DRC - Killer Kinshasa... literally

What did you think of that Qatar station? Music was OK, but too much talk. Plus, we got overheated just listening to the music.

Want to listen in on the Democratic Republic of the Congo today? Us, too! Pinky's second cousin served there in the Peace Corps back in the early 1960's, right after Kennedy started it. It was still Zaire at that point.

Currently the poorest country in the world, the DRC has had a pretty rough life, regardless of what moniker it's wearing. It was ravaged by slave traders in pre-colonial times, as was most of Africa. The king of Belgium took over in 1885, which one might think might not be so bad seeing as how tasty their waffles are, but hoooooo boy! Wrong! Around the turn of the 20th century he'd established rubber plantations for the world's burgeoning auto industry. If quotas weren't met, they'd hack off a limb. Like that'll make you work harder or faster... It's estimated that half, yes HALF, of the population died during this period due to exploitation and disease. Yikes. Bowing to international pressure, he turned control of the DRC over to the Belgian government in 1908 and they ruled until a nationalist movement declared independence in 1960. PS: Crazy Pants McGee (Leopold I of Belgium) would only remain king for another year until he his death in 1909.

he will seriously eat your hacked off limb.

A series of political crises and coups followed, until US-backed anti-communist Mobutu took over in the mid-60's and established a kleptocratic de facto dictatorship, complete with severe human rights violations and an insane cult of personality. 

how did we NOT know this guy was crazy?

He's thought to have squirreled away about 5 billion in Swiss banks. At one point in '75, he was the only person that the media could refer to by name. Everyone else was called by their position. He started renaming everything, and eventually settled on Zaire as the nations new name in the early 70's. He changed his own name as well to "Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga", which roughly translates to "The Great Unstoppable Warrior who goes from Victory to Victory, Leaving Fire in his Trail." Damn. We're kind of jealous.

Are you ready for this to get murky? Because here it comes: He continued to get lots of US support through the 70's and 80's, meeting with every president except Ford and Carter. When the USSR crumbled apart, relations between the US and Zaire cooled. A reformist movement smoldered during the 90's until it swept Mobutu from power with the support of Rwandan and Ugandan military forces. There was a whooooole lot of tension because of the Rwandan genocide, which Mobutu had supported (?!) and it factored into a lot of the politics of his government's overthrow. Mobutu even had the remains of the assassinated Rwandan president (who's assassination triggered the genocide) flown to Zaire so he could have them burned. What a crazy bird. Anyway, he fled to Morocco and died of cancer shortly thereafter. We're proud to report that Zaire quickly changed the name to the DRC.

A nasty civil war ensued, which soon earned the name Africa's World War. Eight African nations and about 25 militias were involved and about 5 and a half million people ended up dying, mostly from disease and starvation. That is the highest casualty rate of any conflict since WWII. Millions more folks were displaced; rape and horrible war crimes were systemic. Although peace accords were signed in 2003, the fragility of the government allows fighting and the worst sexual violence in the world to continue in the East driven by control of conflict minerals. Forced slavery is a reality here. No one is being held accountable for the atrocities that occurred. Rwanda and Uganda walk free. 

kids with guns

Once the 2nd most industrialized country in Africa, the DRC has suffered immeasurably under Mobutu and the ensuing civil war and is now rated as the poorest country in the world. (Although because of the devastation in Haiti next year the DRC might not be on the bottom.)

With all of that said, let's tune in to Kinshasa and see what it sounds like today.

Mangembo FM

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