Catholics From Belgium

"Everything seems to indicate that a decisive hour has sounded in the history of the world, the hour when an almost virgin continent and ignored races will cooperate in the work of humanity."

"From a moral point of view, there is a way to whitewash negroes, and to this view Africa undoubtedly presents the largest field that can be cultivated."

"Wherever this regime has been applied in one form or another, it has led to economic stagnation and decline and political revolt."

"The King isolates himself and becomes less and less accessible to our advice."

"وقال رئيس أساقفة طهران للاتين الكاردينال دومينيك ماتيو عبر "آسي مينا": "لتتوقف الأسلحة، ولتَعِش القلوب بسلامٍ وعدالةٍ وطمأنينة، وفق ما يريد اللهلأبنائه". (Let the weapons stop, and let hearts live in peace, justice and tranquility, as God wants for his children.)"

"The more we increase in numbers, the more we starve and become poorer. ... Either our population will shrink, or our territory will expand."

"By the end of 1892, all the King's collaborators during the first and second phases of Belgian work in the Congo had therefore ceased to participate. M. van Eetvelde, who had increasingly isolated himself from them, remained alone in possession of the sovereign's confidence, with the sole program of being the passive instrument of his designs. This third phase of the administration of the state of Congo affected all signs of impending dissolution."

"Honest man, great citizen, modest servant of the country, who was always in pain, rarely in the spotlight, and who has not been replaced."

"The Christian inspiration from Chateaubriand and the love for nature underline Banning's romantic character. At the same time, Banning shared in the colonial ideology of Brialmont and Lambermont, which seemed rather based on a positivist principle: the 'struggle for life' of little Belgium. Emile Banning developed another positivist variant based on the inequality of races and peoples. Each race or people, which in the course of history had established a territory for itself, largely determined its historical fate, but could also suffer its fate. Banning thus formed a vision of history based on the organic needs of peoples. The Germanic race was at the same time the great example for Banning because of their growing self-esteem and romantic nation-building, and the great ogre, because their recent state growth could have negative territorial consequences for small Belgium."

"Emile Banning was a young man who, like the king, had a limp and went on to create a furore as a romantic imperialist of the most dangerous sentimental kind. … Banning's liberalism was of the kind that sought to divide people into races, then formulate the true historical fate for each race, a belief that was already degenerating into a fertilizer that fueled the growth of racist fascism in Europe."

"My dear Mr. Banning, I am returning the 2nd sheet to you. I find this of extreme interest. You would have to read many volumes to acquire the geographical notions that you have so condensed into a few pages. I read this with great charm. You're giving the matter a nice boost. I have no comments to make. I made a small cross at the top of page 28, because I thought it was better to put "revise" instead of "revis" or "undertook" instead of "undertakes." A thousand friendships. (s) Jules Van Praet."

"It's my ruin you stipulate and you can't want it."

"Belgium only does pure philanthropy."

"A people needs air, broad horizons, an ideal which charms its imagination and makes its heart beat; reduce it to household calculations, to the politics of party interests, it will disintegrate and corrupt itself."

"In spite of the mistakes and crimes that mark its origin, colonization has in the end brought more than disadvantages to the subjugated peoples. It has banned Canibalism, slavery, human sacrifice and the tyranny of barbarian potentates, a relative prosperity has replaced the horrible misery in which bodies withered and souls degenerate. No doubt one generation had to pay dearly for the institution of the foreign guardianship; but a longer series of generations have been able to reap the benefits of the renewed policies that have come into effect as a result."

"The people who have devoted their money and blood to the charitable work of colonization, in turn, have the right, in case of need, to count on the support of the natives in defending the motherland, and to respond to that call, the colonial subjects do nothing but protect the material and cultural civilization, which they share with their patrons and educators. Which is their duty."

"The creator who distributed the goods of the earth among the regions and peoples of the earth, has therefore made them no less in the service of all mankind. The plan of providence is to be worshiped, and the discerning human groups have no right to assume that the benefits and riches offered by the regions inhabited by them are solely for themselves. A unified and fruitful division of labor must therefore be practiced between the nations, making the resources of each region available to all members of humanity. The divine plan is disregarded, humanity is robbed of its future, when, through inability to carelessness or indolence, the backward peoples fail to exploit the treasures of their soil. As long as nobody has been set up with the task of remedying this disorder, every state, provided it has the will and means, has the right to assume this task and, if necessary, to deprive the native governments of the rights which it appears to have made common. welfare of all peoples."

