I read this for the Read The World challenge as my book from the Central African Republic, which is where Andrée Blouin was born—although she didn’t actually live there for very long.

Her father, Pierre Gerbillat, was a French businessman with a transport company in what was then French Equatorial Africa. He saw Andrée’s mother, Josephine Wouassimba, dancing in a local village and decided he wanted to marry her. Although she was already promised to somebody else, he offered such a large dowry tha I read this for the Read The World challenge as my book from the Central African Republic, which is where Andrée Blouin was born — although she didn’t actually live there for very long.

Her father, Pierre Gerbillat, was a French businessman with a transport company in what was then French Equatorial Africa. He saw Andrée’s mother, Josephine Wouassimba, dancing in a local village and decided he wanted to marry her. Although she was already promised to somebody else, he offered such a large dowry that her parents were persuaded.

He was forty; she was thirteen. And although they were married according to local custom, they were not actually married under French law — not only that, he was already engaged to a Belgian woman, who he married very soon. And after briefly juggling two wives, he left Josephine and sent Andrée to an orphanage for mixed-race children run by nuns in Brazzaville. She was at the orphanage from the age of three until she was seventeen, when she managed to escape, literally by climbing over the wall.

Then she worked as a dressmaker, and had a sequence of relationships with white men, before getting involved in the campaign for independence, first in Guinea and then the Belgian Congo, where she was Chief of Protocol for the newly independent Republic of the Congo for the very brief period before Mobutu overthrew the government and she had to flee the country, and move to France.

So she’s an interesting subject. Although the stuff which is most obviously notable about her — the politics — was not actually the most engaging part of the book, for me. The most powerful section is about severity of the orphanage, and the sheer cruelty of the nuns; and throughout the book the racial dynamics are particularly thought-provoking.

She was a mixed-race child at a time when they were so rare that they were shipped of to special orphanages and coerced to marry each other, to reduce their disruptive impact on society. And it made her even more of an outsider that she was cut off from normal African society for her entire childhood.

Then as an adult, she was a beautiful mixed-race woman who, despite having suffered at the hands of white institutions and individuals, was apparently only drawn to relationships with white men; one of whom she lived with, and had a child with, even though he was so racist that he would not allow her mother into their house.

And I don’t think she makes any comment herself about whether her partial whiteness made it easier or harder for her to be a woman taking a prominent role in the politics of independence, but it must have been relevant one way or another.

So there’s plenty of interesting material here. And it’s well written, for which the credit may go to Jean McKellar, who is credited as a ‘collaborator’; I don’t know exactly what that means in this case. It’s also out of print, though, and unless it sounds like it’s particularly relevant to your interests, I don’t think it’s so amazing that you need to seek it out. ...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Christina Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am attempting to find the energy to again tackle my journal article. I thought I would stretch my fingers and my brain by adding a few comments about this book. My tactics are related. I read the book as part of my research for the journal article.

For the past two months I have been on a near fruitless search for documentation on women's political/activist history in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The reason for the search is rather straight forward: I traveled to the DRC to meet gra I am attempting to find the energy to again tackle my journal article. I thought I would stretch my fingers and my brain by adding a few comments about this book. My tactics are related. I read the book as part of my research for the journal article.

For the past two months I have been on a near fruitless search for documentation on women's political/activist history in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The reason for the search is rather straight forward: I traveled to the DRC to meet grassroots women's organizations doing prodigious and courageous work to end the ongoing armed conflict and rebuild their country. These women defy the disgraceful and insulting overreaching victim narrative ensconced in current writings circulating about the country. Please do not misunderstand me. The horrendous violence is very real. The inaccuracy comes in overlooking the capabilities and the work of Congolese women...capabilities defying the pathetic image that has become all too common in the media, security, and organizational reporting. The result is that these organizations are ignored, are considered irrelevant, and have no voice in any operational decision-making process (this includes decision-making in peace processes, security processes, and international humanitarian/aid processes). They are fighting for recognition and deserve to be given credence and worth. I am delving into the scraps of history available in order to give context the women's present work. After all, it is incomprehensible that suddenly one day women wake up with political awareness. The work of these women was fostered in some capacity. Most have spoken of the work of their mothers and the encouragement of their work by their fathers.

Alright I am off my soapbox. I have been researching and have been corresponding with Congolese women in order to uncover a activist and political history of women that very much exists despite common inference. At present, there is no comprehensive work that records this history. As the women who fought for independence following WWII and subsequently fought against Mobutu's overthrow, and who now fight to end the hostilities and change their country, progressively grow older, this history is being relegated to rumor and considered inconsequential. Once again, the women are insulted.

Andree Blouin is not Belgian Congolese, but French Congolese from Congo-Brazzaville. She did, however, meet the resistance and democratic reform leadership of Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba recruited Andree to campaign with him and his staff subsequently appointing her as Chief of Protocol in his cabinet. Her story is powerful and gives tremendous insight to the political awakening and work of Congolese women during independence. Strong Congolese women exist and have existed. Reading this gives me hope that eventually their contributions will one day be fully recognized.

In the meantime, my advice to the reader interested in the Congolese conflict is to continually ask her/himself, 'Where are the women?" If the answer is not apparent beyond helplessness, begin to dig further. This book is a good place to start the informational archeology. ...more

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