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| Photo by Msn |
This hits hard. Even if you aren't a football fan, what’s happening at AFCON right now is about so much more than a ball hitting a net; it’s about blood, memory, and the soul of a continent.
There is a man who always stands during the match when the Democratic Republic of the Congo plays. He remains perfectly still with his hands raised for the full 90 minutes.
To understand why that man stands, you have to understand the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the late 19th century, King Leopold II of Belgium turned the Congo into a personal labor camp. It wasn't just colonization; it was a holocaust. Millions died through forced labor, torture, and the infamous practice of chopping off hands if rubber quotas weren't met.
1. 1885: The "Owner" of 20 Million Souls
At the Berlin Conference, King Leopold II of Belgium didn't claim Congo for Belgium; he claimed it for himself. He named it the Congo Free State. It was a massive lie. For 23 years, he ran the country as a private plantation.
The Red Rubber Reign: Leopold’s private army, the Force Publique, forced villagers to gather wild rubber. If a village didn't meet its quota, the soldiers would cut off the hands of the children and wives to "punish" the men.
The Toll: Historians estimate that between 1885 and 1908, nearly 10 million Congolese people died from murder, exhaustion, and disease.
1885, the territory of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared the private property of the Belgian king, Leopold II, and in 1908 it then became a colony of the Belgian state. The colonial era was accompanied by reckless exploitation of people and nature. Millions of people lost their lives to slavery and forced labour, disease and famine.
Left: This boy was named Impongi. Sentries cut off one hand and one foot because his village failed to meet its rubber quota.
Right: The seated youth is Mola. His hands were destroyed by gangrene after soldiers tied him too tightly. Beside him is Yola. Soldiers cut off her hand, then claimed it came from a rubber worker they had killed. This photo was used by the missionary Alice Seeley Harris, who campaigned against Leopold in England. (By African History group)
2. 1908 – 1960: From Personal Slave State to Colony
After the world found out about the severed hands, the Belgian government took the land from the King and turned it into the Belgian Congo. The exploitation didn't stop; it just became "organized." They extracted gold, diamonds, and copper using forced labor. The Congolese had zero rights, no quality education, and were treated as sub-human in their own home.
3. The Rise and Execution of Patrice Lumumba
By the late 1950s, the hunger for freedom was boiling. A young, charismatic postal clerk named Patrice Lumumba emerged as the voice of the people.
June 30, 1960 (Independence Day): King Baudouin of Belgium gave a speech praising Leopold II. Lumumba stood up, uninvited, and delivered a legendary "blood, sweat, and tears" speech, telling the King to his face that the Congolese were no longer slaves.
The Target: Lumumba became Prime Minister. But because he wanted Congo’s minerals (uranium and copper) to benefit Africans rather than the West, Belgium and the US (CIA) labeled him a communist threat.
January 17, 1961: After being deposed in a coup backed by the West, Lumumba was captured. He was beaten, tortured, and flown to Katanga. That night, Belgian officers and their local executioners shot him.
The Ultimate Cruelty: To ensure he never became a martyr with a grave, a Belgian police commissioner named Gerard Soete took Lumumba’s body, hacked it into pieces, and dissolved it in sulfuric acid. All that remained was a single gold-capped tooth, which Soete kept as a "trophy" in Belgium for decades.
When independence finally came in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the first prime minister. He was a hero who dared to say that Congo’s riches belonged to its people, not Europe. Because of this, the US (CIA) and Belgium orchestrated his assassination in 1961. They didn't just kill him; they dissolved his body in acid to leave no grave.
That man you see standing during matches is a living monument. He stands to remind the world that, despite the genocide and theft of their land, the Congolese spirit hasn't moved.
AFCON is beautiful because of our dances and our colors, but it’s sacred because of our shared history. You cannot "play" with the symbols of freedom. Belgium and the West tried to erase Lumumba, but they failed because his story lives in every Congolese person and every African who stands with them.
Whether you’re a football fan or a total fanatic, listen up. I have heard accounts of individuals resorting to violence, including stabbing one another, over disagreements related to football. My only response is that such behavior is utterly foolish. Plain and simple. That footballer is going to keep playing for his team, making his millions, while you’re sitting in a cell 'chilling' with your fellow inmates.
Have the spirit of sportsmanship and use it the right way. Some people will disagree with you, and your team will lose some matches. That’s life; you don’t win every battle. There is zero reason to harm or disrespect another human being over a game. Most of you have never met these players, and many of you never will. Enjoy the game, but be respectful. Use your brain. Don’t be foolish and talk trash just to call it 'fanaticism.' That isn’t passion; it’s stupidity.
The Algerian player has learned his lesson the hard way. If you’re in the habit of getting aggressive and losing your mind when watching sports, you need to calm the hell down and stop that stupid display. I said what I said. Calm the hell down.
Happy Sunday.
