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Still a Pygmy: The unique memoir of one man's fight to save his identity from extinction
The shortness of a mini-eggplant is its mature size. – BaTembo Pygmy proverb
How did a Pygmy from Congo end up living in Sydney, Australia? Growing up as a hunter-gatherer in the forests of Congo, where Pygmies were considered inferior to all other Africans and fit only for slave labor and witchcraft rituals, Isaac Bacirongo never dreamed he would end up living in Australia. He also never imagined that he would get a high school education, fall in love with a "town girl," start a prosperous business, and even own his own car—unheard of for a Pygmy. Centuries of oppression taught members of Isaac’s tribe to hide their identity to escape persecution, but Isaac decided to make a stand and helped established the first indigenous rights organization for Pygmies in Congo. He broke with tradition again by marrying a "town" girl, despite his mother who, complaining that she wouldn’t be catch fish or collect firewood, engaged a witchdoctor to kill her. When the tensions of Rwanda’s civil war spilled over into Congo, Isaac’s family fled the invading army, but a brutal occupation force eventually took control of the east and threw Isaac into prison for his human rights activism. After bribing his way out of jail, Isaac escaped Congo to reunite with his wife and 10 children in Kenya. He got work as an interpreter on an investigation into corruption in the UN, only to be threatened again by his involvement in the case and by spies working for Congolese rebel forces. With no future in Kenya and unable to return home, Isaac applied for and eventually received a humanitarian visa to Australia. The family settled as refugees in Fairfield, Sydney, where they continue the struggle to build a new life for themselves. Despite all his hardships, Isaac’s observant intelligence, humor, and compassion shine through in this story of war, witchcraft, prejudice, love, and courage. This is the inspiring and true story of one man’s transformation from hunter-gatherer to prosperous businessman to Australian resident, and advocate for the rights of his people’s identity. It is the first memoir by a Pygmy author ever published.
How did a Pygmy from Congo end up living in Sydney, Australia? Growing up as a hunter-gatherer in the forests of Congo, where Pygmies were considered inferior to all other Africans and fit only for slave labor and witchcraft rituals, Isaac Bacirongo never dreamed he would end up living in Australia. He also never imagined that he would get a high school education, fall in love with a "town girl," start a prosperous business, and even own his own car—unheard of for a Pygmy. Centuries of oppression taught members of Isaac’s tribe to hide their identity to escape persecution, but Isaac decided to make a stand and helped established the first indigenous rights organization for Pygmies in Congo. He broke with tradition again by marrying a "town" girl, despite his mother who, complaining that she wouldn’t be catch fish or collect firewood, engaged a witchdoctor to kill her. When the tensions of Rwanda’s civil war spilled over into Congo, Isaac’s family fled the invading army, but a brutal occupation force eventually took control of the east and threw Isaac into prison for his human rights activism. After bribing his way out of jail, Isaac escaped Congo to reunite with his wife and 10 children in Kenya. He got work as an interpreter on an investigation into corruption in the UN, only to be threatened again by his involvement in the case and by spies working for Congolese rebel forces. With no future in Kenya and unable to return home, Isaac applied for and eventually received a humanitarian visa to Australia. The family settled as refugees in Fairfield, Sydney, where they continue the struggle to build a new life for themselves. Despite all his hardships, Isaac’s observant intelligence, humor, and compassion shine through in this story of war, witchcraft, prejudice, love, and courage. This is the inspiring and true story of one man’s transformation from hunter-gatherer to prosperous businessman to Australian resident, and advocate for the rights of his people’s identity. It is the first memoir by a Pygmy author ever published.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 28, 2015
Still a Pygmy is Isaac Bacirongo's memoir, co-written with Michael Nest. It is a remarkable story, the first memoir by a Pygmy author ever published. Isaac is a BaTembo Pygmy who grew up with his family in the forests of the Congo, where Pygmies have been regarded as an inferior race for centuries, and have tried to keep their identities secret to avoid oppression. The sub-title of his book is 'The unique memoir of one man's fight to save his identity from extinction'. Identity, for Isaac, is not expressed in terms of physical appearance. The things that were important to him, as he emerged from the simple forest life, were education, independence from familial and tribal expectations, and the opportunity to create a stable and prosperous family life for himself and his wife and 10 children. A thoroughly 'modern' man, in fact. His life moved from the familial focus on gathering food to one on jobs and education. Goals that are little different from those held in common in much of the world.
