Global Curiosity Not Fear

Last Friday (March 19, 2010) I went to a lecture given by Dr. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja on Violence in the Congo: Western Exploitation and Human Rights Abuse (see end of article for more on Dr. Nzongola-Ntalaja). I know very little about the Congo (which was Zaire until 1997) other than cultural stereotypes which I have put no credence into. I went to the lecture out of curiosity and because my son who is a graduate student in anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) invited me to attend. There were of course many extremely important topics embedded in the issues talked about and discussed by Dr. Nzongola-Ntalaja but there was one topic that struck extremely close to home and had a very familiar ring to it.

Again I was listening to a non-white person talking about the colonization of their country by Euro-Americans and the ongoing violence toward indigenous peoples taking place.

I could have closed my eyes and except for the dates, the dialogue could have been exactly the same as other talks I have been to concerning the colonization of Native Americans by Europeans. The primary difference was that the main country invading the Congo was Belgium not England and France.

As obvious as this may be to many people, I was thoroughly struck by the similarity. The change for me was my reaction. In the past I have felt defensive, guilty, and ashamed of the actions of my ancestors. This time I simply felt more and more curious about what had happened and what the American and European responsibility was for reparations in today’s world. Much as in my discussion with Native Americans, I am not hearing indigenous peoples advocating violence but rather an acknowledgment and acceptance of responsibility for what really happened. In addition I hear indigenous peoples wanting to meet equally at the table and discuss what can happen next for all the people involved and an acknowledgment of their right to make their own decisions about their own country. That is where I want to engage the world in my future work.

The Democratic Congo Republic is still forming its government and still determining how to do so without bloodshed. Being neighbors with Rwanda and unavoidably affected by the genocide that has gone on and still goes on in that country has made it extremely difficult to maintain any peaceful forms of government. In addition many of the soldiers serve in both the DCR and Rwanda armies and find it difficult to enforce different policies in different countries. Many of the local areas are governed by leaders of local armies who of course see only military solutions. But as difficult as this is, the indigenous peoples living in the DCR want to solve the problems themselves with assistance but not direction or leadership from the outside.

I hear this same thing from Native American tribal leaders and believe that within this desire for internal guidance and leadership from indigenous people lays the solution to many if not all global concerns. I also believe the solutions come in the form of education. This means educating myself, educating the people, and educating government personnel. As you can probably construe from my previous blogs this education is not another form of colonization but rather education through mindfulness. Thoughtful discussion where everyone’s needs are considered and decisions are made taking into consideration language and culture. That is the part of the world drama that I will be taking part in whether it is in Mendocino County or the Democratic Congo Republic with my son.

Reference:

Dr. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja was educated in the Congo and in the United States. He has his PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His focus is on governance in African countries. He served as the Director of the UN Oslo Governance Center, and was a facilitator for the Africa Governance Institute. He has worked as a consultant for the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. He has also worked for the US Department of State. His most recent publication is The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People’s History. He is currently a professor of African Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.