http://www.africawithin.com/lumumba/last_letter.htm

Lumumba's Last Letter
Written to His Wife Just Before His Death

Patrice Lumumba under arrest
in December 1960

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

I don't know what to say.

Big up for posting this.

...whilst reading the letter to myself. Africa should still mourn that hero's passing.

That's one martyr whose life was wasted and it still pains me to this day that it feels as if he died in vain. His death has NOT been redeemed in any way looking at the situation in the Congo right now.

Aluta Continua. L'Afrique se souvient de toi, Lumumba.

The best that we can hope for is people to remember him and what he stood for in the total goal of liberation.

May Lumumba live (martyrs never die) and rest in peace.

Great Shit....

people who could think and write with so much clarity and selflessness right before being put to death.

PEACE

Yeah, it seems like at some point people who truly believe in their cause evolve to a point where ego is minimal and they are dying for a higher purpose.

Long live Lumumba!

to my eyes thinking about someone who was murder and that his own people can't see the changes that need to be made.

for some reason the english translation cuts out a paragraph in the sentence beginning "they have corrupted..." and ending with "pure sun." probably because it calls on the Congolese to "say no to degrading and shameful capitalism".

besides that little editorial issue, it's also very beautiful french.

Ma compagne chérie,

Je t’écris ces mots sans savoir s’ils te parviendront, quand ils te parviendront et si je serai en vie lorsque tu les liras. Tout au long de ma lutte pour l’indépendance de mon pays, je n’ai jamais douté un seul instant du triomphe final de la cause sacrée à laquelle mes compagnons et moi avons consacré toute notre vie. Mais ce que nous voulions pour notre pays, son droit à une vie honorable, à une dignité sans tache, à une indépendance sans restrictions, le colonialisme belge et ses alliés occidentaux – qui ont trouvé des soutiens directs et indirects, délibérés et non délibérés, parmi certains hauts fonctionnaires des Nations-Unies, cet organisme en qui nous avons placé toute notre confiance lorsque nous avons fait appel à son assistance – ne l’ont jamais voulu.

Ils ont corrompu certains de nos compatriotes, ils ont contribué à déformer la vérité et à souiller notre indépendance. Que pourrai je dire d’autre ?

Que mort, vivant, libre ou en prison sur ordre des colonialistes, ce n’est pas ma personne qui compte. C’est le Congo, c’est notre pauvre peuple dont on a transformé l’indépendance en une cage d’où l’on nous regarde du dehors, tantôt avec cette compassion bénévole, tantôt avec joie et plaisir. Mais ma foi restera inébranlable. Je sais et je sens au fond de moi même que tôt ou tard mon peuple se débarassera de tous ses ennemis intérieurs et extérieurs, qu’il se lèvera comme un seul homme pour dire non au capitalisme dégradant et honteux, et pour reprendre sa dignité sous un soleil pur.

Nous ne sommes pas seuls. L’Afrique, l’Asie et les peuples libres et libérés de tous les coins du monde se trouveront toujours aux côtés de millions de congolais qui n’abandonneront la lutte que le jour où il n’y aura plus de colonisateurs et leurs mercenaires dans notre pays. A mes enfants que je laisse, et que peut-être je ne reverrai plus, je veux qu’on dise que l’avenir du Congo est beau et qu’il attend d’eux, comme il attend de chaque Congolais, d’accomplir la tâche sacrée de la reconstruction de notre indépendance et de notre souveraineté, car sans dignité il n’y a pas de liberté, sans justice il n’y a pas de dignité, et sans indépendance il n’y a pas d’hommes libres.

Ni brutalités, ni sévices, ni tortures ne m’ont jamais amené à demander la grâce, car je préfère mourir la tête haute, la foi inébranlable et la confiance profonde dans la destinée de mon pays, plutôt que vivre dans la soumission et le mépris des principes sacrés. L’histoire dira un jour son mot, mais ce ne sera pas l’histoire qu’on enseignera à Bruxelles, Washington, Paris ou aux Nations Unies, mais celle qu’on enseignera dans les pays affranchis du colonialisme et de ses fantoches. L’Afrique écrira sa propre histoire et elle sera au nord et au sud du Sahara une histoire de gloire et de dignité. Ne me pleure pas, ma compagne. Moi je sais que mon pays, qui souffre tant, saura défendre son indépendance et sa liberté.

Vive le Congo ! Vive l’Afrique !

Patrice Lumumba

can you translate the omitted paragraph?

"They have corrupted certain of our fellow countrymen, they have contributed to distorting the truth and sullying our independence. What else can I say? That dead or living, free or imprisoned by the colonialists, it is not me that counts. It is the Congo, it is our poor people who have transformed independence into a cage where we are seen from the outside, sometimes with benevolent compassion, sometimes with joy and pleasure. But my faith remains unshakeable. I know and I feel in the depths of my heart that sooner or later my people will throw off all its interior and exterior enemies, that they will rise up like a single person to say no to a degrading and shameful capitalism and to reassume their dignity under a pure sun."

A mostly literal translation, some attempt to touch up the English. The cage bit doesn't sound very good in English, maybe that's why it was left out. I just noticed that the "shameful & degrading capitalism" line was kept in your translation, but "capitalism" replaced by "colonialism". I wonder why?

I think the subsitution colonialism for capitalism is pretty straight forward.

c'est tres jolie! Je vais souvenir Patrice pour tout mon vie!

Patrice Lumumba stays for me my role model.

____

is ur donut jelly filled? © oogle

Malang is right...his presence lives.

very motivating too.....thanks.

This line really stands out:
"...I wish that (my children) 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."

specially that last part.

justice and independence always stay as important foundations to a nation. but dignity really gets forgotten too easily.

Lumumba was one of a kind, and I don't even believe in individuals!

I live In Belgium (I'm originally Mauritian), We don't learn about the dirt we've done in Congo...We don't learn about Lumumba, we don't learn about Congo...only thing we hear, is that the Belgians have been there and brought civilization and helped the country grow.I know that's bullshit.
I know the truth.