1. 1885: The "Owner" of 20 Million Souls
At the Berlin Conference, King Leopold II of Belgium didn't claim Congo for Belgium; he claimed it for himself. He named it the Congo Free State. It was a massive lie. For 23 years, he ran the country as a private plantation.
The Red Rubber Reign: Leopold’s private army, the Force Publique, forced villagers to gather wild rubber. If a village didn't meet its quota, the soldiers would cut off the hands of the children and wives to "punish" the men.
The Toll: Historians estimate that between 1885 and 1908, nearly 10 million Congolese people died from murder, exhaustion, and disease.
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| King Leopold II of Belgium in a photo with a man hand he cut off |
Left: This boy was named Impongi. Sentries cut off one hand and one foot because his village failed to meet its rubber quota.
Right: The seated youth is Mola. His hands were destroyed by gangrene after soldiers tied him too tightly. Beside him is Yola. Soldiers cut off her hand, then claimed it came from a rubber worker they had killed. This photo was used by the missionary Alice Seeley Harris, who campaigned against Leopold in England. (By African History group)
2. 1908 – 1960: From Personal Slave State to Colony
After the world found out about the severed hands, the Belgian government took the land from the King and turned it into the Belgian Congo. The exploitation didn't stop; it just became "organized." They extracted gold, diamonds, and copper using forced labor. The Congolese had zero rights, no quality education, and were treated as sub-human in their own home.
3. The Rise and Execution of Patrice Lumumba
By the late 1950s, the hunger for freedom was boiling. A young, charismatic postal clerk named Patrice Lumumba emerged as the voice of the people.
June 30, 1960 (Independence Day): King Baudouin of Belgium gave a speech praising Leopold II. Lumumba stood up, uninvited, and delivered a legendary "blood, sweat, and tears" speech, telling the King to his face that the Congolese were no longer slaves.
The Target: Lumumba became Prime Minister. But because he wanted Congo’s minerals (uranium and copper) to benefit Africans rather than the West, Belgium and the US (CIA) labeled him a communist threat.
January 17, 1961: After being deposed in a coup backed by the West, Lumumba was captured. He was beaten, tortured, and flown to Katanga. That night, Belgian officers and their local executioners shot him.
The Ultimate Cruelty: To ensure he never became a martyr with a grave, a Belgian police commissioner named Gerard Soete took Lumumba’s body, hacked it into pieces, and dissolved it in sulfuric acid. All that remained was a single gold-capped tooth, which Soete kept as a "trophy" in Belgium for decades.
When independence finally came in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the first prime minister. He was a hero who dared to say that Congo’s riches belonged to its people, not Europe. Because of this, the US (CIA) and Belgium orchestrated his assassination in 1961. They didn't just kill him; they dissolved his body in acid to leave no grave.
That man you see standing during matches is a living monument. He stands to remind the world that, despite the genocide and theft of their land, the Congolese spirit hasn't moved.
Recently:
During a recent match, an Algerian player chose to mock this man after their win. To the player, it was "banter." For the Congolese man, it felt like a knife piercing an unhealed wound. When that man broke down in tears, he wasn't crying over a lost game; he was crying because the Algerian player was laughing at his people's trauma and showing disrespect. It was a display of utter ignorance and a lack of "Ubuntu"—the African philosophy of shared humanity.
Then came the match between Nigeria and Algeria. Nigeria didn't just win 2-0; they played with a mission. When the Super Eagles scored, the celebration wasn't an insult—it was a tribute. A Nigerian player stood still and raised his hands, mirroring the Congolese hero. It was a message: We see you. We remember. We respect the struggle.
While the Algerian side reportedly lost their composure, even trying to confront the referee in a display of poor sportsmanship, the Super Eagles restored the dignity that had been stripped away days prior.
During a recent match, an Algerian player chose to mock this man after their win. To the player, it was "banter." For the Congolese man, it felt like a knife piercing an unhealed wound. When that man broke down in tears, he wasn't crying over a lost game; he was crying because the Algerian player was laughing at his people's trauma and showing disrespect. It was a display of utter ignorance and a lack of "Ubuntu"—the African philosophy of shared humanity.
Then came the match between Nigeria and Algeria. Nigeria didn't just win 2-0; they played with a mission. When the Super Eagles scored, the celebration wasn't an insult—it was a tribute. A Nigerian player stood still and raised his hands, mirroring the Congolese hero. It was a message: We see you. We remember. We respect the struggle.
While the Algerian side reportedly lost their composure, even trying to confront the referee in a display of poor sportsmanship, the Super Eagles restored the dignity that had been stripped away days prior.
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| Akor Adam celebrating his goal against Algeria (left) | Patrice Lumumba's statue in Kinshasa (right) |
AFCON is beautiful because of our dances and our colors, but it’s sacred because of our shared history. You cannot "play" with the symbols of freedom. Belgium and the West tried to erase Lumumba, but they failed because his story lives in every Congolese person and every African who stands with them.
