Democratic Republic of the Congo

[Profileid]

Here's some info I found while browsing a travel article about it. Pretty interesting.

Although the Democratic Republic of the Congo is no longer considered as risky as it used to be, it remains a destination for only the most seasoned, hardcore African traveller. It is not a country for the casual "tourist": the average backpacker, holidaymaker, and especially those seeking luxury safaris or organized cultural experiences. The DRC remains one of the least developed countries in Africa; its GDP per capita is the fifteenth lowest in the world. Largely covered by lush, tropical rainforest, the heart of the DRC is comparable to the Amazon (the only larger rainforest on Earth). The mighty Congo River forms the backbone of the country, carrying barges overflowing with Congolese (and the occasional adventurous Westerner) and merchants bringing their large pirogues laden with goods, fruit, and local bushmeat out to sell to those on the barges.

The country has faced a tragic, tumultuous history since colonization. It was plundered by Belgium's King Leopold II for rubber and palm oil, collected forcibly from the Congolese by extremely brutal means. The country and its central government fell apart just weeks after independence in 1960. Future leaders spent far more time fighting rebels and trying to keep the country together. As such, they failed to build modern infrastructure, failed to improve education, failed to improve healthcare and failed to do anything else to improve the lives of the Congolese people. Between 1994 and 2003, the bloodiest conflict since the end of World War II played out in the country's eastern jungles, with sporadic violence ongoing ever since. Millions of people have been displaced in the past 20 years, fleeing murder and mass rape carried out by rebels and hundreds of thousands remain in refugee camps to this day, sheltered by the largest UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) in the world.

Those who do brave the elements to travel here are in for quite the adventure. In the east, volcanic peaks rise thousands of meters above the surrounding rainforest, often shrouded in mist. Hikers can climb up Mount Nyiragongo, looming above Goma, and spend the night on the rim above an active lava lake (one of just four worldwide!). In the jungles nearby, a small number of tourists each day are permitted to trek to families of gorillas. Along the mighty Congo River, a handful of travellers each year spend weeks floating hundreds of kilometres on barges loaded with cargo and Congolese. And don't forget to pick up masks and other handicrafts in lively markets across the country.

On the atrocities of the Belgians

The government's Force Publique enforced these quotas through imprisonment, torture, flogging, and the raping and burning of disobedient/rebellious villages. The most heinous act of the FP, however, was the taking of hands. The punishment for failing to meet rubber quotas was death. Concerned that the soldiers were using their precious bullets on sport hunting, the command required soldiers to submit one hand for every bullet used as proof they had used the bullet to kill someone. Entire villages would be surrounded and inhabitants murdered with baskets of severed hands being returned to commanders. Soldiers could get bonuses and return home early for returning more hands than others, while some villages faced with unrealistic rubber quotas would raid neighbouring villages to collect hands to present to the FP in order to avoid the same fate. Rubber prices boomed in the 1890s, bringing great wealth to Leopold and the whites of Congo, but eventually low-cost rubber from the Americas and Asia decreased prices and the operation in the CFS became unprofitable.

By the turn of the century, reports of these atrocities reached Europe. After a few years of successfully convincing the public that these reports were isolated incidents and slander, other European nations began investigating the activities of Leopold in the Congo Free State. Publications by noteworthy journalists and authors (like Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Doyle's The Crime of the Congo) brought the issue to the European public. Embarrassed, the government of Belgium finally annexed the Congo Free State, took over Leopold's holdings, and renamed the state Belgian Congo (to differentiate from French Congo, now Republic of the Congo). No census was ever taken, but historians estimate around half of the Congo's population, up to 10 million people, was killed between 1885-1908.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

[ЛыSSый]

ueropens aren't guilty, wild negroes murdered each other.

[Profileid]

ueropens aren't guilty, wild negroes murdered each other.

You're a dumbass. As a people used to being fucked over by superior powers, I would think you'd have a little sympathy.

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

It's like asking if you should treat dogs nice, even though they are inferior beings, of course.

These are horrible atrocities. Though it does not make them equal to us.

[zhaoyun]

Yeah, I read about the Belgian led atrocities in the Congo a hundred years ago. Up to this day, that country is a mess. There's a ton of tribes in there who have no business being in the same country.

[Profileid]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s vast tropical rainforest is a true natural treasure, home to over a thousand species of plants and hundreds of species of mammals,birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The tropical rainforest of the CongoBasin is the world’s second largest, after South America’s Amazon Rainforest. Situated in the heart of the African tropics, the DRC is home to the greatest expanse of rainforestin all of Africa. Tropical rainforest covers 58.9% of the DRC’s territory –over 515,000 square miles in total. Unfortunately, the trend toward tropical deforestation has not left this region untouched. In the decade from 1990 to 2000 alone, over 20,000 square miles of the DRC’s forests was wiped away. In the current decade, the DRC’s rainforest has been shrinking, on average, by 319,000 hectares
(over 1200 square miles) annually.
http://friendsofthecongo.org/pdf/congo_rainforest.pdf

http://assets.worldwildlife.org/photos/1111/images/story_full_width/western_lowland_gorilla_7.31.2012_whatwwfisdoing_H I_204542.jpg?1345586228
http://assets.worldwildlife.org/photos/11752/images/story_full_width/Elephant_boulevard_2.JPG?1465820999
http://assets.worldwildlife.org/photos/1034/images/story_full_width/congo-basin-heroHI_279170b.jpg?1345536043
http://assets.worldwildlife.org/photos/691/images/story_full_width/grassland-07182012-HI_23332.jpg?1345576507
http://www.worldwildlife.org/photos/congo-basin-virunga-mountains

