Congo Shadows

B. Franz John

Description

Nick Warren is desperate to find his ex-missionary father, separated from him during Congo's volatile independence four years earlier. Missing his father and homesick for Africa, Nick returns to search for him during a dangerous time of civil war in the young nation: the 1964 Simba rebellion. Two friends from his childhood plus a Mennonite volunteer worker join the former MK in his risky quest. Their trek exposes them to the rigors of rural Africa and ultimately to the horrors of civil war, challenging the young adults' resilience and core beliefs. Like Congo itself, Nick and his companions are faced with moral dilemmas, dark shadows in need of illumination. The perilous journey concludes with the historic Stanleyville rescue by Belgian paratroopers of 1,600 expatriates held captive for 111 days. What began as a quest for relationship ends with surprises and new spiritual benefits.

Sujets

• Adventure (Guyana)
• Historical fiction
• Adventure

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 janvier 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781506903415
• Langue: English

Extrait

Congo Shadows

First Edition Design Publishing
Sarasota, Florida USA
Congo Shadows
Copyright ©2016 John B. Franz

ISBN978-1506-903-40-8 PRINT
ISBN978-1506-903-41-5 EBOOK

LCCN2016958394

November2016

Publishedand Distributed by
FirstEdition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D. No p a r t o f t h i s b oo k pub li ca t i o n m a y b e r e p r o du ce d, s t o r e d i n a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m , o r t r a n s mit t e d i n a ny f o r m o r by a ny m e a ns─ e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o - c o p y , r ec o r d i n g, or a ny o t h e r ─ e x ce pt b r i e f qu ot a t i o n i n r e v i e w s , w i t h o ut t h e p r i o r p e r mi ss i on o f t h e a u t h o r or publisher .
MAP 1 - DRC & Story Focus Area


MAP 2 - DRC NW Corner
Prologue

Early afternoonsare hot and humid during Congo’s rainy season. The air feels heavy, dense. It’shard to breathe. Rising above, swirling plumes of white clouds fill an azuresky like steam escaping from some gigantic pipe. They morph into anvil shapesand begin to darken. Here and there, sunbeam shafts spike through the billowingmass, celestial spotlights that briefly illuminate people or objects below.
Shortly, theafternoon’s brightness fades, and darkness spreads across the land, like someunseen hand has turned the dimmer switch. Drama is in the works. The firstrumblings of distant thunder confirm it. Soon, the sky explodes. Thundercrashes, and lightning cracks: one, two, three times in succession. The heavensopen with a roar. Rain arrives in pulsating sheets, assailing every living andmoving thing beneath. Nothing, no one is untouched.
And then it isover.
Steam rises inhazy, shimmering billows and the thunder drifts off. Broken branches, soddenground and dripping leaves bear witness to the power of the passing storm. Wetdogs emerge from beneath bushes to shake dry. Lingering trickles anoint theheads of people who reappear from dark doorways and scurry back to life.
The eventssurrounding the birth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in many ways mirrorthis rainy season ritual. Some said independence was inevitable, as predictableas the p.m. showers. To many Belgians, however, it was only hypothetical,something belonging to an uncertain future. It’s leaders and citizens living aprivileged life in Congo did not see the storm coming. Perhaps they didn’t wantto. Colonial practices barred Congolese from management roles. It was the Belgian Congo, after all! At Independence few new citizens could be found with any leadership aptitude and experience.
But ready or not,independence arrived in the Congo. It came suddenly. Drama was in the works.Riots in Léopoldville and Stanleyville in 1959 prompted a hastily organizedconstitutional convention. Independence was granted the following June, 1960.Leaders were appointed. They were, however, woefully ill prepared to govern thecontinent’s second largest country.
Almost from theonset of Independence, darkness set in. National army troops mutinied withindays. In the southwest, the country’s richest mining region, Katanga Province,seceded. The diamond-rich central Kasai Province quickly followed. Withuranium, copper, cobalt and coltan deposits at stake, like vultures on afloundering prey, outsiders swooped in. Belgian business interests, whitemercenaries, UN peacekeeping forces and finally America’s CIA and the SovietUnion’s agents all entered the unfolding African drama.
Independence was aconfusing time for average Congolese as well. Unrealistic promises had beenmade; expectations of new wealth and power were introduced. As the country’swhites exited, however, commerce ground to a halt. The hopes of common peoplewere dashed. Disillusionment turned into widespread anger. Order broke down.Old rivalries and jealousies surfaced. It became unsafe for expatriates andnationals alike. Business owners fled by the score, and Western missionarieswere evacuated.
A deadly game ofmusical chairs occupied Congo’s leadership ranks during the early years.President Kasavubu fired Prime Minister Lumumba. Not to be outdone, Lumumba, inturn, fired Kasavubu. Top military commander, Joseph Mobutu then removed both.After the charismatic Lumumba was killed, a succession of leaders followed, butnone were able to successfully fill the vacuum. Rebellion flourished.
The mostsignificant early insurgent movement was the so-called Simba Rebellion, led bythe infamous Lt. General Nicolas Olenga. It forms the backdrop for this novel’sstory. Birthed in the disaffected eastern side of the country, it was definedby its use of witchcraft combined with brutal violence and torture of victims.The Simbas eventually controlled nearly half of Congo, presenting an ominousthreat to the young, faltering central government. The Soviet Union joined withother interests hostile to the West in supporting these rebels.
US and Belgianintervention was finally triggered by a major strategic miscalculation of theSimbas: they occupied Stanleyville (present-day Kisangani) on August 5, 1964holding 1,600 expatriates hostage for 111 days. This exploit focusedinternational attention on the rebellion and its horrors, prompting widespreadcondemnation. White mercenaries from South and East Africa were once againemployed to shore up Congo’s national army. Belgian and US resources joined tooverthrow the rebels and rescue the hostages.
This novel’s storyis embedded in the actual events leading up to and including the historicStanleyville rescue. Part I describes the growing pre-Independence storm. Theseparations and evacuations that followed brought about changes in the socialorder that divided clans and families and encouraged rebellion. They alsomotivated attempts to restore and reconcile broken relationships. In Part IIthe spotlight focuses in to illuminate the story’s central characters as theynavigate the shadows and darkness of an expanding Simba Rebellion. Nothing, noone is left untouched. Finally, Part III introduces efforts extended to rescue,release and redeem the brokenness that impacted the lives and futures of allconcerned.
The specter ofviolence and its containment inevitably spawns moral dilemmas, effects thatmust be addressed once the storm has passed. As history once again confirms,only the presence of light dispels the shadows.
Congo Shadows
John B. Franz
Table of Contents
PARTI The Gathering Storm
CHAPTER1 Litoko, June 1957 . 2
CHAPTER2 Litoko, June 1957 . 5
CHAPTER3 Litoko, June 30, 1960 . 6
CHAPTER4 Litoko, June 30, 1960 . 8
CHAPTER5 Litoko, July 3, 1960 . 10
CHAPTER6 Lombard, September 1960 . 12
CHAPTER7 Coquilhatville, March1961 . 16
CHAPTER8 Kindu, December 1963 . 19
CHAPTER9 Wheaton, July 1964 . 22
CHAPTER10 Wheaton, July 1964 . 24
CHAPTER11 Léopoldville, June 1964 . 26
CHAPTER12 Lombard, July 1964 . 28
CHAPTER13 Léopoldville, July 1964 . 30
CHAPTER14 Léopoldville, July 1964 . 32
CHAPTER15 Brussels/Léopoldville,August 1964 . 35
CHAPTER16 Léopoldville, August 1964 . 38
CHAPTER17 Léopoldville, August 1964 . 40
CHAPTER18 Léopoldville, August 1964 . 42
CHAPTER19 Litoko, August 1964 . 44
CHAPTER20 Johannesburg, August 1964 . 47
CHAPTER21 Litoko, August 1964 . 49
CHAPTER22 Biala, August 1964 . 51
CHAPTER23 Litoko, August 1964 . 54
CHAPTER24 Litoko, August 1964 . 56