Isaac emerges from the story as a strong personality, one who has taken many risks in his life, who has made choices that went against the culture of his family and tribe. Such as choosing a wife who was a town girl, who, complained Isaac's mother, wouldn't be able to catch fish or collect firewood; she therefore hired successive witchdoctors to try and kill her (unsuccessfully). Before he made this daring choice, Isaac had put himself through school; he was the only one in his family to get an education. It didn't come easily; he was supported by a kindly professor for a time, but when his benefactor became ill, Isaac was unable to repay him for his board, because when he went home hoping to sell his chickens, he found only a handful left. His family had eaten the eggs and some of the chickens. After year 10 he was forced to drop out of school and work as a primary teacher; then he started a small business, selling banana wine, but this was not enough to keep a wife and family. After he married his wife Josephine, he saved enough to buy some land and build a house, and diversified his business. There was money to be made selling pharmaceuticals, which were in short supply and expensive. He sold them illegally, and managed to keep trading by bribing the officials. And so he went on, practising as ethically as he could in Mobotu's corrupt regime, where restrictions were circumvented by bribery.
One good thing that Mobutu did was to declare that Pygmies were citizens, although they weren't officially recognised until the mid-1970s (cf. our own Aborigines). However, Mobutu did nothing to improve or change the way Pygmies were disadvantaged. When the economy collapsed under his rule in the 1980s, life became more and more difficult. Mobutu had passed a decree that he would reign as president for ever. When Isaac had an argument with his neighbour, declaring this was idolatry, he was reported to the secret police and arrested, beaten and confined to a cell 50 by 50 centimetres wide. He was freed as 'an irrelevant Pygmy' and returned to his entrepreneurial life. Despite all the challenges, he was successful in feeding and educating his large family. But the Mobutu regime, under international pressure to democratise government, became more violent and lawless, and neighbouring Rwanda's racial conflicts were spilling over into the Congo, with Tutsi refugees' attempt to go back to Rwanda by force erupting into the Rwandan genocide which started in April 1994.
Isaac and his co-writer narrate all these events in a straightforward, readable prose that keeps you turning the pages. The motivations for reading this book will be curiosity, the desire to understand how it feels to be of a minority race trying to fit in in the modern world, without losing your identity and self-esteem, and what it meant to live in countries like the Congo in the late 20th century.
In brief, this fascinating story takes us with Isaac and his family as he became an activist for Pygmy rights to education and pride of citizenship; he even joined in writing a history of his people. The new Rwandan Tutsi regime invaded the Congo, there were massacres, Isaac was arrested again, and the decision was made to flee. He and his family were refugees in Uganda, where Isaac worked for a while as an interpreter on a corruption investigation into the UN-HCR. Granted a humanitarian visa, Isaac and his family resettled in Sydney.
It would be lovely to say that his expectations of paradise were met. Sadly, though he and his wife have managed to buy a house and educate their children, life has been fraught by problems of teenage rebellion, the mental illness and death of one of the children, and Isaac's difficulties in finding a job that recognises his immensely varied skills, compounded by his worries about the suffering of his people back home. One can only congratulate Isaac for his bravery, determination and resourcefulness, and the wisdom of his closing words:
"We are all human and you are just like me. What we have in common is the capacity for thinking. There are always things I can do that you can't do, but we all have the ability to learn. What we have in common is the aspiration to discover new things in life."
It is humbling and inspiring to read this story of courage and intelligence and fidelity to humanitarian values, and I want to congratulate Isaac and his co-writer Michael Nest, and Finch Publishing for their publication.
Isaac emerges from the story as a strong personality, one who has taken many risks in his life, who has made choices that went against the culture of his family and tribe. Such as choosing a wife who was a town girl, who, complained Isaac's mother, wouldn't be able to catch fish or collect firewood; she therefore hired successive witchdoctors to try and kill her (unsuccessfully). Before he made this daring choice, Isaac had put himself through school; he was the only one in his family to get an education. It didn't come easily; he was supported by a kindly professor for a time, but when his benefactor became ill, Isaac was unable to repay him for his board, because when he went home hoping to sell his chickens, he found only a handful left. His family had eaten the eggs and some of the chickens. After year 10 he was forced to drop out of school and work as a primary teacher; then he started a small business, selling banana wine, but this was not enough to keep a wife and family. After he married his wife Josephine, he saved enough to buy some land and build a house, and diversified his business. There was money to be made selling pharmaceuticals, which were in short supply and expensive. He sold them illegally, and managed to keep trading by bribing the officials. And so he went on, practising as ethically as he could in Mobotu's corrupt regime, where restrictions were circumvented by bribery.
