Patrice Lumumba shortly before execution
My dear companion,
I write you these words without knowing if they will reach you, when
they will reach you, or if I will still be living when you read them.
All during the length of my fight for the independence of my country, I
have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred
cause to which my companions and myself have consecrated our lives. But
what we wish for our country, its right to an honorable life, to a
spotless dignity, to an independence without restrictions, Belgian
colonialism and its Western allies-who have found direct and indirect
support, deliberate and not deliberate among certain high officials of
the United Nations, this organization in which we placed all our
confidence when we called for their assistance-have not wished it.
They have corrupted certain of our fellow countrymen, they have
contributed to distorting the truth and our enemies, that they will rise
up like a single person to say no to a degrading and shameful
colonialism and to reassume their dignity under a pure sun.
We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from
every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the
Congolese. They will not abandon the light until the day comes when
there are no more colonizers and their mercenaries in our country. To my
children whom I leave and whom perhaps I will see no more, I wish that
they be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful and that it
expects for each Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of
reconstruction of our independence and our sovereignty; for without
dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and
without independence there are no free men.
No brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for
grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith steadfast, and my
confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live
in submission and scorn of sacred principles. History will one day have
its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington
or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the
countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets. Africa will
write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of
the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity.
Do not weep for me, my dear companion. I know that my country, which
suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its
liberty.
Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!
Patrice
Africason is a die-hard believer in Africa.
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