Ex+Force+Publique+NCO

Your a former NCO of the colonial force called the Force Publique. This is a private force financed by Leopold II and the Belgium colonial companies that have invested in the Congo Free State. All officers and NCOs are white who lead native forces in policing and defense actions within the colony. Your main objective on paper was to defend the Congo Free State from Arab Slave traders from the north but most of you orders came in the form of making sure rubber quotas were reached. Officers and NCOs usually allowed their troops to run loose and enforce the will of the Leopold II to reach their quotas. Some FP soldiers kidnapped women and children and raped them until husbands reached their quota. They also burned down whole villages and acted in mass killings against "suspected" rebels and dissidants. The most publicized atrocity is the cutting off the hands of lazy or inefficient workers and keeping the hands as prizes. This also served a proof that the FP was saving ammunition to cut the cost of supply the FP so Leopold could increase profits. The most feared weapon was the bull whip called chicotte and was used to "encourage" workers to work harder and faster.

As Dirk Martin you are defending against the so called atrocities that the international community is claiming is going on in the Congo Free State. You were stationed close to the North where you were battling Arab Slave traders where you could not witness the horrible labor camps but you have trusted friends and your brother Albert Martin who is in command of a labor camp close to the capital, Boma. He claims, over mail, that these are all lies and invited you to visit him during your leave. A month later you arrive and find that your brother has executed 60 villagers by decapitating them one by one. You ask your brother what happened and he claimed they were dissidants bent on rebellion and used their deaths to curb any future rebellion. This makes sense to you and you see no other atrocities besides the random and rare handless native. You leave Boma at the end of your week leave and finish your tour with in the next 3 monts and return to Belgium in 1908. This is when you give your testimony in defense of Leopold II.

Use the evidence to solidify your story and experience in the Congo Free State. Make sure you are ready for the cross examination so prepare some notes to look off of when you are being asked questions.