Review: Christophe Cassiau-Haurie – Madame Livingstone

Madame Livingstone: Congo, the First World War by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti was definitely not what I was expecting when I discovered this fictional account of the First World War in Africa. The reason? It’s a comic book or graphic novel as they call them these days.

In its favour, is the fact that it’s one of the only fictional accounts I’ve come across so far covering the Belgian aspect of the war in Africa – there is a Young Indiana Jones film with accompanying script and one could say that Peter Hoeg’s “Journey into a dark heart” in Tales of the Night is fitting. The story was originally written in French and translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger, the English version being published in 2021.

The year is 1915 and claims it is based on a true story by about the relationship between a Belgian officer and an African scout who worked to sink the Götzen on Lake Tanganyika. The author and illustrator explain more in an interview they gave. What I did find interesting in the interview was the little comment that comics have been around on the African continent since 1915. If that’s the case, I wonder what other little WW1 gems are hidden in the graphic story telling art form?

The book forms the basis of a discussion on Memory in Crisis … in Postcolonial Belgium by Sarah Arens, 2020. I’ll leave you to read that and decide for yourself about the value of telling the story visually rather than in words. Although I will say that I was rather impressed/intrigued as to how the story did unfold with the few words used – I jumped a number of the visuals as I really couldn’t see how they added to the account (but then that is more about me and my preference for narrative). You might also be interested in this review on the Historical Novels Society website – which is, incidentally, where I discovered the book, having been directed to the society by Tova Dian Dean (watch this space).

While the book contains additional information on the events mentioned and context of the Congo during the war, sadly no references are included. The frustration around this is that little is known in English about the Belgian or Congolese involvement in the conflict. British sources tend to leave out reference to Belgian involvement, it’s only in recent years that we’re getting to hear more about the South African, Rhodesian (Zimbabwean & Zambian), Malawian and Kenyan involvement, amongst others, in the war. Similarly, the Belgian accounts that I have accessed tend to still focus on the grand narrative, so as usual it’s only the Belgian officers and politicians who tend to get named. While the names of the Belgian and Force Publique who lost their lives during the war is available online, finding the names of those who served in the Belgian force in Africa is a real challenge from afar… (and to be honest, it is the same regarding the Portuguese participants).

That was now a digression, all inspired by this graphic novel. In conclusion, despite my personal take on graphic novels, this is a book worth getting if you’re interested in obscure (ie little known) aspects of the First World War in Africa. It’s one of the reasons I value fictional accounts of the campaign – they often lead to new insights.

And it makes sense to add some information about the creators as part of the Novelist series (see Tags)

Barly Baruti (Baruti Kandolo Lilela):

1950 – 9 December, born Congo Kinshasa as Livingsone Alexis
1992 – moved to Belgium
2021 – back in Kinshasa

Christophe Cassiau-Haurie

1968 – born Doualla, Cameroon, raised in France

References: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/baruti_barly.htm

Why WW1 dragged on for so long…

Proofreading Stand To Your Horses: A story of the British South Africa Police of Southern Rhodesia, by Stanley Edwards, I discovered the answer to this question, or did I?

At some stage Colonel J.W. Lord of Baluch ‘commented on the shine on my shoes and wanted to know why his batman/gardener/butler George Pickhaver, could not achieve the same standard.’ Stanley went on to explain in detail how they, in the British South Africa Police, had been taught to polish their shoes. Lord ‘expressed surprise. I asked him what they had done at Sandhurst in 1914 and he said he had no recollection of cleaning his own kit.’ This led Stanley to remark, ‘No wonder the 1914-1918 War dragged on so.’

I wonder what he meant by this. Is he suggesting that if officers had done more ‘menial’ or mundane tasks, they would have a different take on life? Their expectations would have been different? Ideas are welcomed…

What is clear from what Stanley and others have written, is that there was greater and more stringent discipline in Africa – in some respects. The BSAP prided themselves on this as did the German Schutztruppe. German discipline in taking quinine, crossing rivers before camping and various other such behaviours ensured they were able to hold out (at least 10 per cent) for the duration of the war. Stanley talks about the discipline, at least in equine training, as having ensured a stong morale and comeraderie among the men which stood them in good stead.