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

Yeah, I read about the Belgian led atrocities in the Congo a hundred years ago. Up to this day, that country is a mess. There's a ton of tribes in there who have no business being in the same country.

kinda funny how when whites arrived in southern Africa they didn't even have the wheel lol

[ЛыSSый]

You're a dumbass. As a people used to being fucked over by superior powers, I would think you'd have a little sympathy.

the main feature which differentiates intelligent people from others is ability to feel slim kinds of humour like irony, sarcasm etc. Wish you sucsessfuly evolitionize.

[Profileid]

Yeah, I read about the Belgian led atrocities in the Congo a hundred years ago. Up to this day, that country is a mess. There's a ton of tribes in there who have no business being in the same country.

I knew of it,but didn't realize it killed half of their population until I checked this out. It's a shame a place with so much to offer in terms of tourism and natural resources is such a fucked up place to be. Then you have Mobutu...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Mobutu.jpg
Well it's good to know he got style

[zhaoyun]

kinda funny how when whites arrived in southern Africa they didn't even have the wheel lol

Well, that's not justification to treat people badly. Anyways, there is no doubt that the Belgians were pretty cruel to the Congolese, it's well documented. They got fucked over by their own leaders as well. Most of the tribes in the rainforest would've probably just been better off not having been contacted by the outside world.

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

Well, that's not justification to treat people badly. Anyways, there is no doubt that the Belgians were pretty cruel to the Congolese, it's well documented. They got fucked over by their own leaders as well. Most of the tribes in the rainforest would've probably just been better off not having been contacted by the outside world.

k but I never said it was justification.

We shouldn't treat dogs bad either just because they are lesser - I love dogs.

[Enflamme]

Yeah, I read about the Belgian led atrocities in the Congo a hundred years ago. Up to this day, that country is a mess. There's a ton of tribes in there who have no business being in the same country.


These are still the Europeans the wicked :D

When Asia meets Africa (Extract: A Chinese to Katanga):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqMh_q_HXI

[Newman]

On the atrocities of the Belgians

http://wikitravel.org/en/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

Lies lies lies

Do you mean the king of the belgians and his british partners?


Nah, the demography has growth exponentially during the belgian rule. Belgians saved them from extinction.


From 1950 to 1958 the index of wage Congolese worker goes from 100 to 237 and only an increase of the cost of living of 20%. At the same time , the white settler, and the average frame congolese is more prosperous than the metropolis' belgians. At the end of World War, happened a high population growth : the population grew by 2% per year.


In 1959, the GDP per capita in Congo reach 90 US dollars / inhabitant , close to Greece and Portugal, equal to Canada
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_belge#D.C3.A9mographie_et_.C3.A9conomie

The problem was rather decolonization.

The 10 millions genocide is an afrocentrist hoax, everyone knows that the holy shoah is greatest disaster of all humanity.

[Newman]

Well, that's not justification to treat people badly. Anyways, there is no doubt that the Belgians were pretty cruel to the Congolese, it's well documented. They got fucked over by their own leaders as well. Most of the tribes in the rainforest would've probably just been better off not having been contacted by the outside world.

British propaganda. They wanted the congolese natural ressources for themselves.
Who can trust the brits after the atrocities they've commited around the world?

[Profileid]

Lies lies lies

Do you mean the king of the belgians and his british partners?


Nah, the demography has growth exponentially during the belgian rule. Belgians saved them from extinction.




https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_belge#D.C3.A9mographie_et_.C3.A9conomie

The problem was rather decolonization.

The 10 millions genocide is an afrocentrist hoax, everyone knows that the holy shoah is greatest disaster of all humanity.

They saved them from extinction by annihilating half their population? Interesting.

[XenophobicPrussian]

You should go on vacation there(preferably in the non-tourist areas and for a few weeks), Etain.

I mean, they're just human right? What could possibly go wrong?

[Profileid]

DRC has the second largest extant rainforest after the Amazon. It is considered a megadiverse country in terms of flora and fauna.
http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0722-africa-rainforest-map.jpg
https://geolt12.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/madagascar-rainforest-frank-vassen.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TED6L_m1P5A/UGKk-z5uMbI/AAAAAAAABKo/sXirZmXhVTw/s1600/IMG_3080.jpg
http://1planet.mobi/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/156966551.jpg

[zhaoyun]

These are still the Europeans the wicked :D

When Asia meets Africa (Extract: A Chinese to Katanga):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqMh_q_HXI

What's your point? I didn't say Chinese people are angels, but the reality is, they (China ) wouldn't be able to get away with what the Belgians got away with in this day and age because of modern social media, cultural values, etc. People in this forum are so fucking dense.

[zhaoyun]

British propaganda. They wanted the congolese natural ressources for themselves.
Who can trust the brits after the atrocities they've commited around the world?

Both the Belgians and the Brits committed atrocities in their colonies. They point fingers at each other for political gain. This has been going on forever since the dawn of history.

