Nepali peacekeepers at the end of their tour in Fataki, Ituri, northeastern Congo
Just as I begin to feel I might be getting to know my way around this place, it’s time for me to move on.
A recurrent theme of recent conversations has been the extent to which acceptance and accommodation of the peculiarities of life in Congo involves a certain surrender and shift of values. I suppose this is true of all travel, but lots of people find the process takes longer than usual here. But then the Congo is unusually big, complicated, historically melodramatic and highly unpredictable. And let’s face it, Kinshasa is a particularly strange world within a world.
The question remains, how do you reverse the process?
Stay tuned for more pics from my most recent travels, though: something...
Faustin, Nancy, Sarah and Nadine pose in front of a PoubelKin banner in Kintambo, Kinshasa
Wonders never cease. A new private initiative is being launched to collect and - ta da! - recycle household rubbish.
Piles of rubbish had become such a fact of life in Kinshasa that it’s become a cliché to call it Kin-la-Poubelle. As you’d expect, a lot of this is already recycled, since people in difficult circumstances become adept at finding a use for everything. But lots more is burned, releasing toxins into the atmosphere, or left to lie around in suppurating heaps that mosquitos just love, or title=”blog post by Du Cabiau à Kinshasa - a volunteer with Belgian Cooperation”>thrown into drains to be washed into the river (often blocking them and causing floods)....
Human traffic lights, some call them
Continuing the theme of my last post, travel writer Chuck Thompson describes a couple more entertaining close encounters with hard-up Congolese officials who are still adepts of Mobuto’s notorious Article 15: “Debrouillez vous” or “Fend for yourself”:
1. The passport inspector (DGM?):
“Do you know what I make in salary each month?” the official asked me.
When I said I hadn’t the foggiest, he shook his head plaintively, scribbled something on the paper and turned it around for me to read: “Par roi [mois] 22,000 FRC = $45.”
“That’s not much of a salary,” I said.
“It is a crime that a man in a position as revered as yours is not remunerated more fittingly,” added Henri, my local traveling companion and...
One form of optimism
Did you hear about the Week of Positive Blogging? I did, by chance, when Global Voices mentioned Omodudu’s optimistic letter to Mother Africa. (An extract: “…The Sudanese, a funny bunch, there is no divisiveness amongst the Arabs and the Blacks anymore, as a matter of fact I attended a mixed wedding on a boat at the banks of the Nile the other day. Oh yes the Americans are still there dancing to country music at the international club, but now the Sudanese are allowed in, sans bomb detectors at the entrance. Isn’t that wonderful ma…”)
In that spirit, I have three bits of good news in relation to earlier posts here at Extra Extra:
Firstly, do you remember the family who mounted a legal challenge to evict an army Colonel from their...
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Farewell to a legend
Sometime last year, I was listening to a rhumba band in a Kinshasa pizza restaurant. Reacting to the opening chords of the Franco classic ‘Mario’, a fellow diner of impressive girth stood up and gestured for the microphone. I didn’t recognise him, but an awestruck waiter told me that the big man had once been part of Franco’s TPOK Jazz. As he sang, he danced with one arm around the waist of a somewhat slimmer woman, like this:
He was Bialu Madilu, also known as Multi Système, Grand Pharaoh, Grand Ninja, Sa Majesté and Grande Baleine. Born in Matadi, in the province of Bas Congo, he sang with Simaro and Tabu Ley Rochereau before joining TPOK Jazz. Sadly, he died on Saturday, and all of Kinshasa is in mourning. Radio stations have been...
Roll up, roll up! Mundele visits tailor’s workshop!
Expats who venture beyond their habitual haunts tend to attract a lot of attention. Yesterday I visited a tailor (couturieur) whose workshop is a converted shipping container with chipboard walls decorated with myriad chalked measurements and an array of colourful bolts of cloth. Within minutes, the place was full of curious onlookers who took turns to interview me on all aspects of my life.
This sort of thing can be bothersome for those who prefer to be left alone, but it’s much more fun for everyone if you play along and engage in a bit of repartee....
In a funny twist of fate, this week marks both the fourth anniversary of the first time I came to Congo as well as my departure from Congo.For the time being, I'm headed back to the land of sushi, bagels and friends who've known me since before I could go down the block by myself forget about leave the continent all together. I'll be back on this side of the world again before too long, though not in Kinshasa. No doubt I'll find myself back in Congo again at some point.So I'll sign off for now with tutaonana (Swahili for see you...
