The Democratic Republic of Congo
During the late 1800s most of Europe was racing to conquer the continent of Africa. The continent was divided into several non-cultural-centric countries, perhaps the seed of present day conflict throughout the continent. Perhaps, the most brutal regime, of the European conquerors, was King Leopold II of Belgium. “On 5 February 1885, the Congo Free State, an area 76 times larger than Belgium, was established under Leopold II’s personal rule and private army, the Force Publique”, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium#Congo_Free_State). King Leopold II’s talons extracted natural resources such as ivory and rubber sap in what is today’s Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC). His regime was erroneous in its level of brutality, compared to other colonial European powers. It is estimated during his approximate 25 years of reign, over Congo Free State, 10 million indigenous were slaughtered. Perhaps, King Leopold II’s monstrous rule of present day DRC was the impetus and seed of the violence, which exists today.
Today the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most volatile countries in the world. Stories of child soldiers committing acts of extreme violence under the rule of rogue rebel forces stream the media coming from DRC. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 child soldiers on the continent of Africa resides in DRC, (http://www.child-soldier.org/child-soldiers-in-drc). There are over 200 tribes in DRC, with 700 languages spoken in this country the physical size of approximately a quarter of the United States, with a population of 81.5 million people. As one can see with this data, the country is not only politically divided, but culturally as well. When a country has as many divisions as DRC does, it is susceptible to corruption. In our readings, we dove into the concept of the rule of “Big Man”, versus the rule of law, (pp 1553, Moran, R. Abramson, N. Moran, S. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences 9th edition. Routledge Publishing New York, NY). One of the most prominent examples of, “Big Man” ruling, was the presidency of Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu Sese Seko ruled DRC from 1965 to 1997, renaming the country Zaire during his dictatorship. While this region deteriorated to episodic levels of poverty, during Seko’s three decades of rule, it is estimated he amassed a fortune of 4 to 5 billion dollars while in office, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#Politics).
After researching data on DRC, it would be difficult to argue that the mentality of Ubuntu exists in this country. One argument to support the absence of Ubuntu in DRC is, “The DRC has earned the unfortunate sobriquet of ‘rape capital of the world”, (https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2015/08/05/hope-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-panzi-hospital). Many analysts suggest only international intervention in DRC can change the present course of this country. Although DRC is one of the largest producers of cobalt in the world and a continued leading producer of natural rubber, it is cursed with a violent history, which has festered into a modern-day horror story for millions of innocent peoples. A major overhaul of the political landscape would be needed to develop a sustainable business venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The continent of Africa has been exploited by every major power in Europe over the last two centuries. The example of Belgium’s exploits in the Congo region is one of the most deplorable examples of 18th century European conquests. Because of the establishment of non-cultural boarders, throughout several countries in Africa, political corruption and a foundation of episodic atrocities, hope for improvement in this part of the world, without direct/force help from those who created the problems, seems impossible.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium#Congo_Free_State
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
Moran, R. Abramson, N. Moran, S. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences 9th edition. Routledge Publishing New York, NY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#Politics
PSU, 2016 Module 14 Africa
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