One good thing that Mobutu did was to declare that Pygmies were citizens, although they weren't officially recognised until the mid-1970s (cf. our own Aborigines). However, Mobutu did nothing to improve or change the way Pygmies were disadvantaged. When the economy collapsed under his rule in the 1980s, life became more and more difficult. Mobutu had passed a decree that he would reign as president for ever. When Isaac had an argument with his neighbour, declaring this was idolatry, he was reported to the secret police and arrested, beaten and confined to a cell 50 by 50 centimetres wide. He was freed as 'an irrelevant Pygmy' and returned to his entrepreneurial life. Despite all the challenges, he was successful in feeding and educating his large family. But the Mobutu regime, under international pressure to democratise government, became more violent and lawless, and neighbouring Rwanda's racial conflicts were spilling over into the Congo, with Tutsi refugees' attempt to go back to Rwanda by force erupting into the Rwandan genocide which started in April 1994.
Isaac and his co-writer narrate all these events in a straightforward, readable prose that keeps you turning the pages. The motivations for reading this book will be curiosity, the desire to understand how it feels to be of a minority race trying to fit in in the modern world, without losing your identity and self-esteem, and what it meant to live in countries like the Congo in the late 20th century.
In brief, this fascinating story takes us with Isaac and his family as he became an activist for Pygmy rights to education and pride of citizenship; he even joined in writing a history of his people. The new Rwandan Tutsi regime invaded the Congo, there were massacres, Isaac was arrested again, and the decision was made to flee. He and his family were refugees in Uganda, where Isaac worked for a while as an interpreter on a corruption investigation into the UN-HCR. Granted a humanitarian visa, Isaac and his family resettled in Sydney.
It would be lovely to say that his expectations of paradise were met. Sadly, though he and his wife have managed to buy a house and educate their children, life has been fraught by problems of teenage rebellion, the mental illness and death of one of the children, and Isaac's difficulties in finding a job that recognises his immensely varied skills, compounded by his worries about the suffering of his people back home. One can only congratulate Isaac for his bravery, determination and resourcefulness, and the wisdom of his closing words:
"We are all human and you are just like me. What we have in common is the capacity for thinking. There are always things I can do that you can't do, but we all have the ability to learn. What we have in common is the aspiration to discover new things in life."
It is humbling and inspiring to read this story of courage and intelligence and fidelity to humanitarian values, and I want to congratulate Isaac and his co-writer Michael Nest, and Finch Publishing for their publication.
November 6, 2023
I found this book very interesting because it was about a subject about which I knew basically nothing. I did not realize that Pygmies were considered by other Africans to be very much beneath them, even, according to the author, subhuman. I did not know that in their native countries they faced severe discrimination. I also really knew nothing at all about their culture or beliefs. Not surprisingly, then, I learned a lot from this book. It is, of course, just one man's story, and he is not an average Pygmy. If he were, he probably never would have ended up writing this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the topic. The writing isn't beautiful or particularly expressive, but it is direct and clear. One gets the feeling of sitting down with a new acquaintance and learning about his life.
Just wanted to add that a couple years later I am still thinking about this book now and then.
Just wanted to add that a couple years later I am still thinking about this book now and then.
November 12, 2015
This is an excellent, well written book. Isaac's story is very compelling and he is a thoughtful, interesting and inspiring person. Although many of the events are depressing and difficult, Isaac's reflections and responses to what happens make the best of every situation. He shows that the same things motivate us all beyond survival; family, money, politics etc. Hard to believe how much he has been though. It is one of those books that found me wanting to learn more of the history, culture and political situation in the Congo and other parts of central Africa.
January 7, 2021
Had the opportunity to be in a group to speak to both Isaac Bacirongo & Michael Nest about this book and their journey. It was a privilege.
Fascinating, Inspiring, Educational and a big smack in the face to truly realize how appreciative we should feel about the life we live, in a society where we’re not continually worrying about our life and family because of political unrest.
Am looking forward to reading more books by Michael Nest.
Hoping Isaac Bacirongo can issue this book in audio in the near future.
Fascinating, Inspiring, Educational and a big smack in the face to truly realize how appreciative we should feel about the life we live, in a society where we’re not continually worrying about our life and family because of political unrest.
