Living History: Democracy and Dictatorship in Congo-Brazzaville
Using an interview with a Congolese man, this essay paints a vivid picture of the problems during the Second Congo War, with a special focus on the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism
Introduction: The DRC, or Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) have both experienced political histories marked by power struggles between dictatorship and attempts to institute democracy. The DRC, formerly Zaire, gained independence from Belgium in 1960. However, the country soon fell into political instability, which led to a dictatorship run by Joseph Mobutu. He ruled from 1965 to 1997. Mobutu’s regime was repressive and corrupt. Eventually, he was overthrown by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Soon after, the DRC was faced with another crisis - the devastating Second Congo War (1998-2003), which involved multiple African nations. Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001, and so his son, Joseph Kabila, took power and remained president until 2019. Joseph Kabila attempted to democratize the country, but his mission was not totally successful, as corruption still persisted.
On the other hand, Congo-Brazzaville gained independence from France in 1960. At first, they adopted a multi-party system. However, political instability led to the creation of a socialist one-party state under Alphonse Massamba-Débat in 1963, which was continued by Marien Ngouabi in 1968. After Ngouabi's assassination in 1977, Denis Sassou-Nguesso took power in 1979, ruling a dictatorial government until 1992. Pascal Lissouba took control and attempted to undo the years of authoritarianism that plagued his country. At this time, the country was hopeful for a return of democracy. However, a civil war in 1997 saw Sassou-Nguesso return to power with Angolan support, which reinstated authoritarian rule. Since then, Sassou-Nguesso has maintained power through a series of elections marred by fraud. His government offered limited space for opposition and featured frequent human rights abuses. There has been an ongoing struggle between democratic aspirations and authoritarian governance in the region.
To better understand this conflict, I interviewed Mr. Bertin Mboko - a Congolese man whose father was a high ranking official who attempted to restore democracy in Congo Brazzaville.
In Mr. Mboko’s words:
“First of all, I want to be precise about where I am from. I am from both (aforementioned) countries, but mostly from “the smaller Congo.” We have the DRC, where my mom is from, and we have the Republic of Congo, which was colonized by France, where my father is from. However, both originated from the same kingdom. I refer to it as the same kingdom because my mother is from the Kingdom of Kongo, spelled K-O-N-G-O. This kingdom spans parts of Congo Brazzaville, the southern DRC, and the northern part of Angola. My tribe encompasses all these three areas. My father's tribe, called Teke, is located in Congo Brazzaville and the southern part of Gabon.
My experience growing up was good because I was a student during the transition to democracy. My father played a significant role in this democratic shift. He was working for the Interior Ministry of President Pascal Lissouba from Congo Brazzaville, and was an advisor. Before democracy, we had a dictatorship. However, during the democratization, my father and his peers tried to implement the democratic principles that we learned about in school.
When my father and others came to power in 1992, they tried to apply Western democratic practices. Unfortunately, the former dictator, Sassou-Nguesso, supported by certain French politicians, returned to power through a coup d'etat. My father died in a car accident at around this time, during one of his official missions in October of 1997. This was towards the beginning of the conflict. During the democratization, we faced challenges in our attempt to adapt French democratic principles to our Congolese culture, which was a mistake that my father and his colleagues made. Many people opposed the new European ways of life that were being installed. The government my father was part of worked hard to address these issues. The struggle was real, but we aimed to improve the country's situation.
When war broke out, I was a leader in the Student Union. I was 25 years old at the time, in the late 90s. Sassou-Nguesso’s return exacerbated the situation, and we often went on strike to demand fair treatment. In many African countries, wealth is not distributed equally, creating a large gap between the rich and the poor. As a student, I believed that democracy should be applied correctly, which caused some friction with others. Eventually, the war became brutal. I decided to flee to escape the terrible conditions. I had to escape through the rainforest from the Republic of Congo for six months to reach Gabon. It was a difficult journey, but I was lucky to survive, especially since people knew who I was. The rainforest was crazy. There was every animal you could imagine - snakes, birds, lizards, etc. Eventually, I reached the border of Gabon with 75,000 other refugees. I became the leader of these refugees because of my previous role as the head of the Student Union. I also had great leadership skills, which I learned from my late father. Then, I worked with the UN, and helped other refugees by teaching them to provide for themselves - I taught them personal finance and sales. At the time, I didn't have international status, so I was considered a stateless refugee.
I stayed in Gabon for ten years, managing refugees from 24 countries, including the DRC and Congo Brazzaville. I worked for the UN, writing letters and interviewing refugees to determine who met the criteria for resettlement in other countries. Over the years, some refugees were resettled in countries like New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
It was not easy. The dictator (Sassou-Nguesso) who returned to power did not want us to escape. You can imagine the killings and all the chaos. It was challenging to be safe, so we had to organize ourselves to survive. We had to work two to three jobs because otherwise, they would have killed us. We managed to stay there for 10 years, and eventually, we were resettled. Many of us, including myself, came to the United States. We were spread across several states: most went to Texas, some to Illinois, and I ended up in Rochester, New York. Others were in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oregon, and Arizona. I’m not sure what criteria were used to decide where we were resettled, but most of us were former students. I think it was easier for us because we were students.
Before coming to the U.S., I had a meeting with the others. We were going to an English-speaking country. We had studied English in school but didn’t pay much attention because our primary languages were French and our native tongues. Then, we realized that we needed to return to school to understand how this new world works. I encouraged everyone to go back to school, but some chose to work instead. I went to school. Before coming to the U.S., I had a bachelor's degree in economics. I was good at math and physics. However, when I arrived, I studied English for six months at Community College in New York. From there, I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology and earned a bachelor's degree in International Studies. I was awarded a Rotary International scholarship, one of 100 chosen worldwide, and I went to Great Britain to study at Bradford University, near Manchester. I earned a master's degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution, becoming an expert in solving international issues.
Afterward, I returned to the U.S. to do an internship in Washington, D.C., with the State Department, working on macro projects for refugees from Sudan in Chad. This experience allowed me to learn and network, but I had to return to finish my studies in the United Kingdom. When I returned to the States, finding a job was difficult without connections. Therefore, I pursued another master's degree in teaching from a school near Albany, which led me to my current job as a French teacher, which I have held for three years.”