Sunday, November 2, 2008
Unrest in North Kivu
The offensive by the CNDP (National Congress for Defense of the People - Congolese Tutsis) rebel group was extremely aggressive this week....they seized control of Virunga Park HQ, and Congolese army and UN compounds. They are getting propped up by the Rwandan gov't. The Congolese national army is a big problem. As soon as the CNDP starts firing, they run to the hills, and start looting and hurting the people they're meant to protect. The civilians are at the mercy of the CNDP, who thankfully are not outright attacking them. However, the CNDP are certainly living off what civilians have left behind, and are not overly concerned with protecting them. They are expansionist, and seeking greater control over the North Kivu region. They control most access to Virunga park, and some motivation for this offensive may be plans to control gorilla tourism, charcoal-harvesting, logging, and mining for themselves and Rwanda. Politically, CNDP also wants the DRC gov't to finally move the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide or their progeny to be extracted from the national army and possibly moved back to Rwanda to either stand trial or be reintegrated. This process is tough - after 14 years, its difficult to decide who really should be DDR'd(disarmament-demobilize-reintegration) and sent to Rwanda. This lack of clarity plays into the hands of the CNDP to expand their power. Let's hope some political diplomacy will be able to quickly bring some solution to this - such as pursuing DDR of the Rwandan genocidaires, and offering amnesty and quick integration of the CNDP into the national army. Unless a mandate for international special forces to do battle with the CNDP, it is quite apparent that the CNDP ambitions will not be quelled by the current MONUC mandate to fire only when fired upon, and the undisciplined national army. Thankfully the international community seems to be rapidly pursuant of a solution...lets hope it is rapid enough to save some lives of civilians who are caught up in this mess.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Post-DRC Publicity
Hi, back in the US, I've paid attention to how often DRC is in international news. The best sources of news are MONUC and BBC. Tuesday night, National Geographic Explorer is hosting back to back 1-hr programs focused on different issues in the Congo - and I urge you to watch these informative views of this complicated, fascinating place.
Tuesday, Sept 16 on National Geographic Channel
9 EST - Gorilla Murders - Virunga Natl Park, East DRC
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3817/Overview
10 EST - Congo Bush Pilots - have served as the only reliable transport during the last 30 yrs, flying humanitarians, missionaries and businessmen all over the jungle.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3818/Overview
I am so fortunate to have had a great learning opportunity this summer, and am thankful that all travels were safe...planes, cars, motorcycles, border crossings...I am fortunate. People who shouldn't get hurt sometimes do....a 23 yr old professional pilot flew me all the way across DRC on a humanitarian flight 3 weeks before he piloted the same flight and perhaps the same plane crashed. It was carrying a copilot and 15 passengers and bad weather somehow caused it to crash into a mountain. He had amassed an incredible amount of hours on the Beechcraft 1900 and other planes, but something went wrong very quickly between Kisangani and Bukavu. This NGO was the only airline that the USG, UN, and other humanitarians are permitted to fly, and has a perfect flight safety record since its founding in the 1980s. Its a tragedy, as a talented man's life was cut far too short, but he truly lived and served in his given years.
Fortunately, the two other staff members who worked my flight were not on the plane that crashed. Rest in Peace to the pilots and humanitarians who have given their lives in the service of others.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3818/Overview#tab-Photos/0
Tuesday, Sept 16 on National Geographic Channel
9 EST - Gorilla Murders - Virunga Natl Park, East DRC
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3817/Overview
10 EST - Congo Bush Pilots - have served as the only reliable transport during the last 30 yrs, flying humanitarians, missionaries and businessmen all over the jungle.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3818/Overview
I am so fortunate to have had a great learning opportunity this summer, and am thankful that all travels were safe...planes, cars, motorcycles, border crossings...I am fortunate. People who shouldn't get hurt sometimes do....a 23 yr old professional pilot flew me all the way across DRC on a humanitarian flight 3 weeks before he piloted the same flight and perhaps the same plane crashed. It was carrying a copilot and 15 passengers and bad weather somehow caused it to crash into a mountain. He had amassed an incredible amount of hours on the Beechcraft 1900 and other planes, but something went wrong very quickly between Kisangani and Bukavu. This NGO was the only airline that the USG, UN, and other humanitarians are permitted to fly, and has a perfect flight safety record since its founding in the 1980s. