A very dark dark time in Belgian history. King Leopold II “discovered” Congo. From those who did not work hard enough in his rubber plantation he shopped his/her hand… But this was not what the king and the government told the Belgian civilians at that time. And so Oostende build a huge statue to honor him. At the top parade king Leopold II in military uniform, overlooking the North Sea. Below are two sculptures: left "the thanks of the Congolese for Leopold II to have them freed from slavery under the Arabs 'and right' a tribute of the Ostend fishermen. Can you imagine Congolese people thanking for shoping their hands… It was in the African American Museum in New York that I was first confronted with this terrible crime of one of our former kings. I deeply want to apologize for what one of our Kings has done to the Congolese people. In April 2004 an action group “De Stoete Ostendenoare” cut the hand of the king at the Group “the thank saying of the Congolese for Leopold II" at the Zeedijk. Who hides behind the group is till today unknown. “De Stoete Ostendenoare” told that they want to give back the hand but to do so the crimes of Leopold II must be recognized first. Unfortunatly this never happened and so the king is here on his horse with only 1 hand…