Experience

Antwerp erects cenotaph for deceased Congolese from 1894 World Exposition

Posted by Timothy on

The City of Antwerp is erecting a cenotaph in the Schoonselhof cemetery to commemorate the Congolese people who died during the Antwerp International Exposition (Dutch: Wereldtentoonstelling van Antwerpen, French: Exposition Internationale d’Anvers) of 1894.

The Antwerp International Exposition took place in 1984, nine years after the 1885 edition. An African Village was reconstructed at this expo, populated by Africans from the Congo Free State. For this purpose, 144 Congolese were brought to Antwerp, who had to reenact their daily lives and crafts on the expo site.

Due to dysentery and lung diseases, seven transferred Congolese died in the Stuivenberg hospital in Antwerp: Sabo, Bitio, Isokoyé, Manguesse, Binda, Mangwanda and Pezoop. The seven were buried in 1894, like many poor Antwerp residents, in free linear graves at the Kiel cemetery, next to Antwerp residents who died in the same period.

When the Kiel cemetery was closed during the interbellum, human remains were transferred to the Schoonselhof cemetery. Because the line graves had been cleared decades earlier, it was no longer possible to transfer the remains.

Cenotaph

To commemorate the poignant story of the deceased Congolese, which is inextricably linked to Antwerp’s history, the city of Antwerp wants to erect a cenotaph at the Schoonselhof cemetery. A cenotaph is a grave marker that is erected in memory of deceased persons whose remains are elsewhere or cannot be found.

Historian and Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA): “To understand our present, we must look the past straight in the eye. That is why this cenotaph for the Congolese who died in 1894 is particularly necessary. Because they are an inseparable part of our history and of our city community. We wanted to keep the memory of their moving story alive in a dignified, serene and visible place. In consultation with the Congolese-Antwerp community, we have now found a suitable memorial in the Schoonselhof. This cenotaph will appeal to all Antwerp residents.” 

Alderman for Culture Nabilla Ait Daoud (N-VA): “The forgotten tragedy of the Congolese victims of the World Exhibition in 1894 came to light thanks to the exhibition ‘100 x Congo. A century of Congolese art in Antwerp‘ in the Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS). 43 Congolese men, women and children were admitted to the then Stuivenberg hospital with health problems, where they were cared for by Antwerp doctors and nurses. Seven of them – Sabo, Bitio, Isokoyé, Manguesse, Binda, Mangwanda and Pezoop – did not survive. During the 2020 exhibition, the MAS already extensively reflected on the sad fate of the inhabitants of the Congolese village of 1894, and also started the dialogue with the Congolese community in Antwerp.”

Alderman for Cemeteries Els van Doesburg (N-VA): “If you want to know Antwerp, the story of our history, I can only recommend a visit to the Schoonselhof. The moving story of Sabo, Bitio, Isokoyé, Manguesse, Binda, Mangwanda and Pezoop – and all the other Congolese who were brought to Antwerp in 1894 – is therefore rightly given a place here.”

Disappointment

In the days following the announcement, disappointment has arisen. 

Two years ago, at the reopening of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen, KMSKA) on the Museumplein, Nadia Nsayi, the curator of the exhibition in the MAS, among others, advocated a memorial plaque on the square for the seven victims. A petition about this was signed 1,000 times. The African Village was located at Museumplein. 

Nsayi says in De Morgen is she’s happy with some recognition. “The fact that a mayor, who always dismissed the request for decolonisation of public space as ‘woke’, now acknowledges that this story is part of Antwerp’s history, is a good signal.”

But she rues the missed opportunity. 

For example, she does not understand why the more central Museumplein was not chosen. “We wrote a memo about this issue for the city council at the time. In it, we advocated for a visible location, yet the city opted for a remote location where far fewer people come. It seems as if the story is being covered up.”

On the look of Antwerp