Whether you’re a football fan or a total fanatic, listen up. I have heard accounts of individuals resorting to violence, including stabbing one another, over disagreements related to football. My only response is that such behavior is utterly foolish. Plain and simple. That footballer is going to keep playing for his team, making his millions, while you’re sitting in a cell 'chilling' with your fellow inmates.
Have the spirit of sportsmanship and use it the right way. Some people will disagree with you, and your team will lose some matches. That’s life; you don’t win every battle. There is zero reason to harm or disrespect another human being over a game. Most of you have never met these players, and many of you never will. Enjoy the game, but be respectful. Use your brain. Don’t be foolish and talk trash just to call it 'fanaticism.' That isn’t passion; it’s stupidity.
The Algerian player has learned his lesson the hard way. If you’re in the habit of getting aggressive and losing your mind when watching sports, you need to calm the hell down and stop that stupid display. I said what I said. Calm the hell down.
Happy Sunday.
Non sapevo che c'era in corso la coppa d'Africa, da noi non ne stanno parlando.
ReplyDeleteTi ringrazio quindi per questo post molto dettagliato
It’s understandable that it hasn't reached you yet—the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (being held in Morocco right now, in January 2026) is in its final, most intense stages.
DeleteHi Melody.
ReplyDeleteI read your article and the photos you posted with great attention and sadness.
It's very sad and upsetting what you wrote. It hurts my heart and brings tears to my eyes. Terrible and terrifying... Hypocrisy, the wickedness of the world and those in power, greed, exploitation and pain, the deaths of the innocent...
Unfortunately, history has taught us nothing...
The harshest words come to mind...
It hurts so much how much evil there is among people :(
P.S.
Melody, a missionary priest from Togo was at my church today.
That pain you felt is the cost of paying attention. People who rush past history never feel it, and that numbness is exactly why these things repeat themselves. What you reacted to isn’t exaggeration or drama. It’s the weight of truth pressing against a conscience that still works.
DeleteYou’re right about hypocrisy and power. The worst evils were not committed in moments of rage, but calmly, legally, with paperwork, sermons, and “civilizing missions” used as cover. Greed wore a clean face. Violence wore a uniform. And afterward, the world asked the victims to move on quietly so the powerful wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
History didn’t fail to teach us. People chose not to listen. There’s a difference. The lessons were written in blood, but convenience, profit, and selective memory proved stronger than morality.
As for the priest from Togo, that matters more than it might seem. Africa is not only a continent of wounds; it is also a continent of witnesses, faith, endurance, and memory. The same land that was brutalized keeps producing men and women who carry dignity instead of bitterness. That is not an accident. That is resilience passed down the old way, through suffering, discipline, and belief.
Let it hurt. Pain felt honestly is not weakness. It is proof that evil has not finished hollowing us out.
There is truly no reason to hurt anybody because of anything.... But people still do it... :/
ReplyDeleteYou’re right, and that truth is as old as humanity itself.
DeleteThere has never been a good reason to hurt another person, yet history is full of people inventing excuses to do exactly that. Power, fear, greed, pride, ideology, even entertainment, all dressed up as justification. The violence always comes later, but the excuse is prepared first.
What separates decent people from dangerous ones isn’t strength or intelligence. It’s restraint. The ability to say “no” to cruelty even when it’s easy, even when it’s rewarded. That used to be called character. It was taught, expected, and enforced by community and conscience. When that disappears, harm becomes casual.
The world doesn’t lack rules or slogans about peace. It lacks people willing to live by them when emotions run hot or when no one is watching. Remembering that is not pessimism. It’s clarity. And clarity is how we choose not to become part of the harm ourselves.
I was interested in your post, Melody. That's truly sad, there's no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteSad, yes, but not empty sadness. The kind that asks something of us.
DeleteWhen a story like this holds your attention, it means it touched more than curiosity. It touched conscience. And conscience is what history relies on when justice arrives too late for the dead.
What happened cannot be undone, but it can be remembered properly, without softening, without excuses, and without turning away. That matters more than people think. Forgetting is how cruelty gets recycled. Memory is how it is restrained.
Thank you for taking the time to read and sit with it. In a world that scrolls past suffering, attention itself has become a form of respect.
Even though I know some of this history, the way you laid it out is very poignant. I hope readers that know nothing will have some sort of understanding of man's inhumanity to man.
ReplyDeleteIf this moved you, then it did its job. This history isn’t meant to be comfortable or poetic. It’s meant to disturb, because comfort is what allowed these crimes to happen and be forgotten in the first place.
DeleteWhat you call “man’s inhumanity to man” wasn’t an accident or a moment of madness. It was planned, financed, documented, and then buried under silence. Millions didn’t die because people didn’t know better. They died because people knew and benefited anyway.
