"A Primitive Mass of "Natives"
Become a Body of Loyal Colonial Citizens
Silence is such a beautiful and permanent thing that, whenever it is broken by the spoken word or by print, an excuse is called for: that is the origin of prefaces, introductions and forewords. Especially in wartime, when economy in every field is imperative, a reason should he given for every effort which, at first sight, does not seem indispensable.
The publication of this brochure is justified hy the fact that the American public generally is not aware of the role the Belgian Congo is playing in the world conflict, and by another far more important fact, namely, that Belgium has assumed the white man's burden in a territory 80 times its own size and has achieved in four score years a work of civilization and progress to which practically all who know the Congo render homage. Under a regime of economic internationalization, Congo commerce has developed rapidly and the motherland Belgium has spared no sacrifices to increase the Congo's economic significance in world trade, although it was bound by the international status of its colony to deal on a perfectly equal basis with other peoples.
The well known American author, Negley Parson, states in Behind God's Back that: "The Belgians seem to have shown a great deal of uncommon good sense in handling their Congo problem."
The tremendous sacrifices Belgium has imposed upon Itself to help the Congo native out of Arabian slavery and to deliver him from disease, have been rewarded by the loyalty and the devotion of the 15,000,000 Negroes in the Congo. Already in World War I our Negro troops fought bravely and effectively against the Germans in Africa. The conquest of Tabora and the surrounding region was the culminating point of their forceful action. Today, the populations of the former German colonies have not yet forgotten the treatment inflicted upon them by the "magnificent blond beasts of prey" for whose arrival Frederic Nietzche longed so much. The colonial troops of the Belgian Congo readily gave their lives for their homeland and its white protectors. As Negley Parson wrote, "It is well to the credit of the Belgians that they have taken this very primitive mass of Congo natives and are, yearly and inevitably, giving them better living conditions and a practical education."
Again, in 1941, they went on the march against the Italian strongholds in Southern Abyssinia. More than 500 of them died on the burning plateaus of the Gala Sidamo region, but they conquered Asosa, Gambela and Saio, took 15,000 prisoners and swept the enemy from the entire region. Today they are ready for further action.
As the war moved on in the Far East, important production centers of valuable war materials were lost to the Allies, and the importance of the Belgian Congo as a producer of copper, tin, manganese, rubber, palm oil, fiber, etc., became more apparent. Since the 10th of May, 1940, the Belgian Congo has been staunchly on the side of the Allies. It has not wavered. The purpose of this brochure is to tell the American public how this African territory, as large as one third of the United States, is bracing itself to an ever increased effort for the Allied victory. Too often this effort is ignored, sometimes it is minimised. The Belgian colonizers of the Congo had a double object: to combat ignorance and to repair injustice. To a certain extent, this brochure aims to do the same.