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| Official Abbreviation ZR |
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| The Democratic Republic of the Congo covers a huge area of dense primordial equatorial forest. This forest makes the whole country unimaginable, impassable, and unnavigable. That is of course unless you navigate by rivers instead of roads. The main highway is the river Congo; the country does not have tarmac from west to east. Groups of brave tourists, documentary makers, authors, colonialists and "explorers" have navigated these rivers to explore the depths of the forest and sometimes of their souls. They always return with unbelievable tales, incredible photos and bouts of malaria and sleeping sickness.
Perhaps it is due to this impenetrable nature, that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the most volatile histories of the continent. To begin to understand the complexities of its present predicaments, it is recommended to read up on the history of the colony of King Leopold which reads like a dark tale into the heart of darkness. Joseph Conrad's book is also recommended.
Congo's evolution as an independent state is colored by the remnants of its deeply embittered colonial past. Four million people have lost their lives in the fight to create a new country and to control their share of its immense resource base which include cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, and coal. Watch the film "Lumumba" for the story of independence and the country's first president. The legendary Mobutu tried to keep secessionist movements under wraps through often brutal dictatorial rule from the 1960s to 1997. Laurent Desile Kabila and his son Joseph have tried to create a new identity for the Congo in the Post Cold War world but have been continually challenged by rebellions. Rebels entered Kinshasa as recently as the late 1990s.
The election last year, the first of a democratic Congo has instilled a new hope in the country, its inhabitants and foreign investors, who are arriving in hordes at the Kinshasa airport. With increased investment in infrastructure, a commitment to the peace accords created in the past ten years, and the optimism that is ever present in the Congolese people, you may even be able to visit the country as a tourist in the very near future.
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