If readers come away unsettled, good. If they feel anger or shame, even better. Understanding history isn’t about feeling informed; it’s about refusing to let the world pretend these things were small, distant, or resolved. Memory is the only justice many of these people ever get.
Thank you for recognizing that. That alone already puts you ahead of those who skim, shrug, and move on.
Meu Deus, que história você contou neste post! Confesso que não conhecia. Há pessoas no mundo que não merecem ser chamadas de humanas, pois são capazes de atrocidades, de maldades infames. Deixo um abraço!
ReplyDeleteThat reaction is exactly what honest history is supposed to provoke. Not shock for entertainment, but recognition of a line that was crossed so completely it stripped the perpetrators of any moral claim to humanity.
DeleteWhat makes this harder to accept is that these atrocities were not committed by monsters hiding in the shadows. They were carried out by men in suits, backed by governments, churches, corporations, and newspapers that called themselves civilized. That is the uncomfortable truth people avoid. Evil here was bureaucratic, polite, and profitable.
Not knowing this history is not a personal failure. Being told it did not matter, that it was exaggerated, or that it is best forgotten is the real crime. Once you see it clearly, you cannot unsee it, and you cannot pretend that today’s inequalities appeared out of thin air.
Remembering this does not make one hateful. It makes one grounded. And grounding ourselves in truth is how we keep the past from repeating itself under a different name.
Por eso el mundo está como está...convulso,revuelto
ReplyDeletey lo peor casi inhumano...por qué? ...porque se olvida la historia
y quien olvida la historia , repite errores y horrores!
Me dolió este reportaje, pero es la realidad que nos golpea
desde el ayer al hoy..
sigamos enforzándonos para tratar de ser mejores personas
aunque nadie es perfecto, pero al menos intentarlo...
Un abrazo grande para ti!
Striving to be better may sound simple, but it is actually an act of resistance in a world that rewards indifference. Perfection was never the goal. Responsibility was. Decency was. Choosing not to harden ourselves when cruelty becomes normal is how humanity survives.
DeleteTrying still matters. Especially now.
What a dark and wretched history!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I am old enough to remember Lummumba. I remember seeing him captured on the news. I was young, but I knew that man was in deep trouble.
If you remember seeing Lumumba captured, then you witnessed something most people today only reduce to a paragraph or a footnote. Even as a child, you sensed danger because the message was clear without words: a Black man who spoke too freely about dignity and ownership was not meant to survive. Children often understand truth faster than adults who’ve learned how to rationalize evil.
DeleteWhat followed wasn’t chaos or tragedy in the abstract. It was a warning shot to the entire continent. Lumumba wasn’t killed because he failed; he was killed because he dared to succeed without permission. His fate taught Africa a brutal lesson about the price of independence when it threatens foreign comfort.
So yes, it was dark. But remembering it, naming it, and refusing to soften it is an act of resistance. History survives because people like you refuse to pretend they didn’t see what they saw.
Man's inhumanity to man thanks for raising awareness of this horror. -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete"Awareness" is just the start, but honestly, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the blood spilled on that soil. We call it "inhumanity" like it’s some abstract concept, but it was a calculated business model.
DeleteThey didn't just kill people; they tried to delete their future. When you realize that Lumumba’s entire physical existence was reduced to a single gold tooth kept as a souvenir by his executioner, "horror" doesn't even begin to cover it. We don't just need awareness; we need a total refusal to ever let our history be mocked or forgotten again.
Very interesting and disturbing to think this really happened. Thank you for educating me on this matter, that I had no idea about.
ReplyDeleteIt’s disturbing because it’s a wound that never truly closed. The fact that you had "no idea" isn't a reflection on you, but on a global education system that treats the massacre of millions of Africans as a footnote.
DeleteWhile we learn about every detail of European wars, the story of children's hands being chopped off for rubber quotas is buried. We aren't just talking about "history" we are talking about the reason the Congo is in chaos today. If we don’t educate ourselves, we're basically giving the world permission to let it happen all over again.
...Europe's brutal colonialism take a lasting toil on Africa!!!
ReplyDeleteIt didn’t just take a toll, it carved itself into the bones of the continent and then had the audacity to call the damage “underdevelopment.”
DeleteWhat Africa is still dealing with isn’t some vague historical aftertaste. It’s borders drawn with rulers, economies engineered for extraction, leadership destabilized on schedule, and wounds that were never allowed to heal because healing would mean independence in truth, not just in name.
Europe didn’t merely pass through and leave a mess behind. It stayed long enough to break systems, erase memory, and then walk away insisting Africa “failed on its own.” That lie has been repeated so often it’s mistaken for fact.
The tragedy isn’t only what was stolen, but how carefully the theft was normalized. And the fact that we’re still having to explain this in 2026 tells you just how effective that silence was.
