt man said, as he positioned himself in my path, a few
hours after I arrived in Goma,
in eastern Congo, yesterday. A week earlier, a rebel force—called the M23 Movement—had seized
control of the city. The man appeared to be very excited. We stood under a sheet-metal roof eave,
loud with rain. “Listen to me,” he said. We stood very close, face to face, and his features were defined
by the most sunken pair of cheeks a man could have without whittling away the underlying bones of his
skull. “I have to ask you—you the international community—why do you keep coming here and just
installing idiots to run Congo?”
in eastern Congo, yesterday. A week earlier, a rebel force—called the M23 Movement—had seized
control of the city. The man appeared to be very excited. We stood under a sheet-metal roof eave,
loud with rain. “Listen to me,” he said. We stood very close, face to face, and his features were defined
by the most sunken pair of cheeks a man could have without whittling away the underlying bones of his
skull. “I have to ask you—you the international community—why do you keep coming here and just
installing idiots to run Congo?”
I
turned on my voice recorder, and he leaned toward it eagerly. “You must
go. Go tell your leaders,
who are responsible for the misery of the Congolese people, we have got no hope—ninety per cent of us.
That’s because we are intelligent. We have learned how to use our intelligence. We have the spiritual and
intellectual capacity to develop this country economically. But your leaders there, in the West there—
they use these idiots to rule us, to impoverish us, to makes bums of us.” He spoke French: “pour
nous clochardizer,” he said. He made an expression of intense disgust. “That’s why even now we
Congolese have no roads; we have no electricity. What kind of a country is this? It’s scandalous. And
you see this poor population. We don’t deserve this misery. Frankly.”
who are responsible for the misery of the Congolese people, we have got no hope—ninety per cent of us.
That’s because we are intelligent. We have learned how to use our intelligence. We have the spiritual and
intellectual capacity to develop this country economically. But your leaders there, in the West there—
they use these idiots to rule us, to impoverish us, to makes bums of us.” He spoke French: “pour
nous clochardizer,” he said. He made an expression of intense disgust. “That’s why even now we
Congolese have no roads; we have no electricity. What kind of a country is this? It’s scandalous. And
you see this poor population. We don’t deserve this misery. Frankly.”
“Oh Congo, what a wreck,” I wrote after
my last trip here. “It hurts to look and listen, and hurts to turn
away.” At that time, twelve years ago, the country was cut in half by war. The feeble army of President
Laurent-Désiré Kabila, propped up by Angolan and Zimbabwean forces and the fugitive army of Rwanda’s
former genocidal regime, controlled the west. And the east was under the occupation of the Rwandan and
Ugandan armies, fronted by a fractious alliance of fierce Congolese politico-military factions.
Poor countries are usually Roy and so form Y-Oy predator and Ro-R prey relationships, in the
past Ro-R was usually Marxist defending against Y-Oy imperialism and often its overtones of
V-Iv capitalism. In the absence of O police such as UN peacekeeping the country can become
openly predator and prey, it is unstable like in the Roy animal kingdom where the center of the
O food chain collapse. There needs to be a stronger centrist force which keeps the extreme Ro-R
and Y-Oy apart, it pays them off to some degree to moderate their disputes and keeps the peace
like O police do in societies. Often this is difficult because of asymmetric forces, Y-Oy might be
stronger because of the support of Y empires or V capitalist companies which makes Ro resistance
more prolonged without any hope of winning or achieving a balance. They might also break up
into R guerillas which will wear down the Y-Oy forces, however if the resources gained are rich
enough then this attrition can be sustained. If Ro-R are stronger then the country might be leftist
or Marxist, there might be Y-Oy warlords who continue to make trouble so the country never finds
peace. Many societies are like this and are then hard to police, for example in the US the
whites have more money and power so the I-O police tend to serve their interests more. Minorities
however still resist this, they might try to keep the O police out ro Ro neighborhoods that police
themselves because they see the O police as Oy agents of the Y-V majority race.
away.” At that time, twelve years ago, the country was cut in half by war. The feeble army of President
Laurent-Désiré Kabila, propped up by Angolan and Zimbabwean forces and the fugitive army of Rwanda’s
former genocidal regime, controlled the west. And the east was under the occupation of the Rwandan and
Ugandan armies, fronted by a fractious alliance of fierce Congolese politico-military factions.
Poor countries are usually Roy and so form Y-Oy predator and Ro-R prey relationships, in the
past Ro-R was usually Marxist defending against Y-Oy imperialism and often its overtones of
V-Iv capitalism. In the absence of O police such as UN peacekeeping the country can become
openly predator and prey, it is unstable like in the Roy animal kingdom where the center of the
O food chain collapse. There needs to be a stronger centrist force which keeps the extreme Ro-R
and Y-Oy apart, it pays them off to some degree to moderate their disputes and keeps the peace
like O police do in societies. Often this is difficult because of asymmetric forces, Y-Oy might be
stronger because of the support of Y empires or V capitalist companies which makes Ro resistance
more prolonged without any hope of winning or achieving a balance. They might also break up
into R guerillas which will wear down the Y-Oy forces, however if the resources gained are rich
enough then this attrition can be sustained. If Ro-R are stronger then the country might be leftist
or Marxist, there might be Y-Oy warlords who continue to make trouble so the country never finds
peace. Many societies are like this and are then hard to police, for example in the US the
whites have more money and power so the I-O police tend to serve their interests more. Minorities
however still resist this, they might try to keep the O police out ro Ro neighborhoods that police
themselves because they see the O police as Oy agents of the Y-V majority race.
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