[Dick]

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/0d/0dd692641d98dd4a2476e86e46b5483cdcf57bbfd5df41260a 24e8de03c2295f.jpg

[Profileid]

Okay I made this thread to talk about a place that is really extraordinary but doesn't get enough attention. Please take your talk about black people to another thread.

[Enflamme]

What's your point? I didn't say Chinese people are angels, but the reality is, they (China ) wouldn't be able to get away with what the Belgians got away with in this day and age because of modern social media, cultural values, etc. People in this forum are so fucking dense.

I'm agree with this Chinese man.

[Taiguaitiaoghyrmmumin]

kinda funny how when whites arrived in southern Africa they didn't even have the wheel lol

In a jungle using a wheel would kind of be tough to use. they would have used cattle to transport goods instead.

[zhaoyun]

I'm agree with this Chinese man.

He has a point. But the reality is that some cultures are more prone to economic development, some are not. I don't think the cultures in the Congo, which were primarily nomadic hunter gatherers were at the stage fit for economic development. And that's fine, that's their thing.

[Profileid]

The okapi, a relative of the giraffe, is one of many animals only found in the Congo basin. It was not discovered by western scientists until 1900!
http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media/80/146380-004-623E7586.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Okapi2.jpg
http://blog.cuipo.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/okapi_ituri_rainforest_cuipo.jpeg
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids/species-profiles/okapi

[Enflamme]

He has a point. But the reality is that some cultures are more prone to economic development, some are not. I don't think the cultures in the Congo, which were primarily nomadic hunter gatherers were at the stage fit for economic development. And that's fine, that's their thing.

I'm agree.

But, now, i will not post messages off topic here :p

Sorry!

[Óttar]

Mobutu ended up living in a palatial house just a few yards away from King Leopold's estate. Disgusting how they are willing to sell out their own people.

[Profileid]

Tress in the DRC rainforest store massive amounts of carbon. 39 billion tons in Central Africa combined. This acts as an important buffer against climate change.
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/

[Spyy]

omoshiroi

[Profileid]

Mobutu ended up living in a palatial house just a few yards away from King Leopold's estate. Disgusting how they are willing to sell out their own people.
There's a book called "Dictator Style" that has pics of his palace. It's pretty amazing to see something like that in a place like 90% jungle. Needless to speak of the average living standards of the people there.

He changed his name from Joseph Desire Mobutu to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu waza Banga, which, according to most translations means "the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake.

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/090897obit-mobutu.html

[Newman]

They saved them from extinction by annihilating half their population? Interesting.

Proof?

Based of the work of the belgian commission in 1919 which was based of nothing since they had no data, just the difference between the first census and Stanley's estimation made of local testimonials.
There was various fanciful hyperbolic outbidding , for example, the Encyclopædia Britannica estimates a loss of 8 to 30 millions

Still, the first census reported a population of 7 millions in 1910 at the begining of the belgian rule and 14,7 millions in 1960 at the end of the belgian rule. How is it a fucking genocide?
It's the only certitude we have.


Both the Belgians and the Brits committed atrocities in their colonies. They point fingers at each other for political gain. This has been going on forever since the dawn of history.

The only atrocities that occured in Congo happened during Leopold's rule, in an independent state, by industrials and hired explorers, who were accessorily mostly british.
None of these happened during the belgian rule (1908-1960)

[Profileid]

Food of the Congo
http://i0.wp.com/www.bonvoyageurs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/image164.jpg

Congo has one national dish: moambe. It's made of eight ingredients (moambe is the Lingala word for eight): palm nuts, chicken, fish, peanuts, rice, cassave leaves, bananas and hot pepper sauce.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#Eat

http://www.travelingeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/104258258.jpg

Satori is a popular dish among the fishing communities of Kisangani. The dish is made from tilapia fillets pan fried in a bed of pepitas (pumpkin seeds), plantains, and garlic.
The dish may be available in Nganda restaurants around Kinshasa. These eating places, often managed by unmarried women, serve as a middle ground between bars and restaurants.
Satori goes well with cold beer and even soukous music playing on the stereo.

http://www.travelingeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Cassava_Suman.jpg

Cassava is used to make chikwanga. The tuberous root is pounded into paste. Then it’s wrapped in banana leaves before boiled in a pot.

Chikwanga is sold with the same leaves used as wrapper. Eaten as snacks, the dish is regarded as a travel companion, as the leaf holding the cassava paste keeps the food fresh.

http://www.travelingeast.com/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/congolese-cuisine/

[Taiguaitiaoghyrmmumin]

Proof?

Based of the work of the belgian commission in 1919 which was based of nothing since they had no data, just the difference between the first census and Stanley's estimation made of local testimonials.
There was various fanciful hyperbolic outbidding , for example, the Encyclopædia Britannica estimates a loss of 8 to 30 millions

Still, the first census reported a population of 7 millions in 1910 at the begining of the belgian rule and 14,7 millions in 1960 at the end of the belgian rule. How is it a fucking genocide?
It's the only certitude we have.



The only atrocities that occured in Congo happened during Leopold's rule, in an independent state, by industrials and hired explorers, who were accessorily mostly british.
None of these happened during the belgian rule (1908-1960)

They were pretty much fucked over by both brits and belgians but I read before that belgians were much more ruthless.