No conocía esa parte de la historia y me gusto conocer más de Lummumba y su repercusión . Te mando un beso
ReplyDelete"Enjoyed" is a strange word for a story that ends in a vat of acid. But I get it.
DeleteIt’s the thrill of finally hearing the truth after being fed lies for so long.
The "impact" Lumumba had was so terrifying to the West that they didn't just want him dead; they wanted him erased from the periodic table. They were so scared of a free Africa that they turned a hero into a chemical solution.
If you're just finding out about this now, ask yourself why. Why is the death of one European royal headline news for weeks, but the industrial-scale slaughter of 10 million Congolese and the assassination of their brightest light is treated like a "hidden gem" of history? We shouldn't just learn about Lumumba; we should be furious that we were ever forced to forget him.
任何時候用暴力都要不對的.
ReplyDelete"Violence is wrong at any time" is a nice, comfortable slogan for someone who isn't being hunted. It’s easy to preach non-violence from the safety of a keyboard, but where was that philosophy when they were hacking the hands off Congolese children? Where was that "morality" when they were dissolving Lumumba in acid?
DeleteHello, Melody! Colonizers were very cruel to the inhabitants of their colonies. And not only the Belgians. The British brutally dealt with the inhabitants of India and plundered that country for centuries. And what did the French, Spanish, and Portuguese do in South America? Why do the inhabitants of South America speak French, Spanish, or Portuguese instead of their native languages? I wonder where all those numerous Native American tribes we read about in Fenimore Cooper's novels as children live now. Were they all killed?
ReplyDeleteThe last human zoo closed only in 1958. At the Expo in Brussels, the Belgians presented a "Congolese village with inhabitants," where in the cages there were not animals, but children of a different skin color.
You, Melody, support the EU. And the leaders of Western European countries are the children and grandchildren of colonizers.
Ирина, let’s get one thing straight: pointing out the hypocrisy of the EU is valid, but using it to try and box me into a "team" shows you didn't actually read what I wrote. You’re lecturing me on human zoos and the British in India as if I didn't just write a detailed exposé on the exact same darkness. I know the history; I live the legacy.
DeleteRegarding your jab about "supporting the EU" if you had lowered your defenses and actually read my words instead of reacting with heat, you would have seen facts, not "fandom." I have lived in Ukraine. I have people there. When I share statistics or a viewpoint from someone who has stood on that soil, it isn't "supporting a team" it’s providing the very "facts" about the information you shared.
Don't mistake my analysis for blind loyalty. Just as I can critique the colonial blood on the hands of Western leaders, I can also state the reality of what is happening in Eastern Europe without needing to pick a side like it's a football match. You talk about the "truth" being manipulated, yet you’re doing the same thing by trying to paint me as a puppet for the West just because I don't mirror your specific anger.
Go back and read the statistics again. Facts don't have a "side," and they don't care about your labels. I am firm in my history and clear in my eyes. I suggest you do the same before you try to tell me whose "child" I am.
Obrigada por partilhar tão dura realidade!
ReplyDeleteObrigada pela visita 🙏... e que seja um ano de paz! 😘
Sharing this isn't about being "informative." It's about making sure that when a Congolese man stands in silence, people don't just see a "weird fan" they see a man carrying the weight of 10 million ghosts. If the truth feels heavy to hear, imagine the weight of the people who have to live it every single day.
DeleteI'm familiar with the genocide in Congo, but I did not know about this man who gives tribute of the victims by standing with his raised hand. We must learn from the history.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a powerful image, isn't it? To stand perfectly still for 90 minutes while a stadium roars around you, it’s a physical manifestation of a history that refuses to be buried.
DeleteMost people see the DRC and think only of conflict or minerals, but they forget that the "Congo Free State" was essentially a 23-year-long crime against humanity. That man isn't just a fan; he’s a living monument to the millions of "nameless" victims who never got a grave because they were worked to death or worse.
What makes it even heavier is that he does it in a space meant for "entertainment." It forces everyone watching to realize that while we enjoy a game, an entire nation is still carrying the weight of that acid and those severed hands. It’s a silent scream for respect.
History isn't just in textbooks; it’s standing right there in the stands.
How sad is that, such horror done way back.
ReplyDeleteTo mock someone is not good at all, Melody.
And mocking him? That’s not just "not good" it’s a continuation of the same arrogance that allowed Leopold to claim an entire continent as his backyard. When that player laughed, he wasn't just being a jerk; he was spitting on the graves of millions. If we treat genocide like a joke, we’re just proving that we’ve learned absolutely nothing from the blood that was shed.
DeleteNo futebol vêm ao de cima todos os maus sentimentos que as pessoas acumulam.
ReplyDeleteGostei de ler a lição de História acerca de um país do qual a comunicação social não faz qualquer eco. A África quase nunca é notícia, mesmo quando acontecem coisas muito más, como a guerra.