After two days of fighting, Kinshasa is starting to quiet down.Bemba's forces are surrendering -- mostly to MONUC where they have a better chance of their Geneva Convention rights being upheld. Civilian traffic is slowly becoming more frequent as those stuck in their offices make a break for home before dark, but embassies are still advising staying indoors until tomorrow.We heard that those among Bemba's troops who have not surrendered are hiding out in several quartiers of la cite. The government has announced that the FARDC (nat'l army) and the GSSP (Kabila's presidential guard) will go door to door tomorrow looking for Bemba fights and hidden arms stores.Five of our party of nine already made a break for home -and arrived safety- but I'm a little more conservative and am hoping to...
On Monday morning, a colleague of mine had a meeting with an ambassdor in Brazzaville but couldn't go because the beach (river port) was closed due to a major downpour. Isn't it funny, I said, how in the part of the world, rain can bring things to a total halt? Sure enough, half of our staff didn't show up until 11am.Now, as I stare at her in the same room we've been sitting in for the last two days, we laugh about what might have happened if only it had started pouring again yesterday. But alas, that wasn't our fate.There are no numbers yet on the death toll though a friend in Belgium says the news there is reporting about 60 dead. As Fred points out, at this point most of the concern is around the risk of looting (and around my cat, of course, who's now spent two days alone).MONUC has...
I'm sure y'all are wondering how did this all start? After all, Kabila's troops had been in a standoff outside of Bemba's compound for the last week, with MONUC standing by and watching.The story I got is that Kabila and Bemba were actually in negotiations with William Swing, head of the UN mission here, when the fighting broke out. If you've been following along, Bemba was ordered to disarm his personal security force by midnight Thursday last week and integrate into the national army, FARDC. The security force would then be replaced by 12 policemen. Swing was trying to negotiate for a few extra men for Bemba and that he could pick his guards from among his men. The negotiations were apparently going well.But then an FARDC truck drove by the standoff and one of Bemba's men fired on...
Life in Kinshasa has returned to what passes for normal around here, which was clear from last night’s visit to la cité, where loud music rules the streets and the advert Action Skol! promises one free Skol beer for every two purchased.Last week’s bullet holes have begun to fade into the damage from August, although the talk around town is still on the fighting and what’s left to come. Everyone has their tale of where they got stuck and when they ran out of phone credit, cell phone battery, beer. A friend joked: Driving around, it looks like the city was totally destroyed. But then, it looked like this before! And everyone has their own theory on what will happen next, whether things will stay quiet or spark up again.Bemba is still at the South African Embassy residence, where he...
Imagine this: you arrive home from a rough day of drinking beer by the pool, only to discover that due to yet another power outage, you will be hiking the 8 flights of stairs to your apartment. Not for the first time, you wonder what made you decide to live in a building with no backup generator.We've had 'power fluctuations' courtesy of SNEL (the municipal power company) nearly every day for the past two or three months and it's been getting old. REGIDESO (the municipal water company) has not been much better.So last week's cartoon in the paper (translation: It's his fault! No, it's his!) got a bitter laugh from all who had enough light to read by.Which brings me to my favourite Congo joke:What did Congolese do for light before kerosene...
I was having a few beers and roasted goat with some workmates at a Kinshasa terrace last night, when for the first time since I came to Africa, a hawker wandered over to us to display his pricey wares: raw diamonds. Friends from my Namibia days will remember my indignation at having never been offered diamonds (am I that scruffy-looking?!), but in truth, I am not one for glittering rocks.Amnesty International offers these words on the diamond trade:To many people, diamonds symbolize love, happiness or wealth. However, for many others, they mean conflict, misery and poverty. In some African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, profits from the unregulated diamond trade are used to fund armed conflicts. As a result, tens of thousands of civilians have over the past years...
What better way to spent a Saturday night in Kinshasa than hearing live to the biggest Congolese musicians around. Last night was the concert for the ABCD - Rien que la Verité album at the main stadium. Rien que la Verité (Only the Truth) is a US Embassy project which collected 14 of the top Congolese musicians make an album raising awareness about HIV/AIDS surrounding the 4 main messages:AbstinnenceBonne fidelitéCondomsDépistage (Testing) While official data shows Congo's HIV prevalence at 4.5%, it is suspected that many areas where there have been foreign militaries operating or which have road access to higher-prevalence countries such as Zambia and Rwanda, have significantly higher rates of infection (UNAIDS speculates up to 20% in conflict-affected areas). Unfortunately...