"Laeken is becoming the enchanted Burg Prunn. Nobody dares to approach it anymore."

"The independence of the Congo is the crowning of the work conceived by the genius of King Leopold II undertaken by him with firm courage, and continued by Belgium with perseverance. Independence marks a decisive hour in the destinies not only of the Congo herself but- I don't hesitate to say-of the whole of Africa."

"Belgium has granted Independence to Congo and it must be clear to everyone that it is impossible to reconsider this decision and it is also not the view of the government."

"The principal dangers for you are the inexperiences of your people in government affairs, tribal fights which have done so much harm and must at all cost be stopped, and the attraction which certain of your regions can have for foreign powers which are ready to profit from the least sign of weakness."

"When Leopold II began his great work, which today finds its culmination, he presented himself to you not as a conqueror but as a bringer of civilization. The Congo was endowed with railways, roads, shipping and air connections. Our medical facilities have freed you from many devastating diseases. Many well-equipped hospitals have been established. Agriculture has been improved and modernized. Great cities have been built. Living conditions and hygiene have improved. Mission and state schools have brought education on a large scale."

"Katanga that part of Congo where economic life has been resumed and where the prospects exist to develop a real prosperity for the benefit of the indigenous population, which is completely impossible in other areas of the Congo, where inrresponsible politics in less than 3 weeks have lead to utter anarchy."

"In short, there is a great deal of stagnation among the settlers and the medium-sized enterprises. The native there is often mistreated, exploited and has no medical care. In the Menteau farm, we observed a considerable number of varicose ulcers, which hardly exists at UM and La Forminière. There is no dispensary on this farm. The small settler can succeed in the Congo, one can doubt it, he lives by the exploitation of the native whom he makes work like a convict and moreover, he takes back his meager salary by selling him bad goods. The settler is often doubled as a trafficker, they complement each other, the system truck. Besides, the whole colonial edifice rests on the negro's shoulders. He alone is the source of profit, thanks to the excessive exploitation of which he is the object. In a colony, where there are few transport routes, where those that exist demand exorbitant prices, where there is little or no mechanical handling, no workhorse, only the degradation of the workforce - work can maintain the commercial level of the cost price. Large companies have the merit, through their tools, their medical assistance, their works of providing more treatment and of not wasting manpower."

"The negro workers are still unaware of the force that can give them union organization; happy industrialists."

"The British people realise that they are fighting for the hegemony of the Empire. If necessary we shall continue the war single-handed."

"It is the great misery in the Congo, the negro does all the work, he is not paid, he is beaten. When the whites return to Europe, they are replaced by Others who mistreat us. King Albert and Queen Elisabeth came, when they are there, we are left alone, but when they are gone, it will be the same. The King does not know all this, everything is hidden from him. It is the great misery here in the Congo. The captain is very bad for us, but when Queen Elisabeth is on the boat, he does not dare to hit us."

"For eighty years Belgium has sent your land the best of her sons, first to deliver the Congo basin from the odious slave trade which was decimating its population. Later to bring together the different tribes which, though former enemies, are now preparing to form the greatest of the Independent states of Africa."

"In answer to what has long been awaited, the government in Brussels will announce before Parliament today a program of reforms which will open a decisive period for the future of our African population. I feel that i owe it to the memory of my illustrious predecessors, the founders and conciliators of our enterprise in Africa, to acquaint you personally with the charter and spirit of this program. The purpose of our presence on the African continent was defined by Leopold Ii: To open the backward countries to European civilization, summon their populations to emancipation, to freedom and to progress after having freed them from slavery, disease and misery, continuing these lofty aims, our firm resolution, today is to lead the Congolese people without harmful procrastination, but also without thoughtless haste toward independence, in prosperity and peace."

"It is indisputable that the blacks have benefited from certain benefits of civilization."

