Mobutu Sese Seko

Many of the nations in Africa struggle for decades in order to achieve independents. It took until after World War II for decolonization to occur in Africa. In Africa, already a country that had their independents was Ethiopia that was able to avoid being successfully colonized by the Europeans. African nationalists endured many obstacles when it came to trying to gain their independence such as trying to become unity as one, Violence in Kenya, Sharpsville Massacre in South Africa, and the Congo…

For my Poisonwood Bible project I made an art piece with the focus on the entire Price family. The year is marked 1959(which is the year the Price family arrived at the Congo) but it contains ideas and symbols from throughout the whole book. The most noticeable thing on the canvas is the huge and colorful parrot flying above. The parrot is obviously Methuselah who is a notable character in the book and who also symbolizes the Congo. Some clear evidence why Methuselah and the Congo go together…

The reason that there are so many cultures around the world is because every single place on earth is different. From the Sahara Desert in North Africa to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, people have developed their own cultures in order to survive. In The Poisonwood Bible, the Price family moves to the Congo as missionaries. By including Ruth May’s childish outlook, Kingsolver gives the reader a straightforward point of view of Nathan Price’s single-minded mission to convert the Congo to…

Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “ Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” In “The Poisonwood Bible” Nathan Price the father of the price family has exiled himself from his family which creates a rift in this family which eventually separates the whole…

Background information on Eastern Congo Eastern Congo or Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest and has over 75 million people who reside there. In 1998 till now, Eastern Congo had many conflicts and severe poverty which claimed the lives of over 5 million women, men and children. Additional issues such as women being victims of sexual violence and children forced to fight as military soldiers. Weak states are not intrinsically weak, or weak because of geography or colonialism;…

late 1998 to mid 2003. The first Congo War started in late 1996, when the Tutsis began to rebel against the authoritarian rule of one of the key players of the conflict, Mobutu Sese Seko, and his supporters, the Hutu. The Tutsis quickly gained traction and when they neared the capital of the DRC from various strategic points, Mobutu declared a state of emergency to try and regain control. Ultimately, this failed and a new president, Laurent Kabila, was established in 1997. A year later, a new…

after WWI in 1918 (Britannica). The investment in the DRC’s resources further fueled the already inhumane labor conditions and forced even more victims into the world of illegal human labor (Gale). All the actions that Belgium committed provided Mobutu Sese Seko with an outline of how to lead his…

The Uncloaking of a Tyrant: Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko was a tyrannical leader known for his corrupt government, brutality, and his narcissist nature. He was intelligent, ambitious, and educated despite his main drive of hunger for power and repressive administration. A government marked by corruption, but an exceptional leader who revealed unique strength even during the mutiny. Led by greed for power, without any recognition for the same people he chose to lead just months after the…

A tone-deaf Dennis Rodman even sang Happy Birthday to Kim Jong Un at a basketball game held in his honor. How sweet! Mobutu Sese Seko takes the cake in terms of sociopathic dictator sports enthusiasts. Mobutu was president and military dictator of the Congo-- which he renamed Zaire in 1971-- from 1965 until 1997. But he took a break from hosting public hangings and staging coups to host the iconic “Rumble in the…

The concert brought legends to perform, including James Brown and B.B. King, many of whom used their time in Africa to express their views on Black Power. Whatever their motives, Don King and Sésé Seko had created a unique cultural moment, not to mention a fight that would be witnessed by 60,000 Zaireans and millions more watching on TV around the world. Katchian’s photograph from that night shows what great opposing physical forces George Foreman…