比利时的非洲博物馆试图与殖民主义的形象作斗争

Belgium’s Museum of Africa Tries to Fight Images of Colonialism

Belgium has long struggled to deal with its colonial¹ past.

The small European country controlled large parts of Central Africa from the early 1900s to the 1960s. During colonial rule, millions of Africans died from disease², starvation and violence.

Recently, Belgium’s Royal Museum for Central Africa reopened after five years of building repairs and improvements³. The $73-million effort aims to show visitors the reality of colonial rule and modern Africa.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa first opened in 1910 during the rule of King Leopold II. The museum was set up to to show the power of his empire and the colonial riches it provided⁴.

Just more than 100 years later, museum workers have tried to completely change that. Guido Gryseels is the current director.

"Our aim was to make a museum of contemporary Africa, the Africa of today. But at the same time to also bring a very critical look on the colonial past of Belgium. We recognize now the many victims of colonization⁵, the African victims of colonization. We recognize too that a lot of the racist⁶ attitudes that were developed at that time have their consequences today."

Those ideas are personified by a group of statues showing Africans as simple and animal-like. The statues formerly⁷ were placed all around the building. They are now kept in an underground room.

The museum also had a collection of living things from the colonies⁸. This zoo served as home to more than 250 Congolese people. They were forced to wear traditional clothing. Seven died from being out in cold weather.

Museum workers have been doing research on other collections. This new information has been added to some objects. It tells where they came from and explains their importance.

Videos provide an African understanding of issues such as culture, colonialism and the environment.

King Leopold II built the museum to raise money for mining and rubber production in what is now the Democratic⁹ Republic of Congo and Rwanda. It is estimated¹⁰ that up to 15 million Congolese died from disease, starvation and mass killings¹¹ under colonial rule.

Mireille-Tsheusi Robert is Bamko-Cran, a Brussels-based anti-racism group. She says the museum has not gone far enough to show the horrible nature of colonialism.

Robert says that when the museum is presented as a museum of Africa and not one of colonization, it creates misunderstandings. She added, "We need to make a real museum of colonization, we need to deal with our colonial history. It is really something that is missing¹² in Belgium."

Director Gryseels says he is open to returning stolen goods to Africa.

"Well, certainly it's not normal that 80 percent of African art is in European museums or in European private collections. So we have to make sure that they can get much greater access to our collections..."

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

access – n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone

attitudes – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

contemporary – adj. happening or beginning now or in recent times

zoo – n. a place where living, usually wild animals are kept

consequence – n. something produced by a cause or resulting from a series of conditions

1 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 improvements   

增加或修改( improvement的名词复数 )； 改进； 改善； 改良

参考例句：

• improvements in efficiency at the factory 工厂效率的提高
• They've spent a lot of money on home improvements. 他们花了很多钱装修家居。

4 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

5 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

10 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。