This was also seen to an extent in South Africa during Apartheid when white males were conscripted into the army. I’m not suggesting this become the norm for a mutitude of reasons, but it was noticeable who had done military service and who hadn’t. There was a demeanour or way of carrying oneself that wasn’t present in others. I’ve also heard many veterans of post-WW2 British conscription desire a return of the system in some form – not for military purposes, but rather community service. Their reason being that it engendered a common identity and understanding of others.

I’m not sure how this all could have shortened WW1 (or any war), unless there’s an inference of a better understanding of others’ circumstances with the result that more is done to ensure peace.

As a final point, I’m not sure how the health and saftey elfs would regard the ‘spit and polish’ technique of ye olde days…but it doesn’t seem to have caused permanent damage to those who did it for extended periods – or is that one of those hidden histories?

Quotes are from page 22 of the reprinted Stand To Your Horses

Fred Khumalo – Dancing the Death Drill

Having recently read Dancing the Death Drill, it seemed logical to provide the WW1 Africa author overview with my thoughts on the book…

1966 – 4 August, born Chesterville, Durban, South Africa

WW1 Novels: Dancing the Death Drill (2017)

For more about Fred, see SA History on line and Fred’s website

“Dancing the Death Drill” resonates with the sinking of the SS Mendi on 19 February 1917. However, there is more to Fred Khumalo’s story than the sinking of the Mendi.

For readers who do not know, the Mendi was a transport ship carrying South African labour to the Western Front. During a storm in the channel between Britain and France, near the Isle of Wight, the ship was rammed by another allied cargo carrier and went down with the loss of more than 600, mainly black, lives. This was the largest maritime loss to date and remains a significant event in national memory.

Fred’s story extends beyond the Mendi, before reaching to the 1899-1902 war and after to the 1950s. In essence, it is the tale of a Mendi survivor, whose experiences on board and in the labour corps influence his actions. Fred has kept true to the story of the Mendi but with his South African background and artist’s eye, has offered slightly different takes on the traditional narratives which was most refreshing.

I had wondered about the title – it put me off reading the book until circumstances forced me to engage with it. And I’m pleased I did. By the end of the book I realised the relevance of the title, not only for the 1917 event. In short, this is one of the best novels of WW1 in Africa that I’ve read in a long time.

Other bits I’ve written on the Mendi:

Review: Troopship Mendi – the Black Titanic by Nick Ward
Aragon vs Mendi: two carrier ships
The SS Mendi shroud – 21 Feb 2017

“Just a cleaner”…

“Just a cleaner”… these were the words uttered by a lady having her lunch at the reception desk of a significant South African museum recently. I stopped mid-turn to rejoin the queue, caught by her tone of ‘just’. “You’re not just a cleaner,” I replied, “You’re a very important part of the organisation. If it wasn’t for cleaners, visitors like me wouldn’t be able to enjoy the space.” Her face lit up as she said “thank you.”

Status issues in South Africa and elsewhere are all too prevalent still. This seemed to be one of the themes of my recent visit. In coversation with young people at two art galleries in Pretoria where we were discussing the then town’s (now city) involvement in the First World War, the topic came up as we discussed the role of Marabastad and the change in domestic labour from white to black, as well as the SS Mendi memorial in Attridgeville. The role of labour, those working behind the scenes, is crucial in enabling those who tend to get the limelight to do what they do. As I explained, “the street cleaner is as important as the president.” The one can’t do their job effectively without the other, and the consequences of unclean streets is ill-health and unnecessary additional health expenditure if not worse… In South Africa’s little told WW1 story, it’s the unknown number of labourers of all population groups in all roles that enabled the country to achieve what it did. And it was the a result of the status issues then that forged the road South Africa took as a young “united” country for the rest of the century.

