|
Article 15 (idiom)
Article 15 (''article quinze'', ) is a humorous French idiom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which refers to an imaginary legal provision permitting individuals to take any measures, whether legal or illegal, necessitated by adverse personal circumstances such as economic hardship, crime, or oppression by the state. Originating during the Congo Crisis and popularised under the Zairean regime in the 1970s, Article 15 references a fictional provision of the 14-article constitution of the secessionist state of South Kasai which was said to read "" in French. This has been variously translated as "get on with it", "fend for yourself", "figure it out yourself", "make do to survive", "deal with it yourself", or "do what you need to do". A popular idiom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Article 15 refers to an individual's inability to expect help from the state and thus justifies actions taken at their own initiative to muddle through. It is sometimes used to justif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing Megacity, megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million in 2024. It is the List of cities and towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most densely populated city in the DRC, the List of cities in Africa by population, most populous city and List of urban areas in Africa by population, third-largest metropolitan area in Africa, and the world's List of largest cities, twenty-second most populous city and List of national capitals by population, fourth-most populous capital city. It is the leading Economy, economic, Politics, political, and cultural center of the DRC, housing several industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, List of banks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, banking, and entertainment. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crime In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is investigated by the DRC's police. Crime by type Murder The Democratic Republic of the Congo had a murder rate of 13.55 per 100,000 population in 2015. Corruption Sexual violence The DRC, and the east of the DRC in particular, has been described as the "Rape Capital of the World". The prevalence and intensity of all forms of sexual violence has been described as the worst in the world. Much of the research conducted about sexual violence in the DRC has focused on violence against and rape of women as related to these armed conflict, mostly occurring in the eastern region of the country. The eastern region of the DRC has the highest rates of sexual violence, and much of it is perpetrated by armed militia groups. However, other studies have begun to show that sexual violence is pervasive in all parts of the DRC and that it is not always related to the conflict. Human trafficking The Democratic Republic of the Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Slang
A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group.McArthur, T. (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992) Oxford University Press It may also be called a cryptolect, argot, pseudo-language, anti-language or secret language. Each term differs slightly in meaning; their uses are inconsistent. Etymology There are two main schools of thought on the origin of the word ''cant'': * In linguistics, the derivation is normally seen to be from the Irish word (older spelling ), "speech, talk", or Scottish Gaelic . It is seen to have derived amongst the itinerant groups of people in Ireland and Scotland, who hailed from both Irish/Scottish Gaelic and English-speaking backgrounds, ultimately developing as various creole languages. However, the various types of cant (Scottish/Irish) are mutually unintelligible. The Irish creole variant is termed " the cant". Its speakers from the Irish Traveller community know it as ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1960s Neologisms
Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus attempts to assassinate Clodius Albinus but fails, causing Albinus to retaliate militarily. * Emperor Septimius Severus captures and sacks Byzantium; the city is rebuilt and regains its previous prosperity. * In order to assure the support of the Roman legion in Germany on his march to Rome, Clodius Albinus is declared Augustus by his army while crossing Gaul. * Hadrian's wall in Britain is partially destroyed. China * First year of the Jian'an Era, during the reign of the Xian Emperor of the Han. * The Xian Emperor returns to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Language In Africa
African French () is the umbrella grouping of varieties of the French language spoken throughout Francophone Africa. Used mainly as a secondary language or ''lingua franca'', it is spoken by an estimated 320 million people across 34 countries and territories,29 full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF): Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, and Tunisia. One associate member of the OIF: Ghana.One observer of the OIF: Mozambique.One country not member or observer of the OIF: Algeria.Two French territories in Africa: Réunion and Mayotte. some of which are not Francophone, but merely members or observers of the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie''. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corruption In Africa
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities like bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement, as well as practices that are legal in many countries, such as lobbying. Political corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for personal gain. Historically, "corruption" had a broader meaning concerned with an activity's impact on morals and societal well-being: for example, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned to death in part for "corrupting the young". Contemporary corruption is perceived as most common in kleptocracies, oligarchies, narco-states, authoritarian states, and mafia states, however, more recent research and policy statements acknowledge that it also exists in wealthy capitalist economies. In ''H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Politics Of The Belly