[Profileid]

Proof?

Based of the work of the belgian commission in 1919 which was based of nothing since they had no data, just the difference between the first census and Stanley's estimation made of local testimonials.
There was various fanciful hyperbolic outbidding , for example, the Encyclopædia Britannica estimates a loss of 8 to 30 millions

Still, the first census reported a population of 7 millions in 1910 at the begining of the belgian rule and 14,7 millions in 1960 at the end of the belgian rule. How is it a fucking genocide?
It's the only certitude we have.



The only atrocities that occured in Congo happened during Leopold's rule, in an independent state, by industrials and hired explorers, who were accessorily mostly british.
None of these happened during the belgian rule (1908-1960)

Totally no genocide. Joseph Conrad lied in The Heart of Darkness, the Europeans who,after hearing the news of what was going on in the Congo,were outraged, were outraged over nothing. The Belgian government that eventually had to wrest control of the country out of the hands of Leopold were doing it for nothing! Every independent source, totally based on nothing.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Victim_of_Congo_atrocities%2C_Congo%2C_ca._1890-1910_%28IMP-CSCNWW33-OS10-19%29.jpg

[Profileid]

Coat of arms
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Con go.svg

[zhaoyun]

Proof?

Based of the work of the belgian commission in 1919 which was based of nothing since they had no data, just the difference between the first census and Stanley's estimation made of local testimonials.
There was various fanciful hyperbolic outbidding , for example, the Encyclopædia Britannica estimates a loss of 8 to 30 millions

Still, the first census reported a population of 7 millions in 1910 at the begining of the belgian rule and 14,7 millions in 1960 at the end of the belgian rule. How is it a fucking genocide?
It's the only certitude we have.



The only atrocities that occured in Congo happened during Leopold's rule, in an independent state, by industrials and hired explorers, who were accessorily mostly british.
None of these happened during the belgian rule (1908-1960)

Well, the Belgian Congo was ruled initially as Leopold's private estate, yet it was still ruled by Belgian authorities. It's just terminology.

[Newman]

Totally no genocide. Joseph Conrad lied in The Heart of Darkness, the Europeans who,after hearing the news of what was going on in the Congo,were outraged, were outraged over nothing. The Belgian government that eventually had to wrest control of the country out of the hands of Leopold were doing it for nothing! Every independent source, totally based on nothing.

:picard1:
He wrote the book in 1899, while Belgium annexed the Congo in 1908.
In 1899, Congo was an independent state ruled by Leopold II (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State).

Besides, do you think Leopold gave the order to cut locals' hands? No!
He just gave carte blanche to industrials who had all their own methods to increase the efficiency.

Capitalism, greed, is the leitmotiv of these murders and mutilation, not the belgian state nor the belgians.

[Profileid]

:picard1:
He wrote the book in 1899, while Belgium annexed the Congo in 1908.
In 1899, Congo was an independent state ruled by Leopold II (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State).

Besides, do you think Leopold gave the order to cut locals' hands? No!
He just gave carte blanche to industrials who had all their own methods to increase the efficiency.

Capitalism, greed, is the leitmotiv of these murders and mutilation, not the belgian state nor the belgians.

The Belgians were the ones physically doing it;they are responsible for their actions.
So you finally admit it happened?

[Newman]

Well, the Belgian Congo was ruled initially as Leopold's private estate, yet it was still ruled by Belgian authorities. It's just terminology.

Belgian has always been a constitutional monarchy, the kings have never had any political power.
The belgian governement had no influence on the Congo free state, and didn't want to involve in it untill they had to, they were actually pleased to be rid of the king.

The colonization was introduced as a christian and philantropical operation to the public opinion and the international community.
The belgian people and politicians were against it and thought the king should focus first on "white misery", despite the catholic governement had lent money to the king for his colonial entreprise for proselyte reasons.

[Sebastianus Rex]

You're a dumbass. As a people used to being fucked over by superior powers, I would think you'd have a little sympathy.

What's your point ? They will all die of AIDS, Ebola and or Civil War anyway, it's pretty evident that negroes can't govern themselves even with rich resource countries, in general they did not evolved or adapted to live in modern societies (simply the IQ average doesn't allow it) but rather on primitive tribalistic societies...yes it's the white man's fault, i'll give you that.

[Profileid]

Once touted as Kin la Belle (beautiful Kinshasa), locals have long since redubbed their chaotic capital 'Kin la Poubelle' (Kinshasa the trashcan). Sprawling seemingly forever from the banks of the Congo River, 'Kin' has the same maniacal drivers, dismaying poverty, mounds of trash, belching black tailpipes and persistent street hawkers that you've seen in many other African cities, but here it's all bigger, faster and louder than you've probably experienced before.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/democratic-republic-of-congo/kinshasa/introduction
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Kinshasa-Gombe%2C_from_CCIC.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__4OTrLdBEKo/TTwb89e2hmI/AAAAAAAAADc/iCZLNhge8_s/s1600/kin+Blvd+30eJuin+BCDC+%2528skyscrapers%2529.jpg
http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1402377/kinshasa.jpg

[de Burgh II]

Ayyyyyy! Lets go to the New York of Africa; Lagos, Nigeria!

https://www.movebacktonigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Lagos.jpg

Ayyyyyyy!

https://media.giphy.com/media/tITfss8cqzTO0/giphy.gif

[Newman]

The Belgians were the ones physically doing it;they are responsible for their actions.
So you finally admit it happened?