The ritual wait for transport in Kinshasa
It is five months since the Supreme Court confirmed Kabila as the winner of the DRC’s presidential elections, and four months since he took office, encouraging onlookers by pledging his commitment (not for the first time), to all sorts of Good Things. Judging by the new government’s first quarter results, though, clobbering dissent appears to be a higher priority than establishing democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
And despite their huge investment in the election process itself, the UN and the rest of the international community has not made a particularly tough stand on those issues, either. Reaction to the disproportionate use of deadly force against a trouble-making sect in Bas-Congo was remarkably muted, but some diplomats...
Not an uncommon sight in Kinshasa
There are some things you stop noticing after a while, but these old wrecks fascinate me.
Imagine the stop-motion film: from the moment the engine coughed and died for the last time, probably in heavy traffic, through the hopeless repair efforts followed by the salvaging of all removeable parts, to the gradual rusting and the growth of weeds as it becomes part of the scenery. And at some point in the film, there’s a scene in which the wreck gets pushed onto its side to clear the road....
I don’t generally trade in sunsets, but this one seems appropriate, for I am leaving the Congo for a couple of months.
For the first time, I find I can think about my imminent departure - and contemplate return - with something like equanimity. I may well make it all the way to the airport without chewing through my seatbelt, and on arrival, I’m reasonably confident that I can contain the urge to gawp foolishly at ordinary shops, smooth tarmac and other marvels.
What does this mean? Maybe it means that Kinshasa is part of my world now.
Extra Extra will of course strive to chart a steady course through whatever psycho-geographic turbulence lies ahead (and to celebrate being in places where cameras don’t get a second glance). If it’s Congolaiserie you’re...
Papa Wemba, King of Rumba, dressed for the occasion
MAG and UNICEF have had the bright idea of signing up Congolese music legend Papa Wemba as their Ambassador against Landmines.
I have a great video clip of the dapper gent performing Show Me the Way at the ceremony last night, and will seek have permission to show it here, in the name of mine action diplomacy :...
Geneviève, a trainee waitress, with freshly made strüdel. (More photos on Flickr.)
While still besieged the other day, I mentioned my fear that ‘a casualty of the conflict has been our new Viennese café, so badly needed, which opened only on Monday.’ This prompted a few concerned enquiries and even a suggestion that I might have succumbed to stress-induced delusion.
Gun battles are not good for business, unless security’s your game. But I am happy to report that Café Mozart has survived its turbulent opening week and is up and running again. There are a few bullet holes in the smart yellow façade, but luckily nobody was hurt and the place was not looted.
Café Mozart is run by a group of Salesian nuns, with funding from private donors in Austria, and Caritas. Profits...
I’m sorry about the slowdown in posting since Sunday. It’s not for lack of things to say, but I have some other responsibilities to see to, now that the little matter of survival has been taken care of.
The war of words has begun. Yesterday, in his first unscripted press conference, the President defended his hard-line actions and ruled out any further negotiation with Bemba. You can watch video extracts of this on his website (in French).
Bemba has said he’ll go into exile if his security cannot be guaranteed, and that ‘if they continue to decapitate the opposition, it will be the start of a new dictatorship‘. His party has issued a statement condemning the violence, sharing the pain of affected citizens and worrying about the ongoing arrests of its...
As Bemba packs his bags for Portugal, what’s left of his house and TV stations have been looted by government troops, and his radio stations have been silent since being shut down the day before the fighting started.
This week, I have had a number of meals and meetings in places with bullet holes in the windows. The atmosphere seems normal enough until you notice a thousand-yard stare or a trembling hand.
It hardly made the news, did it? The BBC and agency reporters have been working hard, but I can just imagine the editors in their morning meetings, asking just what’s new about a little more fighting in Congo. I could understand July’s ‘historic’ elections being overshadowed by the crisis in Lebanon, but it was strange that our latest drama should have been...
7.20pm: Somebody get me out of here before I start spewing melodramatic headlines. Oops, too late.