Politics of the belly, a translation of the French term ''politique du ventre'', is a Cameroonian expression popularised by Jean-François Bayart in his 1989 book ''L'État en Afrique: La Politique du Ventre'' to describe African political power in the post-colonial era. It refers, in particular, to the relationship between patrimonialism, clientelism, corruption, and power. According to Lynn M. Thomas of the University of Washington: Introduction Similar in concept to neopatrimonialism, in which private sector support is bought by the state, the Politics of the Belly is a metaphor for a form of governance that arose across Africa after decolonisation. Characterised by a controlling government and the interdependence of the elite in control of the private and public spheres, actors on both sides use their status to strengthen their economic and political power. A number of spin-off ideas, such as the "politics of the womb", have been proposed by academics on the back of the B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
System D
System D is a manner of responding to challenges that require one to have the ability to think quickly, to adapt, and to improvise when getting a job done. The term is a direct translation of French . The letter ''D'' refers to any one of the French nouns , or (French slang). The verbs and mean to ''make do'', to ''manage'', especially in an adverse situation. Basically, it refers to one's ability and need to be resourceful. In ''Down and Out in Paris and London'', George Orwell described the term as something the lowest-level kitchen workers, the , wanted to be called, indicating that they were people who would get the job done, no matter what. The term System D gained wider popularity in the United States after appearing in the 2006 publication of Anthony Bourdain's '' The Nasty Bits''. Bourdain references finding the term in Nicolas Freeling's memoir, ''The Kitchen'', about Freeling's years as a Grand Hotel cook in France. In recent literature on the informal economy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congolese Rumba
Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese rumba has gained global recognition and remains an integral part of African music heritage. In December 2021, it was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Emerging in the mid-20th century in the urban centers of Brazzaville and Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) during the colonial era, the genre's roots can be traced to the Bakongo partner dance music known as ''maringa'', which was traditionally practiced within the former Kingdom of Loango, encompassing regions of contemporary Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon, and Cabinda Province of Angola. The style gained prominence in the 1920s–1940s, introducing the advent of the " bar-dancing" culture in Brazzaville and Léopoldville, which incorporated distinctive elements suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corruption In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is widespread at all levels of government, ranging from petty bribery involving local bureaucrats to grand-scale embezzlement of public funds by political elites. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures how effectively countries are perceived to control public-sector corruption, consistently ranks the DRC near the bottom. The BBC's DRC country profile calls its recent history "one of civil war and corruption." A 2024 report by Transparency International described the DRC as the eighth most corrupt country in Africa. President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001. History The Mobutu era (1965–1997) Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire from 1965 to 1997, looting his country's wealth for personal use to such a degree that critics coined the term "kleptocracy". After Congo became independent from Belgium in 1960, Seko was appoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pépé Kallé
Pépé Kallé, sometimes written as Pepe Kalle (November 30, 1951 – November 29, 1998) was a Congolese soukous singer, musician and bandleader. Biography Pépé Kallé was born Kabasele Yampanya in Kinshasa (then Léopoldville) in the Belgian Congo, but later assumed his pseudonym in hommage to his mentor, Le Grand Kallé. With a multi-octave vocal range and a dynamic stage presence, the and vocalist recorded more than three hundred songs and twenty albums during his two-decade-long career. Known affectionately as "the elephant of African music" and "La Bombe Atomique," Kallé entertained audiences with his robust performances. The guitarist was Solomon. Musical career His musical career started with l'African Jazz, the band of Le Grand Kallé. He later performed in Bella Bella and became the lead singer of Lipua Lipua, where he sang alongside Nyboma Mwandido. In 1972, Kallé along with Dilu Dilumona and Papy Tex, left Lipua Lipua to form their own band named Empire B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Kasai
South Kasai () was an unrecognised secessionist state within the Republic of the Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) which was semi-independent between 1960 and 1962. Initially proposed as only a province, South Kasai sought full autonomy in similar circumstances to the much larger neighbouring state of Katanga, to its south, during the political turmoil arising from the independence of the Belgian Congo known as the Congo Crisis. Unlike Katanga, however, South Kasai did not explicitly declare full independence from the Republic of the Congo or reject Congolese sovereignty. The South Kasaian leader and main advocate, Albert Kalonji, who had represented a faction of the nationalist movement (the '' Mouvement National Congolais-Kalonji'' or MNC-K) before decolonisation, exploited ethnic tensions between his own ethnic group, the Baluba, and the Bena Lulua to create a Luba-focused state in the group's traditional heartland in the south-eastern parts of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