Boa semana minha amiga.
Um abraço.
You’re right that the bad feelings surface, but let’s be real: the media doesn't "forget" Africa they ignore it on purpose. It’s easier to extract minerals for smartphones and electric cars when the world doesn't see the people bleeding for them. If the media started telling the truth about the Congo, people would have to look at their own gadgets and see the blood on them.
DeleteAnd that "history lesson"? It’s not just a story; it’s a crime scene that’s still active. We shouldn't need a football match to remind us that a whole continent is being treated like a silent warehouse. Africa is only "invisible" because the world finds it more profitable to keep it in the dark. Silence is just another way of staying on the side of the oppressor.
Bom dia minha querida amiga Melody. Fica difícil comentar a sua matéria. Parabéns pelo seu trabalho de pesquisa e explicações detalhadas. Como o Brasil foi colônia de Portugal. Muitas pessoas foram trazidas da África escravizadas e muitos povos originários foram massacrados. Costumo dizer: o Brasil nunca foi descoberto, sempre moraram os povos originários "indígenas" aqui. Muitas das atrocidades, já até expliquei no Blogger. Grande abraço do Brasil.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. Brazil was not discovered. It was invaded, renamed, and rewritten. What happened to Indigenous peoples and to Africans dragged across the ocean in chains follows the same old colonial script used everywhere power met greed. Different land, same method. Erase the people, exploit the land, then tell a story that flatters the conqueror.
DeleteWhat you are doing on your blog is important work. Speaking these truths, even years later, goes against the comfortable myths nations like to tell themselves. Colonization did not just steal labor and lives; it tried to steal memory. Every time you explain these atrocities clearly, you take something back.
There is a quiet dignity in this kind of work. It does not shout, but it endures. Our elders used to say that truth walks slowly, but it always arrives. Keep writing, keep remembering, and keep naming things as they were. That is how history is honored and how future generations are spared the lie.
Infelizmente a maldade reina, é triste ver, obrigada por compartilhar a história bjs.
ReplyDeleteCalling it "sad" is too quiet. It’s an outrage.
DeleteAll nations of the world have been involved in unspeakable cruelties at some point in their histories, with no exceptions. We believe the 'truth' we are told, but that is so often manipulated or even expunged. I learnt much from this post, Melody. Thank you.
ReplyDelete"All nations" haven't had the same boot on their neck. This "everyone is guilty" argument is just a convenient way to dilute the blood on the hands of the perpetrators. There is a massive difference between tribal conflicts and a state-sponsored, industrial-scale holocaust where children's hands were harvested as receipts for rubber quotas.
DeleteDon't use "manipulated truth" as a shield to stay neutral. The truth isn't "somewhere in the middle" when it comes to dissolving a human being in acid. That’s not a perspective; that’s a crime against humanity. When you say "no exceptions," you’re essentially telling the Congolese man standing in that stadium that his specific, targeted agony is just part of a global "oopsie."
It’s not. It was a calculated, racialized theft of a continent's soul. If you learned something, don't just file it away as "unpleasant history." Recognize that the world is still benefiting from those "unspeakable cruelties" while the victims are still expected to play the game and shut up.
Thank you for sharing parts of history most people want to pretend never happened. God bless you.
ReplyDeletersrue.blogspot.com
It’s easy to ask for blessings; it’s much harder to look at the gold in a wedding ring or the battery in a phone and realize they are soaked in Congolese blood. We don't need prayers as much as we need people to stop looking away. The moment we stop pretending is the moment these "ghosts" finally get some peace.
DeleteMe parece fantástico ese acto en recuerdo de esa persona hacía ese líder congoleño que pudo desaparecer físicamente pero sigue vivo en el recuerdo.
ReplyDeleteLos actos que nos relatas que sufrieron en aquellos tiempos los congoleños son repudiables. Aunque como español y dado la "leyenda negra" que circula por hay sobre lo que se hizo en el territorio que formo parte del imperio español no sea el mas adecuado para hacer. Si que reconozco que no se nos puede tomar como ejemplo, pero de Río Grande para el sur sigue habiendo población indígena que conservan su idioma, un ejemplo es Paraguay en que el Guaraní es oficial.
En estos temas hay que aplicar un dicho que tenemos aquí "nunca tires piedras a lo alto, te pueden caer en la cabeza".
Saludos.
This isn't a competition of who was the "nicest" colonizer. Whether it’s Belgium in the Congo or Spain in the Americas, the result was the same: the systematic destruction of human beings for profit.
DeleteThe fact that Guaraní still exists isn't a badge of honor for the Spanish Empire; it’s a testament to the resistance of the people who refused to be erased despite the missions and the gold mines. Throwing stones? The stones have been falling on the heads of the colonized for five hundred years while the empires sat in cathedrals built with stolen gold.
