THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE BY ALICE VAN ROSTE
Dedicated to
My Grandfather
Foreword Belgium had colonies in Congo from 1908. Congo is in the middle of Africa. At the beginning Leopold II decided that Congo would be his personal property but that was going very bad, there was so much violence and exploitation that other countries asked Belgium to take back their colonies and for them not to be Leopold II’s property alone. So Belgium tried to make Congo better, more civilized. The Belgians that lived there had a special status to build everything because there was nothing there. They built roads, hospitals and schools. With the roads, people learnt to know each other better and so the tension decreased. There were a lot of locals that had a job with payment. Congo was one of the countries that had the highest working (with payment) population.
Foreword The smarter they became, the more they wanted their independence. So Belgium helped them get it. There was a lot of things that happened after they announced the Congo Independence. Lumumba and Kasavubu (the people who were getting elected) were fighting for presidency and the Army was fighting for power.
The House by the Lake The sun beamed down onto our house, making it look warm and cozy. I sat on the balconies that surrounded the house and looked out onto the lake. It was huge and majestic. The mountain reflections jumped up and down on the clear surface. It was 1960, I was 15 and life was great.The helpers were cleaning or cooking, sometimes Tilapia fish from the lake, sometimes vegetables; vegetables grew very well in Kivu. The helpers were being paid and thanks to us, they learnt how to cook, clean, plant and take care of a house. I went to go pack my suitcase and get ready for the usual trip. Every three years, we went to Belgium for 3 months. I had a special suitcase called a Malle. It was like a big box.
Meanwhile, my dad was at work, at the Colonial Economic Administration Department; where there were only white people. In, Congo, Belgian’s had higher positions. Little did we know we wouldn’t come back to congo. Our trip to Belgium turned into a permanent stay! We couldn’t go back to Congo because they were now independent, Belgium agreed to help Congo become an independent country. Everyone that was Belgian had to come back and couldn’t live in Congo anymore. Anyone who stayed there would be kicked out in a unpleasant way. My dad didn’t have a job anymore and we had lost our house and car. We couldn’t go back. I didn’t understand. ‘Why?’ I would ask.
‘Because we don’t live there anymore, Congo is its own country now and not our colony anymore,’ My dad always answered.I accepted the fact and didn’t ask many questions about it. Sometimes, the memories floated back, of the time my siblings and I sang local songs and sat on the balcony looking at the sunset as it created beautiful colors flowing like waves in the sky. There was no television, the information transmitter and I didn’t read the newspaper that often. At night, I would often hear my parents talking in hushed voices in the other room. It wasn’t really a dramatic change for me because we were used to moving around a lot but now it was different, we had to stay. I was fine with coming back to Belgium and didn’t want to go back to Congo anymore.There is still war in Congo and I don’t want all the happy and heartbreaking memories floating
About The Author Alice Van Roste is from Brussels in Belgium. She is 12 years old and lives in Turkey. Her birthday is on the 20 of January. She lived in Belgium for 23 years then moved to Istanbul. Its been now 10 years she has lived in Istanbul, Turkey.
Bibliography "La Belgique Et L'indépendance Du Congo ." La Belgique Et L'indépendance Du Congo. Vivre En Belgique, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.vivreenbelgique.be/12aladecouvertedelabelgique/la belgiqueetlindependanceducongo>.
"Political Map of Democratic Republic of the Congo." Political Map of Democratic Republic of the Congo. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.mapsofworld.com/democraticrepublicofcongo/democratic republicofcongopoliticalmap.html>.
R, L. "Belgian Congo." Telephone interview. 1 Nov. 2016. Hochschild, Adam. "Leopold's Congo: A Holocaust We Have Yet to Comprehend." Explora. Http://web.a.ebscohost.com/, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com/src_ic/detail/detail? vid=15&sid=790203b740b64fdf96d6 dbc4cfa0623e%40sessionmgr4008&hid=4109&bdata=#AN=3075989&d b=trh>.