Since when the king represents Belgium or the belgians?
Henry Morton Stanley was welsh and the one who put in place the colonization, should we blame welsh for that?

I've just said that Belgium and the belgians have no responsibility into what happened in the Congo between 1885 and 1908, and for logistical reasons I don't believe that few thousand explorers and entrepreneur could have killed half of the congolese population.

[Profileid]

Ayyyyyy! Lets go to the New York of Africa; Lagos, Nigeria!

https://www.movebacktonigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Lagos.jpg

Ayyyyyyy!

https://media.giphy.com/media/tITfss8cqzTO0/giphy.gif

Not all black people are the same u racist fuck

[Newman]

Leopoldville in 1928 (aka Kinshasa)
Good ol' times

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mfVTnVIJmUM/T0bQDpUVtsI/AAAAAAAABLU/3k9AQmnk7GQ/s1600/Leo+Mont+Leo-II+(delcampe1).jpg

[de Burgh II]

Not all black people are the same u racist fuck

DATS RACIST! How not so progressive of you!

I'm being a good bystander over here and I get scolded because I'm not apart of your biased affirmative actions ploy to MARGINALIZE and DIVIDE your fellow white brethren for something they did 'nuffins over.

I am APPALLED! I am RUSTLED! I am TUSSLED! I am CONFUZLE-MA-NUZZLED!

How could YOU SAY such a thing! JEROME WAS A GOOD BOY! He is crying right now in the corner right now due to this insensitivity!

How could you!?! :cry2

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSdpdiZasMG2FGYUX5_ZaTeopOIZH5dA vQMoU1v1176s2AHs4BjQw

[GoneWithTheWind]

k but I never said it was justification.

We shouldn't treat dogs bad either just because they are lesser - I love dogs.

What makes YOU superior?

[Newman]

What makes YOU superior?

Noah*, in the genesis


25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
- Genesis 9:20

[Profileid]

Mount Nyiragongo
One of only four lava lakes in the world.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/11/albertine-rift/img/03-nyiragongo-volcano-congo_1600.jpg
http://www.photovolcanica.com/VolcanoInfo/Nyiragongo/IMG_7983.JPG
https://laurenmoorhouse.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/volcano-coolinsights.jpg

[Profileid]

Soukous,popular style of music and dance originating from the Congo Basin. The similarity to music in Caribbean and South America is interesting to note. It also reminds me of American hip hop dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D31E5xrDpTc

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

In a jungle using a wheel would kind of be tough to use. they would have used cattle to transport goods instead.

Would a wheel truly not be more useful?

It supports my idea either way, that climates influence these sorts of things.

[Taiguaitiaoghyrmmumin]

Would a wheel truly not be more useful?

It supports my idea either way, that climates influence these sorts of things.

a wheel wouldnt be useful for traveling goods in the jungle, obviously
If it was applied in a tool like a spindle for threading thats different

[r0karoka]

Funny how you talk about the Belgians.... Yet you don't talk about the killing of Whites in South Africa.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5TD2HpXcH0

[Jehan]

So you get the jungle fever?

[Profileid]

Funny how you talk about the Belgians.... Yet you don't talk about the killing of Whites in South Africa.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5TD2HpXcH0
White butthurt.

So you get the jungle fever?

No. I simply wanted to talk about something I found interesting. As opposed to discussing for the billionth time something about Italy or the Balkans.

[Newman]

White butthurt.


No. I simply wanted to talk about something I found interesting. As opposed to discussing for the billionth time something about Italy or the Balkans.

Look at this educated congolese asking his fellow countrymen about Leopold II.
The man who recognize him, says:
"It's the King Lepold II. He was a great leader. He's the belgian who colonized us. He's our uncle. He colonized us. He taught us civilization".
https://youtu.be/YW4wrLGvpEc?t=10m24s

You won't see that much congolese complaining about colonization, they rather miss it. They all know that D.R. Congo was the most modern and wealthiest african country when the belgian left.
So, why are you whining in their names? You're such a white knight.

[Profileid]

Look at this educated congolese asking his fellow countrymen about Leopold II.
The man who recognize him, says:
"It's the King Lepold II. He was a great leader. He's the belgian who colonized us. He's our uncle. He colonized us. He taught us civilization".
https://youtu.be/YW4wrLGvpEc?t=10m24s

You won't see that much congolese complaining about colonization, they rather miss it. They all knows that D.R. Congo was the most modern and wealthiest african country when the belgian left.
So, why are you whining in their names? You're such a white knight.

Why are you here if you're just trying to push the "white people can do no wrong" agenda as opposed to discussing the country itself?
This is like finding Europeans who support taking in refugees.

[Slud]

The Belgians were indeed cruel and bad, but almost all other colonialism has been great. I don't even understand this thing of shaming whites for colonialism..... I mean, what do white people who live today have anything to do with the ones that lived 200 years ago besides being genetically related? And pretty much every country outside of Eurasia would be pretty backwards if it weren't for colonialism.

[Newman]

Why are you here if you're just trying to push the "white people can do no wrong" agenda as opposed to discussing the country itself?
This is like finding Europeans who support taking in refugees.