Am looking forward to reading more books by Michael Nest.
Hoping Isaac Bacirongo can issue this book in audio in the near future.
February 17, 2020
Really interesting story about Pygmy life in the Congo as well as heartbreaking. Isaac is a true inspiration and I hope things are going well for him and his children now.
February 14, 2017
2014
Written by Michael Nest based on many hours of conversation with Isaac Bacirongo
A most interesting account of
--hunter-gatherer life among Pygmies in eastern Congo
--surviving in towns in eastern Congo under Mobutu, and afterwards
--the family's experiences in their first 10 years after immigrating to Sydney
Bacirongo at a very young age made decisions about getting an education, leaving the subsistence lifestyle of his parents in the forest.
He managed the 'system' quite well under Mobutu, operating a pharmacy, figuring out how much to bribe which officials. He took all kinds of risks, and apparently was good at sizing up people and not making too many enemies. This part of his story is disturbing and fascinating -- life where there is no rule of law.
Whenever he mentions his wife it is in a positive way. Yet his focus is on himself and by reading between the lines I gather Josephine is an extremely capable and resourceful person. During B's long absences [for work etc.] she managed to keep the ten children safe and fed, and found ways to earn money herself. It would be fascinating to read HER account of these years!
B found work in Australia the first few years, but after 2011 was [is?] without employment and as he says himself, he is a person who really needs a job, to be around people, using some of his talents.
Several of the younger children got into trouble of various kinds in their teenage years; an all too familiar story for immigrants in a culture so different from their own. From what is in the book, I get the sense that B didn't have much of a relationship with any of his children; he simply had the notion that his job was to provide the money and their job was to obey and respect him. I certainly don't mean it was all his fault, but Western society doesn't really work when parents don't have some sort of personal relationship with each child.
I hope he has found a job, because he clearly needs one, for his sanity. And he could help a lot of people, with his background.
Written by Michael Nest based on many hours of conversation with Isaac Bacirongo
A most interesting account of
--hunter-gatherer life among Pygmies in eastern Congo
--surviving in towns in eastern Congo under Mobutu, and afterwards
--the family's experiences in their first 10 years after immigrating to Sydney
Bacirongo at a very young age made decisions about getting an education, leaving the subsistence lifestyle of his parents in the forest.
He managed the 'system' quite well under Mobutu, operating a pharmacy, figuring out how much to bribe which officials. He took all kinds of risks, and apparently was good at sizing up people and not making too many enemies. This part of his story is disturbing and fascinating -- life where there is no rule of law.
Whenever he mentions his wife it is in a positive way. Yet his focus is on himself and by reading between the lines I gather Josephine is an extremely capable and resourceful person. During B's long absences [for work etc.] she managed to keep the ten children safe and fed, and found ways to earn money herself. It would be fascinating to read HER account of these years!
B found work in Australia the first few years, but after 2011 was [is?] without employment and as he says himself, he is a person who really needs a job, to be around people, using some of his talents.
Several of the younger children got into trouble of various kinds in their teenage years; an all too familiar story for immigrants in a culture so different from their own. From what is in the book, I get the sense that B didn't have much of a relationship with any of his children; he simply had the notion that his job was to provide the money and their job was to obey and respect him. I certainly don't mean it was all his fault, but Western society doesn't really work when parents don't have some sort of personal relationship with each child.
I hope he has found a job, because he clearly needs one, for his sanity. And he could help a lot of people, with his background.
November 15, 2016
I really enjoyed reading about Isaac's journey from his pygmy lifestyle, his eagerness to go to school and gain an education through to the many businesses he started. He was mistreated many times at the hands of corrupt officials but through his own wits he was able to carry on and care for his large family. When the family arrived in Australia they were given $1800 a fortnight, free English lessons and help with housing and schooling. It all seemed to be going well but I found the ending very unsatisfactory (from a reading point of view). I believe that the moral of the story is - you can give a man everything but unless he is able to be productive and feel a sense of accomplishment, he will not be happy.
March 27, 2016
This recent release in Australia is the unusual story of a man who began life as a hunter gather in equatorial African forest and is now a refugee in Sydney due to his political advocacy for pygmy rights.
It raised lots of questions for me about Indigenous identity, culture and change. My full review is here:
https://maamej.wordpress.com/2015/06/...
It raised lots of questions for me about Indigenous identity, culture and change. My full review is here:
https://maamej.wordpress.com/2015/06/...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews