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A thread on the intertwined cultural histories of Belgian diplomacy in Egypt and former prime minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba. 1/11 
Stamp of the United Arab Republic displaying Lumumba.
Stamp of the United Arab Republic displaying Lumumba.
After the Egyptian revolution in 1952, Nasser became one of the most vocal promotors of the non-alignment movement which materialized following the Bandung Conference of 1955 and the Declaration of Brijuni of 1956. 2/11
Left to right: Nasser, Soekarno, Nehru and Nkrumah.
Left to right: Nasser, Soekarno, Nehru and Nkrumah.
Nasser, Lumumba, Nehru, Soekarno, Nkrumah, and several other leaders (of newly-independent states) became poster boys of this new 'bloc' in international politics. Until today, this pantheon remains popular among anti-imperialists. 3/11
In this atmosphere, Lumumba's assassination on January 17, 1961 sparked anti-Belgian protests during which the Belgian Embassy was razed to the ground. 4/11 
Source @BritishPathe archives. 5/11
Here you can see the fire burning what could have been the most valuable archive for my PhD research. May these sources rest in peace. 6/11
In remembrance of Lumumba, the 'Avenue de Belgique' in Alexandria was renamed 'Rue Patrice Lumumba'. 7/11
A bold move, especially since the Belgian vice-consulate in Egypt was located on this same street. 8/11
Although the Belgian consulate in Alexandria is located elsewhere today, a plaque remembers of Belgium's diplomatic presence in this street. 9/11
Representing the changing dynamics of contemporary memory politics, the Rue Patrice Lumumba was renamed and turned into the Omar Toussoun street. 10/11
https://www.bibalex.org/alexmed/Events/Details.aspx?ID=fa781ed1-539f-44c2-a219-a36425960238
https://www.bibalex.org/alexmed/Events/Details.aspx?ID=fa781ed1-539f-44c2-a219-a36425960238
However, when I was in Alexandria last winter I was still able to take this picture of a street plaque of the 'Rue Patrice Lumumba'. 11/11
End of thread.
End of thread.