Not saying that whites can't do wrong.
I'm just trying to say there's no need to encourage animosity between the congolese and the belgians, while there have never been.
All this remembrance movement, as well as the accusations and the whinings that come with it, about the so called genocide in Congo is part of new worlder afrocentrists agenda to instigate the hate toward whites among the black peoples around the world.

Diseases may have caused millions of human loss in Congo but not the white hand. However, probably several hundreds of thousands were killed and other mutilated, tortured, in the name of greed.


If you want me to contribute, I shall contribute then:

Congolese soldiers of the public force on the eastern african front during WW2
The ones who crushed the germans in Ruanda-Urundi and Tanzania
http://desc-wondo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/FP-Tabora.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/07/f5/21/07f521b2d55904793115f59ffec2eb76.jpg

[Profileid]

Art of the Congo
http://www.congo-pages.org/congoartnet/3179-11.jpg

http://www.congo-pages.org/katart/copper.htm
The impact of Congolese Masks on Picasso

Picasso came in contact with the work of African artists at around 1905. This new form of art stimulated a great interest in him since it was different from what he was exposed to in the West. He was particularly fascinated with African Masks. After the great discovery he wrote:
"I have experienced my greatest artistic emotions, when I suddenly discovered the sublime beauty of sculptures executed by the anonymous artists from Africa. These passionate and rigorously logical religious works are what the human imagination has produced as most potent and most beautiful..."
At that moment, I realized what painting was all about!
Picasso was above all taken by the elements and principles of design applied on the masks in addition to the emotions that they transmitted. Captured by the power of these new forms, he begins to apply them into the preliminary sketches for Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon, from which originated Modern Art and the Cubist Movement.
The mask worn by the woman in the bottom right corner of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is based on the Mbuya (sickness) Mask, created by the Pende of the D.R Congo, as revealed by art experts. It is noticeable that Picasso painted an unadulterated reflexion of this mask. All facial distortions and expressions created by the Congolese artist have been retained and faithfully reproduced. Interestingly, facial distortions and emotional expressions are what constitute the quintessential elements in both Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and the Mbuya Mask.
http://friendsofthecongo.org/congolese-culture.html?start=1
http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cultur/tervuren/images/mbangu_b.gif
http://gc2000.rutgers.edu/GC2000/MODULES/VISUAL/IMAGES/Les_Desmoiselles.jpg

[Spyy]

where is mazembe?

[Newman]

where is mazembe?

TP Mazembe, the football club, or Mazembe the congolese god?

[Spyy]

TP Mazembe, the football club, or Mazembe the congolese god?

the congolese footbal club, the only thing I know about that country and their goalkeeper in 2010 called Kidiaba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK10WyhaljA

[ЛыSSый]

Funny how you talk about the Belgians.... Yet you don't talk about the killing of Whites in South Africa.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5TD2HpXcH0

that was anwer on mass murdering of negroes before.

[Profileid]

Robots control traffic in Kinshasa
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140214162226-kinshasa-robots-1-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/digitaltrends-uploads-prod/2014/02/Kinshasa-Traffic-Robot-3.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03220/robot_3220608b.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/tech/robot-cops-rule-kinshasa/index.html

[Profileid]

I forgot the flag
http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/thumb/6/6f/Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg/750px-Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg.p ng

[Freeroostah]

Africa needs a huge reset and start from the beginning
The African countries you see nowadays are artificial post-colonial states with no ethnic homogeneity
The West should leave Africans themselves to draw the borders and create efficient nation-states.
Only then there will be peace in the black continent.
Amen

[Profileid]

This was the best thread I ever made. Let me revel in it again.
http://paradiseintheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/democratic-republic-of-the-congo.jpg

[Profileid]

The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially one of the richest countries on earth, but colonialism, slavery and corruption have turned it into one of the poorest, writes historian Dan Snow.

The world's bloodiest conflict since World War II is still rumbling on today.
It is a war in which more than five million people have died, millions more have been driven to the brink by starvation and disease and several million women and girls have been raped.
The Great War of Africa, a conflagration that has sucked in soldiers and civilians from nine nations and countless armed rebel groups, has been fought almost entirely inside the borders of one unfortunate country - the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is a place seemingly blessed with every type of mineral, yet consistently rated lowest on the UN Human Development Index, where even the more fortunate live in grinding poverty.
I went to the Congo this summer to find out what it was about the country's past that had delivered it into the hands of unimaginable violence and anarchy.
The journey that I went on, through the Congo's abusive history, while travelling across its war-torn present, was the most disturbing experience of my career.
I met rape victims, rebels, bloated politicians and haunted citizens of a country that has ceased to function - people who struggle to survive in a place cursed by a past that defies description, a history that will not release them from its death-like grip.
The Congo's apocalyptic present is a direct product of decisions and actions taken over the past five centuries.
In the late 15th Century an empire known as the Kingdom of Kongo dominated the western portion of the Congo, and bits of other modern states such as Angola.
It was sophisticated, had its own aristocracy and an impressive civil service.
When Portuguese traders arrived from Europe in the 1480s, they realised they had stumbled upon a land of vast natural wealth, rich in resources - particularly human flesh.
The Congo was home to a seemingly inexhaustible supply of strong, disease-resistant slaves. The Portuguese quickly found this supply would be easier to tap if the interior of the continent was in a state of anarchy.
They did their utmost to destroy any indigenous political force capable of curtailing their slaving or trading interests.
Money and modern weapons were sent to rebels, Kongolese armies were defeated, kings were murdered, elites slaughtered and secession was encouraged.
By the 1600s, the once-mighty kingdom had disintegrated into a leaderless, anarchy of mini-states locked in endemic civil war. Slaves, victims of this fighting, flowed to the coast and were carried to the Americas.
About four million people were forcibly embarked at the mouth of the Congo River. English ships were at the heart of the trade. British cities and merchants grew rich on the back of Congolese resources they would never see.
This first engagement with Europeans set the tone for the rest of the Congo's history.
Development has been stifled, government has been weak and the rule of law non-existent. This was not through any innate fault of the Congolese, but because it has been in the interests of the powerful to destroy, suppress and prevent any strong, stable, legitimate government. That would interfere - as the Kongolese had threatened to interfere before - with the easy extraction of the nation's resources. The Congo has been utterly cursed by its natural wealth.
The Congo is a massive country, the size of Western Europe.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