"My country and I recognize with joy and emotion that the Congo has acceded on June 30, 1960, in full accord and friendships with Belgium, to independence and international sovereignty."

"What a beautiful breed these Wagenias and how friendly."

"The companies are complaining, but they have not done what is necessary to retain their workforce. They have relied too much on the obligation that the administration placed on the population."

"Visit of the incomparable and impressive installations of Union Minière. We go up the hill. The sight is prestigious: the station, one of the most important in Africa, the buildings, the Europeans with the houses surrounded by gardens, the vast chessboard of the native city. The Negro workers that we see do not look unhappy, they are in good health."

"Having a proper sense of her duty, and the means to carry it out, Belgium has mapped out her own course, and intends to keep to it. It entails a policy of humanity and progress. To a nation whos only aim is justice, the mission of colonization can only be a mission of high civilization: a small nation proves it greatness by carrying it out faithfully. Belgium has kept her word."

"Brilliant reception at the station. Children are tidied up as soon as they enter the mission grounds. There is perfect order. The mission makes a big impression."

"The chief comes to greet us, he is a handsome Baluba negro, dressed as a European with a white helmet; shame."

"I am struck that quite a few black workers do not greet us and watch us pass by with folded arms. There are dances in the evening, not very lively. We feel that the strain of hard woodworking weighs on the morale of the natives."

"The reception was enthusiastic and brilliant. The city appears largely mapped out, too bad there are so many ugly buildings that make it look like a city in the American Far West."

"A real city, well laid out, with pretty houses, 1500 whites, it makes an excellent impression, better than Elisabethville. Here they are serious people, harnessed to a grandiose enterprise."

"The surrender of the Belgian Army compelled the British at the shortest notice to cover a flank to the sea more than 30 miles in length. Otherwise all would have been cut off, and all would have shared the fate to which King Leopold had condemned the finest Army his country had ever formed."

"On July 31, 1950, I accepted to hand over the royal powers to my son. It was my will to renounce the throne for good as soon as it turned out that all Belgians would have united themselves around Prince Baudouin. I now establish that this unanimity has been achieved. The last words I wish to say as king of the Belgians will strongly indicate that the future of the fatherland depends on your national solidarity, I swear to agree to you, God protect Belgium and our Congo."

"The Parliament's acceptance of such measures would enable me to temporarily entrust the exercise of my pregoratives to the Crown Prince and, in agreement with the Government, to end this task when I consider that the interests of the country are also served."

"In view of the rapid changes taking place in the world today, it seemed to me desirable to preserve in picture and sound some reflection of the surviving vestiges of the ancient life of the Congo, there is a communion between the man of the forest and his natural surroundings which inspires us in a sense of respect a recognition of spiritual heritage, I thank all those who have helped me to achieve this task which combines beauty and scientific truth."

"Production is ensured by the native working no longer as an employee, but as a free peasant, owner of his land."

"Brutally attacked by Germany which had entered into the most solemn engagements with her, Belgium will defend herself with all of her strength against the invader. In these tragic hours which my country is undergoing, I am addressing myself to Your Excellency, who so often has demonstrated towards Belgium an affectionate interest, in the certainty that you will support with all of your moral authority the efforts which we are now firmly decided to make in order to preserve our independence."

"That was the prospect a week ago. But another blow which might well have proved final was yet to fall upon us. The King of the Belgians had called upon us to come to his aid. Had not this Ruler and his Government severed themselves from the Allies, who rescued their country from extinction in the late war, and had they not sought refuge in what was proved to be a fatal neutrality, the French and British Armies might well at the outset have saved not only Belgium but perhaps even Poland. Yet at the last moment, when Belgium was already invaded, King Leopold called upon us to come to his aid, and even at the last moment we came. He and his brave, efficient Army, nearly half a million strong, guarded our left flank and thus kept open our only line of retreat to the sea. Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible notice, without the advice of his Ministers and upon his own personal act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered his Army, and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat."

"I could have done nothing more worthwhile than to give a new description of the whole human body, of which nobody understood the anatomy, while Galen, despite his extensive writings, has offered very little on the subject."

"I am not accustomed to saying anything with certainty after only one or two observations."

"In our age nothing has been so degraded and then wholly restored as anatomy."