About ten minutes before dark, we heard that evacuation efforts have stopped for the night. Confronted with the uncomfortable choice of driving unaccompanied across town to take refuge in our embassy or a colleague’s house, or staying put and hoping the people who looted our parcelle last night don’t return for seconds, we chose to stay at home, preferring the devil we know to the carjackers we don’t. So we’ve locked all the doors, closed the curtains, turned off the lights, and are ready to make soup and think of England.
Our neighbour is still stuck next door, so we may need to pass him more food and a perhaps a DVD, if he asks nicely. Pity we don’t have Panic...
Our guard’s view of the street, as the cleaning-up begins
Ah, how I love the sound of yer actual dawn chorus in the morning.
Arnaud at the Beeb confirms yesterday’s reports of looting of businesses and houses that had us as twitchy about last night’s eerie silence as we were about the racket that went before it.
For the past couple of days, I’ve been playing blog-tag with Kate and Congogirl, who heard more loud bangs at around midnight and 5.30am. A reliable contact at one of the embassies says a group of Bemba’s militia made a last stand in the area between Ndolo (Kinshasa’s second airport, from where they were trying to steal weapons) and the Beach (the river port), from where they were trying to escape.
Gombe seems quiet, and some cars are...
MONUC has released a strongly-worded statement which I will reprint in full :
‘MONUC welcomes the restoration of order in Kinshasa by Government forces. However, MONUC also deeply regrets the fact that force was used in order to resolve a situation that could and should have been settled through dialogue. MONUC was an active participant in that dialogue right up until the moment hostilities erupted yesterday morning.
‘MONUC also deplores the loss of life, the damage to property, the looting and the serious risks caused to civilians living in the capital. The immediate losses and damage are plainly evident. However, the long-term effect on the attitude of the Congolese people, the international community and the donor and investment community has yet to be determined....
There is much that is maddening about this city, and much that is profoundly frustrating about this latest episode, but I can only applaud the irrepressible way in which it is reanimating itself today. I shook the hand of the first street-vendor I saw this morning, the tray on his head fully-laden with biscuits, cigarettes, herbs, etc.
Yes, most people have no choice: few keep food stocks for this sort of situation, so they have to work to keep going. But it’s an impressive phenomenon nonetheless. I think I will always be impressed by this further demonstration that no circumstances are too desperate for the Kinois spirit of making do and getting by.
I visited my office this morning, finding it unscarred and fully equipped. But nobody is going back to work until it’s been checked...
I have just finished reading Then I Saw the Congo, a 1920’s travel memoir by Grace Flandrau, a novelist from Minnesota who shared an editor with F. Scott Fitzgerald. (It happens that her biography is being published this spring.)
I had misgivings about the title (see below), but found Flandrau’s writing pleasantly unburdened by the conventions of the adventure travel genre, and she disparages - even mocks - the then-fashionable pastimes of shooting large animals and ill-treating ‘the natives’.
Since the book is long out-of-print (Nayembi discovered it in an antique book shop in Lilongwe), I’ll spare you a review and transcribe some of the more memorable passages instead.
First impressions of Kinshasa:
At first glance Kinshasa gives one the rather...
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As avid followers may remember, last month I wrote to you about the new traffic stand discovered in my commuting path. I can safely report that in the interim the stand has not once been manned by an agent of the state, or anyone else for that matter.So I should not have been surprised yesterday morning when I noticed the stand was missing as I cruised by.Was it simply easier to remove the traffic stand than to place someone in it? Or was it perhaps moved to a needier location?There’s no phantom memory of the stand in traffic patterns as there is with potholes that are suddenly and surprisingly filled in. One can only hope that the new government makes a more lasting...
A post-electoral privy.
In an inspired example of recycling prowess, someone has found a new use for all those election banners with which the city was briefly festooned last year. Likewise, many of the cardboard posters have been transformed by origami into vending trays for peanuts, pens, cigarettes, medicinal twigs, and the like.
I’ve just seen a sneak preview of the new government’s agenda. My favourite line promises: “la lutte contre toutes formes de tracasseries dont sont victimes les populations et les hommes d’affaires“. It translates quite awkwardly: ‘the struggle against all forms of nuisance of which the population and business-men are victims’.
Quite apt, on the day we learn that DRC remains the hardest place in the world to do business....
With only two trains a day, the railway is also a popular footpath...