[crazyladybutterfly]

kinda funny how when whites arrived in southern Africa they didn't even have the wheel lol

wheel in a fucking RAINFOREST?

[Milo]

kinda funny how when whites arrived in southern Africa they didn't even have the wheel lolNeither would the whiteys, if it wasn't for Mespotamianiggers. Progress only happens because of trade with different parts of the world. You can't expect a random culture to have invented everything that you have had in your culture. Much of what you have actually can be traced back to a foreign culture.

Also, unless beasts of burden are present in a region, there is no need for wheels.

[crazyladybutterfly]

DRC has the second largest extant rainforest after the Amazon. It is considered a megadiverse country in terms of flora and fauna.
http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0722-africa-rainforest-map.jpg
https://geolt12.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/madagascar-rainforest-frank-vassen.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TED6L_m1P5A/UGKk-z5uMbI/AAAAAAAABKo/sXirZmXhVTw/s1600/IMG_3080.jpg
http://1planet.mobi/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/156966551.jpg

I CAN SEE HOW WHEEL AND CHARRIOT ( mmm.. using which animals?) would have been highly practical lol

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially one of the richest countries on earth, but colonialism, slavery and corruption have turned it into one of the poorest, writes historian Dan Snow.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

Despite all of that I couldn't help but think of cannibalism.

Congo rebels are eating pygmies, UN says (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/09/congo.jamesastill)

[Profileid]

Sapeurs-Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes(The Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People)
This is in both Brazzaville and Kinshasa.

In a poor city in a poor country on a poor continent, there is a group of people with a singular purpose: to look rich.

Or, rather, to look good — and to fully embody the suave, elegant style that a wardrobe of three-piece suits, silk socks, fedoras and canes might suggest.

They are called sapeurs or members of the Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes (the Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People). And when they go out, they turn the streets of Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, into a fashion runway.
http://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2013/05/07/181704510/the-surprising-sartorial-culture-of-congolese-sapeurs
http://i.imgur.com/tevZBXn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rYxEiHa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XqrvY28.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NyIg29i.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pB1vj48.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f9x3FW3.jpg
http://imgur.com/gallery/GB2T5

[crazyladybutterfly]

Sapeurs-Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes(The Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People)
This is in both Brazzaville and Kinshasa.

http://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2013/05/07/181704510/the-surprising-sartorial-culture-of-congolese-sapeurs
http://i.imgur.com/tevZBXn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rYxEiHa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XqrvY28.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NyIg29i.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pB1vj48.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f9x3FW3.jpg
http://imgur.com/gallery/GB2T5

so elegant lol

honestly many africans have a horrible taste in dressing

[Profileid]

so elegant lol

honestly many africans have a horrible taste in dressing

I thought it was pretty cool. Compare their fancy clothes to the surrounding environment. It's inspiring to see people make the best of things.

[crazyladybutterfly]

Compare their fancy clothes to the surrounding environment. It's inspiring to see people make the best of things.

yes i guess this is why they like overly colorful clothes so much , these colors bring joy .. by istinct.

[zhaoyun]

Sapeurs-Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes(The Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People)
This is in both Brazzaville and Kinshasa.

http://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2013/05/07/181704510/the-surprising-sartorial-culture-of-congolese-sapeurs
http://i.imgur.com/tevZBXn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rYxEiHa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XqrvY28.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NyIg29i.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pB1vj48.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f9x3FW3.jpg
http://imgur.com/gallery/GB2T5

This is the Republic of Congo next door, not the DRC.

[frankhammer]

Cool dudes. Reminds me of Kid Creole and the coconuts style.

[Profileid]

This is the Republic of Congo next door, not the DRC.

Yes I stated above that this was mainly about Brazzavile. However, it's a thing in Kinshasa too.

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

yes i guess this is why they like overly colorful clothes so much , these colors bring joy .. by istinct.

I'd be pissed that some guys were walking around my town having fun in their dress up, while I'm dirt poor. It's like a slap across the face.