The same issue came up a week later at another museum/archive, where complacency has set in due to ‘it’s not my job to do… I’m a qualified…” In discussing this with a family member, I was told this was one of the legacies of Apartheid – the system created a “lazy society” where one could get away with doing the minumum in certain jobs. I’ll leave unpacking that for another day…

It’s not only in South Africa these status issues play out. In the UK, back in the early 2000s, the Blair government sought to instil equality in education, making vocational subjects as important as academic. Yet, the new qualifications had an adjective – Vocational A-Level, Foundation Degree, etc… In addition, 50% of the population had an entitlement to go to university, later watered down to an “experience of Higher Education”. The class structure and differences remain… I regularly hear of companies struggling to get staff to perform manual labour within the country (more so since Brexit) – youngsters are more interested in social media type work and the “quick win”, many shocked when they realise the hard slog they need to put in if they want to achieve the limelight.

The systems are creaking all over the world… important infrastructure investment is not happening – potholes are a common feature in South Africa, have been for years, yet this last visit and since my return to the UK, it seems the pothole situation in the UK is far worse than that in South Africa… this is just one seemingly insignificant (yet potentially dangerous) issue. Investment in electricity, flood defences and other such now-daily necessities is slipping for whatever reason. The internet went down across Africa for a few hours last month, Whatsapp has had some wobbles… is this all because we’re too focused on being in the limelight? Forgetting about cleaning the streets and other mundane tasks that need to be done in order to keep the systems going?

Let’s value each other and treat one other with respect, no matter what one does or how one is referred to… and let’s put pay to “we’re all born equal, some more so than others…”

Review – The Long Obedience: The political career of Zach de Beer, 1953-1994 by FA Mouton

I read this book a month before the 2024 South African general election – an unexpected but timely read, while I was in South Africa.

Unlike election time in the UK, in SA there are bill boards recommending who you shoukd vote for – this round, it’s about ‘saving SA’, ‘rescue SA’, etc. There are far too many parties – one could argue it’s splitting the vote too much, but in reality it’s representative of the diversity of the country. 

This brings us to Zach de Beer, a liberal politician who became an MP at the age of 24 – incredibly young in SA historical terms. Joining what was then the United Party (ultimately that of Jan Smuts and the opposition to the National Party), before breaking away with some others to form the Progressive Party and then the Progressive Federal Party (well known for Helen Suzmann being the only MP for many years). Eventually, it became the Democratic Party which he led until shortly before his death. After that the party became the Democratic Alliance, which it still is today. It’s a party which, under de Beer, stood firmly for human rights and equality irrespective of background. I can’t say today what its position really is as I don’t follow the detail of any of the parties that closely. However, it is one of the stronger opposition parties, to the extent that coalition with the ANC has not been discounted in 2024.

Alex Mouton’s biography of Zach de Beer is effectively also a biography (or history) of the Democratic Alliance and how in the pre-1994 years it took a stance against Apartheid essentially doing itself out of a job when FW de Klerk announced the release of Nelson Mandela and the move to full democratic elections. Alex sets out how the party evolved and how Zach re-focused (tried to) the party to keep a watchful eye on human rights as both the National Party (NP) and ANC effectively ignored the role the DP played in bringing about the end of Apartheid.

This has been a fascinating and insightful exploration of how a middle of the road party grew, declined and then became more popular again – the mainstay being the constant message of equality for all irrespective of background. It’s an account of tenacity and stickability – how the leaders maintained their outlook despite the various hurdles in their way and temptation to change their stance to further their political position. That they did not succumb is great testimony to the individuals who provide roll models (with all their faults) of how it can be done.

Now, we wait to see what the 2024 election ushers in and how the 21st century form of the party stands up – will Zach de Beer and others of the old DP be smiling or frowning from wherever they are? I leave you to read The Long Obedience and then decide for yourself.