Instead of worrying about your head, worry about the fact that we are still living in a world where a man has to stand for 90 minutes just to be seen as a human being. The "legend" isn't black because of rumors; it’s black because of the soot and the blood left behind.
Melody, cruelty of any kind cannot be justified. The photos of the people without hands and legs is horrifying and something I've never seen before. Thank you for the education. I think your message regarding reactions to sports is a good one. It is scary how people behave.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right. There is no justification for cruelty. What makes it worse is that it was methodical, organized, and disguised as “civilization.” Those images aren’t just horrifying because of what they show they are horrifying because they were deliberately created as tools of terror, proof that a people could be broken and erased without consequence.
DeleteAnd yes, the connection to sports matters. How easily humans let competition, pride, or tribal loyalty turn into dehumanization is a warning. The same impulse that allowed atrocities then can bubble up now in arenas, streets, or online. Respecting human dignity, even in the small arenas of life, is not optional. It is how we refuse to repeat the worst parts of ourselves.
Good evening Melody, my dear friend. Today your post is shocking. The memorial reference to the legendary popular leader Patrice Lumumba comes to remind us of the extreme hypocrisy that pervades those who today supposedly talk about "democracy" and "human rights". They are the descendants of the colonialists themselves, who have not changed a trace of their practices. We see them everywhere today. In Palestine, in Gaza, in Venezuela. Repulsive scum walking around who talk about ...democracy, having behind them a history full of blood, hatred and destruction.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely regret that an Algerian athlete mocked Lumumba. Obviously he does not know how the French colonialists raped his people years ago. Shame!
Let us keep alive the memory of the holy martyrs of the people and let us stop the fascism that is galloping in our days.
Have a good week.
This hits the nail on the head so hard it breaks the floorboards. You’re calling out the ultimate gaslighting of the modern world.
DeleteThe "democracy" these countries preach today was paid for with the uranium that killed Lumumba and the rubber that orphaned Congolese children. They use words like "human rights" as a perfume to cover the smell of the rotting bodies they left behind in Gaza, Algeria, and the Congo. It’s the same old empire, just with a better marketing department and a different set of excuses.
And that Algerian player? That’s the deepest tragedy of all. When the oppressed start mocking the symbols of another man's liberation, the colonizer has truly won. He’s forgotten that the same boots that stepped on Lumumba’s neck were the ones kicking his own ancestors in the streets of Algiers. It’s not just a lack of sportsmanship; it’s a total loss of identity. He’s a victim who has started to speak the language of his abuser, and there is no greater shame than that.
Humans really are the worst. How could anyone with a beating heart do such things.. but here we are witnessing these atrocities in real time and no one is stopping it.
ReplyDeleteEvil spreads because inaction is fertile ground. Watching, feeling outrage, and saying the truth aloud is small, but it is one of the few ways to slow the cycle. Ignoring it is what allows the next atrocity to be invented.
DeleteThe question isn’t whether humans can be terrible. We already know that. The question is whether we will insist on remembering, witnessing, and refusing to be part of the complacency. That is the only weapon against repeating the worst of ourselves.
a difficult read, but i am a better person for reading it. the pictures were shocking, but i am a better person because i saw them. i knew almost none of this...now i am educated. it is so difficult to see and read about the lengths people will go to, to disrespect, hurt and kill others. are we, the people, any better now??
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question are we better now? In some ways, yes, because the world is watching in real-time. But as long as people are still mocking that trauma for "banter" or hurting each other over a game, we clearly have a long way to go. Knowledge is the first step, though. You can't fix what you don't understand, and now you’re part of the group that actually knows the truth.
DeleteDear Melody, that is very sad. I now know the story of Lumumba. It is incredible how cruel people can be.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you know his story now. It’s heavy, but it's the only way to make sure that kind of cruelty doesn't just get swept under the rug of history.
DeleteThis is fascinating, Melody, and something of which I never knew. I can see why it would be devastating to be mocked by a player on something so deeply personal. That really hurts. You are so right about sportsmanship. So much begins at home when the kids are small and starting their own activity. I remember going to some of Kevin's games and the parents were all over the refs, loudly, about whatever call they didn't like. Other parents tried to shut them up. They were only 10 years old, maybe 11. It's just wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt’s honestly shameful when adults act like that. If we’re screaming at refs over a game involving 10-year-olds, what kind of example are we setting? Like you said, it starts at home. If kids see that lack of respect early on, they grow up thinking it’s okay to mock someone else’s deepest trauma just because they play for the "other team.