[crazyladybutterfly]

I'd be pissed that some guys were walking around my town having fun in their dress up, while I'm dirt poor. It's like a slap across the face.

so people cant have fun if you re suffering? i have depression and it makes me feel better to see people enjoying their lives.
and i think they dress in this way also to make other people smile

[Iloko]

Looks like they have lots to offer in the tourism department. It's a shame they can't start developing and modernizing over there. White devilz!

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

so people cant have fun if you re suffering? i have depression and it makes me feel better to see people enjoying their lives.
and i think they dress in this way also to make other people smile

I'm of a different mentality. I think time and energy should be put into making the situation better for one's self and everyone around rather than wasting it on superficial momentary relief.

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

huehue

I'm kinda over racialism now

I still am a real Culturalist though - to the point where I am against any kind of immigration to Europe unless it is from highly skilled and intelligent people from places where the predominant culture is not Ultraconservatism - as it is in most countries in the Middle East.

[Taiguaitiaoghyrmmumin]

I'm kinda over racialism now

I still am a real Culturalist though - to the point where I am against any kind of immigration to Europe unless it is from highly skilled and intelligent people from places where the predominant culture is not Ultraconservatism - as it is in most countries in the Middle East.

ok sure. Tell me when you decide to be a pro gay nazi multiculturalists

[Profileid]

I'd be pissed that some guys were walking around my town having fun in their dress up, while I'm dirt poor. It's like a slap across the face.

It's a part of their culture, the people who see them find it entertaining and the people who are doing it are dirt poor too.

I'm of a different mentality. I think time and energy should be put into making the situation better for one's self and everyone around rather than wasting it on superficial momentary relief.

Easier said than done. You might as well be asking why everyone doesn't have a million dollars.I grew up poor and found great comfort in playing my Gameboy.One of my prized possessions. I'm not going to knock people for doing something they enjoy.
http://i.imgur.com/ObquoiJ.png

[Profileid]

A park ranger standing guard as Mount Nyamulagira erupts in eastern Congo on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011.
http://i.imgur.com/bIKwAU6.jpg

[Profileid]

The Democratic Republic of Congo alone has half of Africa’s forests and water resources

The DRC has the highest level of biodiversity in Africa, yet 190 species are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Elephants and mountain gorillas are among the species under threat.

The DRC has the largest artisanal mining workforce in the world - around two million people - but a lack of controls have led to land degradation and pollution. Its untapped mineral reserves are of global importance and are estimated to be worth US$24 trillion.
http://www.unep.org/NEWSCENTRE/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2656&ArticleID=8890

[Dandelion]

The only atrocities that occured in Congo happened during Leopold's rule, in an independent state, by industrials and hired explorers, who were accessorily mostly british.
None of these happened during the belgian rule (1908-1960)

True. Congo Free State wasn't officially part of the Belgian state and the Force Publique (Leopold's private army) was responsible for many of the atrocities and consisted of Europeans of all stock and local Africans. Ultimately unscrupulous capitalism of the most evil form was with causes millions to die or get mutilated.
Belgian stock holders profited from the rubber exploitation over the blood of many Congolese, sure. But to emphasise about 'the Belgians' is quite simplistic.

The atrocities happened when Congo was the Belgian king Leopold II's personal domain. The situation in the Congo improved after the Belgian state was forced to take it over as a colony, due to international pressure over the atrocities.

Realise that Congo Free State and Belgian Congo were different eras with different direct rulers.

[Dandelion]

Look at this educated congolese asking his fellow countrymen about Leopold II.
The man who recognize him, says:
"It's the King Lepold II. He was a great leader. He's the belgian who colonized us. He's our uncle. He colonized us. He taught us civilization".
https://youtu.be/YW4wrLGvpEc?t=10m24s

You won't see that much congolese complaining about colonization, they rather miss it. They all know that D.R. Congo was the most modern and wealthiest african country when the belgian left.
So, why are you whining in their names? You're such a white knight.

Well, Congolese tend to be poorly educated too. Leopold II a great leader... He doesn't know what he's talking about. ;)
About missing colonization. Congo in its current state can hardly get worse (well it can, Congo Free State), so I can understand that at least.

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

It's a part of their culture, the people who see them find it entertaining and the people who are doing it are dirt poor too.

I don't think their ancestors dressed so dapper for it to be part of their culture. It looks like they're mimicking White people who would have dressed in similar fashion for special events (but without the colorfulness) when the area was a colony.




Easier said than done. You might as well be asking why everyone doesn't have a million dollars.

Not wasting what little you have on the frivolous isn't exactly beyond people's reach.


I grew up poor and found great comfort in playing my Gameboy.One of my prized possessions. I'm not going to knock people for doing something they enjoy.
http://i.imgur.com/ObquoiJ.png

Poor is going to bed hungry. It's living in a shanty with out indoor plumbing. What we call poor here is fine living for the majority of people in the Congo. Every dollar spent on playing dress up is money that could be used for their needs and that of family members.

[zhaoyun]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2O5yfw20Yg

[knowledge is king]

Do people in Africa listen Rap music?

Maybe it an exceptional part of american culture.

[Profileid]

Do people in Africa listen Rap music?

Maybe it an exceptional part of american culture.

Rap originated in west africa.

[Sockorer]

Rap originated in west africa.

Rap originated in Scotland you stupid fucking idiot.

[Profileid]

Rap originated in Scotland you stupid fucking idiot.

can't tell if you're joking or not. Likely the latter.