Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo
and the Great War of Africa is an intriguing book that lives up to its odd title.
Stearns writes a journalistic history of recent events in the Congo via the
mechanism of personal interviews with people who played a role in, or observed,
the events that transpired. Given that many such people wanted (or needed) to
cover their tracks, the honesty of the revelations is astonishing.
Stearns’ thesis is that
to effect any change in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one must first
understand the dynamics of the morass. The narrative is not necessarily chronological,
but rather follows individuals and their impact. He starts with the spill-over
of the Rwandan genocide into the Congo with the influx of Hutu refugees fleeing
the takeover by the Rwandan Patriotic Army.
This leads into an
excellent discussion of the historical presence of Kinyarwanda speaking peoples
(both Hutu and Tutsi) in Congo: the 19th century Banyamulenge
migrants, the early 20th-century importation of agricultural
laborers, concomitant spontaneous movements of farmers and pastoralists out of
crowded Rwanda, and finally the presence of an educated Tutsi elite claiming
refuge in Kivu cities.
Having set the stage for
ethnic violence both between Hutu and Tutsi, but just as importantly between
Rwandans writ large and Congolese ethnic groups, Stearns proceeds to lay out
the animosities and machinations that under-gird conflict that has encompassed
the eastern region for years. Clearly, however, it was the new Tutsi government
in Kigali’s effort to eliminate the genocidaire
threat and to force the return of a million refugees that inflamed Kivu and
sent the DRC into the vortex of war.
Stearns studies the war,
the massacres, the abuses, and the changing objectives through the eyes of
participants: rebel commanders, Zairian/Congolese politicians, ADFL leaders,
Rwandan string pullers, as well as victims.
The book then tracks in
detail Laurent Kabila’s presidency and his turn away from his Rwandan and
Ugandan sponsors, and then the second war. Kabila’s undoing was certainly due
in part to his own idiosyncrasies—that are well described by some from his
inner circle—but also due to his inheritance from Mobutu of a completely chaotic
state and political system. Stearns notes, “This has left a bitter Congolese
paradox: a state that is everywhere and oppressive but that is defunct and
dysfunctional.”
Indeed Stearns’ insight
into the corruption and the inner non-workings of both the Mobutu and Kabila regimes
helps explain the mess. Also useful are chapters on the quest—by almost
everyone—to profit from the DRC’s mineral resources.
The book moves on then
to study more recent contenders, current president Joseph Kabila who succeeded
his father and those who contested against him, including Jean Pierre Bemba,
who has roots in the Mobutu regime, and the newer set of RDC rebel leaders in
Kivu. Again the reader is provided with solid commentary about how these men
operated.
I thought the passages
that revealed the character, history, and assassination of Laurent Kabila to be
especially interesting. Although certainly a troglodyte, it is his legacy that
the Congo now wrestles with as efforts continue to restore stability to Kivu.
Despite a thorough
investigation into the problems, the bottom line question of “Can the Congo
emerge from morass?” remains unanswered. The nation has no unselfish visionary
leadership. Thus, ethnic animosity and violence continues to plague the east,
resources are exploited for personal gain, and conniving politicians strive to
demean each other in an eternal quest for power.
This is an excellent
study of contemporary Congo. Additionally, it is an easy read. Truly, those who
don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. The Congo has been stuck doing that
for decades.
