Friday, March 15, 2013

George Kenney: "Congo Series 3/3 Théodore Trefon" @ Electric Politics

Dear Michael,

Here's the third of three in our series on the Congo. Actually, I would have expected some complaints by now but, instead, I've gotten a couple of emails saying how much listeners have found the subject interesting despite their expectations.

Unlike the first two guests in this series, who parachuted into the Congo at high levels and only stayed for a relatively short time, Dr. Théodore Trefon has been working on, and in, the Congo for decades. He refuses to agree with me that the Congo is an imaginary country, but that's OK, and I was very pleased to learn from him about local efforts to improve peoples' lives. It's shocking, nevertheless, that the UN thinks the Congo won't get back to its level of development circa 1960 for at least several more decades… To my way of thinking such an assessment is a priori proof that something is being done, or not done, in the most horrible way! Indeed, the sheer intractability of the Congo's problems makes me wonder: if it were to break apart to shed its colonial past, what then about the United States? But that's most definitely not the subject of this interview…

If you like the show please let me know and I'll consider scheduling an impromptu fourth follow-on to our Congo series. Just kidding :)

As always, if you do like the show please forward the link.


Best,

g.

PS If you listen to these shows while traveling, as many do, you might want to consider saving a few up. I plan to take some time off starting somewhere in April, for at least several weeks.

http://www.electricpolitics.com/podcast/2013/03/political_memories.html

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