PARTII The Downpour
CHAPTER25 Akula, August 1964 . 60
CHAPTER26 Stanleyville, August 1964 . 63
CHAPTER28 Yakoma, August 1964 . 67
CHAPTER29 Akula, August 1964 . 69
CHAPTER30 Ngale, August 1964 . 71
CHAPTER31 Lisala, August 1964 . 74
CHAPTER32 Léopoldville, August 1964 . 76
CHAPTER33 Kamina, August 1964 . 77
CHAPTER34 Yakoma, August 1964 . 79
CHAPTER35 Lisala, August 1964 . 81
CHAPTER36 Gemena, September 1964 . 83
CHAPTER37 Akula, September 1964 . 84
CHAPTER38 Lisala, September 1964 . 86
CHAPTER39 Stanleyville, August 1964 . 88
CHAPTER40 Stanleyville, August 1964 . 90
CHAPTER41 Lisala, September 1964 . 91
CHAPTER42 Yandongi, September 1964 . 93
CHAPTER43 Bumba, September 1964 . 95
CHAPTER44 Biala, October 1964 . 97
CHAPTER45 Biala, October 1964 . 99
CHAPTER46 Bumba, October 1964 . 102
CHAPTER47 Buta, October 1964 . 104
CHAPTER48 Biala, October 1964 . 106
CHAPTER49 Biala, October 1964 . 108
CHAPTER50 Biala, October 1964 . 110

PARTIII The Aftermath
CHAPTER51 Stanleyville, October1964 . 114
CHAPTER52 Stanleyville, October1964 . 116
CHAPTER53 Stanleyville, October1964 . 118
CHAPTER54 Stanleyville, November1964 . 119
CHAPTER55 Kamina, November 1964 . 121
CHAPTER56 Kindu, November 1964 . 124
CHAPTER57 Stanleyville, November1964 . 127
CHAPTER58 Stanleyville, November1964 . 129
CHAPTER59 Stanleyville, November1964 . 132
CHAPTER60 Stanleyville, November1964 . 134
CHAPTER61 Léopoldville, November1964 . 136
CHAPTER62 Léopoldville, November1964 . 138
CHAPTER63 Léopoldville, December1964 . 140

Author’sNote . 142
PART I
The Gathering Storm
CHAPTER 1
Litoko, June 1957


Deep inconversation, the mismatched pair made their way down the quarter mile path tothe river. Surrounding the two missionary mothers and their children were adozen lively African youngsters, prancing, skipping, giggling and chatteringaway with one another and their white playmates. Parrots in the high canopyoverhead screeched in protest at the invasion of their domain.
The shorter of thetwo women, Patty, wore a lemon yellow muumuu with dark red flowers and carrieda large cloth bag slung over one shoulder. Heavy-set, her round cheeks shone arosy pink, more from the warmth of the day than from exertion for they werewalking slowly. She held the hand of her youngest, nine-year-old Lizzie, asthey made their way along the sun-mottled path.
Nathalie, herneighbor, walked alongside. She was half a head taller and slender, appearingalmost gaunt in her loos