ABSTRACT
In 2010, the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence, which was celebrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Belgium. Besides the many official gatherings, celebrations and ceremonial processions, it was also a time when the history of Belgian-Congo (1908–1960) and its aftermath was examined through innumerable books, monographs, journal articles and novels (Van Reybrouck, 2010; De Boe et al., 2010; Verlinden, 2010). Interestingly, the subject of disability, however, was rarely mentioned in these celebratory publications. This is not to suggest that none of the texts referred to the existence of persons with disabilities, but it does appear that the histories of disabled Congolese citizens, like the histories of most people with disabilities across the globe, is quite invisible. Bearing in mind Douglas Baynton's far-reaching statement taken from his influential essay on disability, history and inequality, namely that “disability is everywhere in history, once you begin looking for it, but conspicuously absent in the histories we write,” this particular neglect of disability in the historiography of Belgian-Congo seemed to be superficial and misleading (Baynton, 2001). Two examples in particular can sustain this suggestion with regard to the way the subject of disability has been omitted from the history of Belgian-Congo, the first having to do with the very start of the Belgian colony, the second one related to the way its complex and challenging history was made public in 2004 by a group of local activists.
