Equatorial Guinea

Independence Day for Equatorial Guinea! And you will be surprised to learn that Equatorial Guinea is not, in fact, equatorial. It just misses, lying one degree north. The nation includes a continental region (coastal, not surprisingly) and an insular region—Bioko island is where the capital (Malabo) lies. Wow. I’m learning stuff already. Independence was achieved in 1968—independent from? Spain.

In terms of pre-European history, we don’t know a lot. It’s believed the first inhabitants were Pygmies—and there are still small populations of Pygmie peoples in the north of Rio Muni, the continental part of the country. Bantu and Fang populations migrated between the 17th and 19th century. It’s thought that the Bubi—the first inhabitants of Bioko, may have come from the Fang. From my understanding, though, none of this is absolutely certain.

In terms of Western contact, it’s said that Fernão do Pó—a Portuguese explorer—was the first European to discover Bioko island, back in 1472. He called it Formosa (for “beautiful”) and then it took on his own name before, more recently, becoming known as Bioko. Portugal colonised the island and nearby Annabón in 1474, and then in 1778 the islands were ceded to Spain.

Independence? Well, as well as pressure from Equatoguineans, Spain was also under pressure from the United Nations to grant independence. On 11 August 1968 a referendum was held, with 63 percent of the electorate in favor of the constitution that had been drafted. Before the official “Independence Day” Equatorial Guinea elected Francisco Macías Nguema as president. The next part of the story? In 1970 the country became a one-party state. In 1972 Macías took on the title President for Life. Under governmental neglect the basic infrastructure of the country—electricity, water, roads, health—fell into ruin. The economy went south, and foreigners left the country, along with skilled Equatoguinean citizens. Pretty bleak.

1975: the schools were closed. 1978: the churches were closed. Colonial names were all replaced with native names.

Then in 1979, Macías’s own nephew Obiang led a coup d’état. Macías was arrested, tried and executed. Obiang is still in power today. Elections have generally been considered fraudulent, and government corruption is still rife.

There was an alleged coup attempt in 2004, but it failed. This recent coup attempt is a weird one—it’s been called “the new Kuwait” by some. It was led by mercenaries, and most financied by British-based backers. The goal? To open the country’s mineral wealth. Among the backers? This is where is gets a little weird. Margaret Thatcher’s son, The Hon. Sir Mark Thatcher was involved. There’s also speculation that Jeffrey Archer was involved. It just seems weird.

From the weird to the poetic—today’s poem, “Delirium,” is by María Nsue Angüe. It comes from Marvin Lewis’s An introduction to the literature of Equatorial Guinea: between colonialism and dictatorship.

Delirium

In the mirror of my past
there appear ghosts enmeshed
in a dark curtain, where my present

is shattered, and my future
crumbles in nothingness.

Faces of shadows swarm
in my mirror!
Your faces sketched by hunger
carry a stamp of misery as deep
as the revolving song of my sadness
that shouts at me to the depth of my bones
that I shall die like the offended Christ
who having been born in his time
those of his era did not recognize him.

—María Nsue Angüe