DeleteIn the hush between storms and history, a figure lingers — not a specter of fear, but a memory that refuses to fade. Lumumba’s shadow stretches across decades, a reminder of what courage looks like when nations stumble. He spoke of independence as a birthright, not a conquest, and paid for his honesty with a future that treated him as a symbol rather than a man. If you listen closely, you can hear the echoes of a caravan of promises: unity, dignity, and the stubborn ache for self-determination. Yet the air is thick with the weight of betrayal — foreign pressures, political maneuvering, and the messy aftermath of power shifting hands. This is not a tale of ghosts haunting a room, but of ideas that refuse to die. Lumumba’s spirit invites us to ask: what does it mean to govern with integrity? How do we honor those who risk everything for a people’s freedom? The answer, perhaps, lies in a present that learns from the past, acts with courage, and keeps faith with the ideals he stood for. So, in the quiet between history and myth, the ghost keeps speaking — in lucid, stubborn whispers — urging us to build a world where independence is not a slogan but a lived reality for every nation and every child.
ReplyDeleteIt’s true that they tried to turn him into a ghost, but you can’t kill an idea by getting rid of the man. The fact that his message of dignity is still resonating on a football pitch decades later proves that his "caravan of promises" is still moving forward, even if the road is messy.
DeleteMy heart is heavy every time I read or hear things like this. Having native American heritage I understand what genocide means. It is ugly and unacceptable no matter what form it takes. I find it hard to find words to say what is in my heart.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Blessings
I hear you, and honestly, your words carry so much weight because of that shared history. It’s a specific kind of pain to see those same patterns of erasure and cruelty repeated across different continents and centuries. When you have that heritage, it isn’t just a "story"—it’s a lived memory of what was taken.
DeleteIt's a sad story. I read it. I hadn't heard it before. It's terrible what people can do to others. They say that humans are the worst kind of animals. Unfortunately, such situations do happen, and they are very sad. They need to be spoken about so that the world knows about them and never forgets. Only history allows us to remember the truth.
ReplyDeleteHistory is the only thing that keeps the truth alive when the people involved are gone. By reading and sharing it, you're making sure Lumumba and the millions of others weren't just forgotten statistics.
DeleteО, MELODY, какие страшные факты ты рассказываешь. Я ничего этого не знала. Теперь знаю и содрогаюсь от всего этого ужаса.
ReplyDeleteIt's heavy to carry, but I think it’s better to know the truth and feel that horror than to walk around in the dark. It makes you realize why people are still fighting so hard for respect today.
DeleteSince I am interested in colonization, your article is very valuable to me. Football (soccer) matches evoke the memory and history of nations. Injustice should be called out, and sport should be based on fair competition. Thank you very much for the history lesson. Best regards.🤗
ReplyDeleteYou’re spot on about sport. It’s supposed to be the ultimate level playing field where your history or your bank account doesn't matter, only your skill and heart. When that "fair competition" is used to mock a nation's scars, it stops being a game and starts being an injustice. Calling it out is the only way to keep the spirit of the game clean.
DeleteLeopoldo II foi um monstro , um predador. Cometeu crimes imperdoáveis !!
ReplyDeletePatrice Lumumba é alguém admirável que merece todo o nosso respeito e admiração.
Saudações.
I couldn't agree with you more. Calling him a "monster" almost feels too kind for what he did—it was calculated, cold-blooded greed on a scale that's hard to even wrap your head around. To treat an entire nation as a personal piggy bank while committing those kinds of atrocities is the definition of evil.
DeleteAnd Lumumba... the courage it took to stand up to that power, knowing exactly what they were capable of, is just incredible. He knew he was a marked man the moment he spoke the truth, but he did it anyway for his people.
It’s exactly why his memory is so sacred. You can destroy a man, but you can’t kill the dignity he gave back to a whole continent.
It's so hard to see it...
ReplyDeleteI know. It honestly leaves a knot in your stomach. There’s a specific kind of heaviness that comes with looking at those photos and realizing that this wasn't just a "long time ago"—the scars are still right there on the surface for so many people.
DeleteIt’s tempting to look away because it’s so painful, but I think sitting with that discomfort is actually the most respectful thing we can do. It’s our way of saying, "I see what you went through, and I won't let it be ignored."
In my opinion our President is interested in colonizing as well. Look what going on in Argentina, and now Greenland. He doesn't give hoot about people. Just lining his own pocket.
ReplyDeleteI hear the frustration in your voice, and it’s honestly wild how much the world has changed just in the last year. It feels like every time we turn on the news, there’s another headline about land, resources, or power plays that feel straight out of a history book.
DeletePiękna i zarazem smutna historia wspaniałego niezłomnego człowieka, który mimo niepełnosprawności. Kiedyś byłam wielką fanką piłki nożnej teraz trochę mniej ale z przyjemnością przeczytałam twój poruszający tekst. Bardzo lubiłam oglądac afrykańskie zespoły i mocno kibicowałam im na Mistrzostwach Świata. Piękny post Melody.
ReplyDeleteEven if you aren't following every match like you used to, that spirit of the underdog and the pride African teams bring to the World Cup is something anyone can get behind.
Delete