Missionaries

The Belgians have had a bad press on relation to the Congo. The atrocities committed under King Leopold can never be forgotten, and have doubtless left scars on the Congolese nation which it will take hundreds of years to erase. But travelling around the Congo today, knowing nothing of the history apart from one or two books of devastating horror, one sees a different side of Belgium. It was primarily the Belgians who decided to “civilise” the Congo by sending out missionaries. We hear some bad stuff about the attitudes of some missionaries, and there’s little doubt that there remain some with whom one would not feel comfortable at the dinner table.

But, to return to our theme, travelling around one sees devastated government schools, hospitals and offices. Some are so dilapidated that it is unthinkable that anyone works there. For example, I recently passed the headquarters of the police at a provincial capital. Part of the roof had caved in, the windows were broken or non existent, walls crumbled: in brief a ruin. But still being used as an office.

On the other side of the street was the main parish church. A majestic Romanesque brick building, built with great care and pride. Nearby was a magnificent two storey Italianate school, in the same brick. The care and effort that went into these buildings is truly amazing, particularly in the middle of such a difficult and inhospitable country. These churches must have been built by Belgian craftsmen, though doubtless the hardest work would have been done by local labour who were paid a pittance. But for now let’s just marvel at the determination and cost required to build such buildings. It’s not fashionable to say this today, but these I think these craftsmen were working for much more than money.

Now fast forward about 80 years. These same buildings are almost as good as new, and by contrast with the government buildings, are still providing services. Wherever you go the mission schools and hospitals remain the only fully functioning services. Occasionally you see a white missionary, but they are few and far between: the church has now institutionalised the system of proper management, maintenance and a strict sense of financial management. Without the help of the Belgian churches, this could not have, and would not continue to survive.

There’s another angle to this. The church provided the only form of operational public services during much of the periods of warfare and dictatorship of the Congo. It is respected for that, and one cannot help asking why it does not today speak with a louder voice against the corruption and militarism of the many factions in Congolese politics.

I think I know the answer. When the expatriate missionaries were operating the churches, hospitals and schools they lived in daily fear of being expelled for saying the wrong thing, or attacked by military factions. To protect themselves and their services they had to keep a zero profile. And that has survived even today. Instead of the church taking a stand against the wrongs of society, it simply exists to serve. Maybe that’s enough.