Stories about D.R. of Congo from October, 2006
DRC Elections: Candidate Billboards
After carefully breaking down the billboards of presidential runoff candidates, Sanaga Peregrinations concludes that Joseph Kabila stands for peace and reconstruction and sends a message that he ‘belongs’ (he has long been accused of being a foreigner). By contrast, Jean-Pierre Bemba stands for security, justice and development while trying very...
D.R of Congo: election photos
“In honor of the next-to-last stage in DR Congo's efforts to elect a new president (Inauguration of the president-elect is scheduled for early December), I bring you three photos from my time tooling around Kinshasa in my friend's car,” writes Congo Girl.
DRC, Belgium: Anti-Kabila Demonstration
Congolese demonstrating in Brussels last weekend. Photo by Etienne Ngandu. In anticipation of the presidential runoff taking place this Sunday, October 29 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, opposing Jean-Pierre Bemba to incumbent Joseph Kabila, a demonstration took place in Brussels, Belgium last weekend in qualified support of Bemba but...
Togo, Congo, France: Failed Diaspora or Simply Depression?
France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem reposts (Fr) an email allegedly authored by Kabiona-Kaseke, a Congolese lamenting the failures of the African diaspora. Says the email: “Diaspora, we have failed in our dreams. Dreams of succeeding in our native countries after studying in the West. … Diaspora, we've failed in our...
Video exposes child-soldier's identity
If you've seen the guidelines for this site, you'll know that there are types of footage that we wouldn't post, and circumstances surrounding the shooting of particular videos that mean we wouldn't even link to them. Today's post is about one of those videos. I was researching a possible post...
D.R of Congo: challenges of building a hospital
The Congolese-born basketball star, Dikembe Mutombo, talking about his experience building a hospital in his home country: “The big question was: Why do you want to be the first one to do it? What motivate you to build this hospital and what is behind this hospital?,” via Dizolele.
Congo DRC: Killer Coltan
Killer Coltan is a film by the Congolese journalist/blogger, Mvemba Dizolele, about the coltan trade in Congo DRC: “Events in war-torn Congo may seem remote, but they are no further than your cellphone or DVD player. Eastern Congo supplies 80% of the world’s coltan, a mineral essential to electronic goods.”
DRC: AMP Conference in Belgium
UDPS Liege warns (Fr) that an AMP conference entitled “Elections: Second Round in the Congo” that took place in Belgium today was really a “conference to buy the conscience of diaspora activists”. The blog asked that UDPS sympathizers protest it.
Congo-Brazzaville: Should a Colonizer Be Honored Like a Founding Father?
For me, this De Brazza business is like someone telling you: “We got the crap beaten out of us, but at least De Brazza put on some vaseline while the others let our wounds dry. So let's give thanks to De Brazza.” (Fr) – From a reader at Mwinda.org This...
Africa: rice and neo-colonialism
What has rice got to do with neo-colonialism in Africa? Mining Exploration has the answer: “Africa is home to 8% of the world’s oil reserves, which has prompted Beijing to spend billions of dollars to secure drilling rights in Nigeria, Sudan and Angola and to negotiate exploration contracts with Chad,...
Congolese Political Activists Accuses Congolese and Belgium Governments of Wiretapping
At the UDPS Liege blog (Fr), Samy Musampa Batena Babo of the Congolese political party Union for Democracy and Social Progress alledges that the Belgian and Congolese governments have been tapping his phone.
Congolese Blogger on Darfur
At Forum Realisance (Fr), Congolese blogger Musengeshi Katata takes France, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Christianity, radical Islam and the black African elite to task for the conflict in Darfur: “Darfur is not only a new battlefield between Christianity and Islam; it is also offers a poignant indictment of the black...
DRC: UDPS of Benelux Won't Support Bemba
On their blog, the UDPS of Benelux announces they will not support Jean-Pierre Bemba, incumbent Joseph Kabila's opponent in the October run-off election, even though they are staunchly anti-Kabila.
D.R. of Congo: run for Congolese women
Run for Congolese women, via Congo Voices.
Biracial in Nazi Germany
Musengeshi Katata writing at the Congolese blog, Forum Realisance (Fr), reviews the film Neger, neger, Schornsteinfeger, an illustration of “racism and its social and ideological absurdity” based on the true story of the son of a German nurse and a Liberian diplomat who grew up in Nazi Germany to become...
