Zaire wider campaign of , ridding the country of the influences from the colonial era of the Belgian Congo, was also launched under Mobutu's direction. Weakened by the end of American support after the end of the Cold War, Mobutu was forced to declare a new republic in 1990 to cope with demands for change. By the time of its downfall, Mobutu's rule was characterised by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement. Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the state in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, ,
What Was Lost by night — crowded with shoppers during the day, but empty and bleak at night. She found ideas for her book from her job in the Merry Hill Shopping Centre near Dudley in the West Midlands. "What Was Lost" was rejected by 20 agents and publishers before being accepted for publication by Tindal Street Press, a small Birmingham publisher. "What Was Lost" is a mystery story about a missing girl. It is also a portrait of a changing community over twenty years. It examines modern life's emptiness, and society's obsession with shopping. "What Was Lost" is set in the city