In Gabon, it was known as “the Bongo system.” For 41 years, Omar Bongo ruled Gabon and stole its oil revenues. As the Times explains, the system consisted of “forsaking roads, schools and hospitals for the sake of Mr. Bongo’s 66 bank accounts, 183 cars, 39 luxury properties in France and grandiose government constructions in Libreville.” The elite lived in mansions and sipped French wines while everyone else lived on $2 a day. The good news is that Bongo died in June. The not-so-good news is that his son, Ali, is the new president.
Author: Peter Maass
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.
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