IN THE FOREST OF NO JOY: The Congo-Ocean Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism

The Congo-Ocean railroad--completed in 1934, when Equatorial Africa was a French colony--stands as one of the deadliest construction projects in history. African workers were forcibly conscripted and subjected to hellish conditions, suffering disease, malnutrition, and rampant physical abuse, likely resulting in at least 20,000 deaths. Illus.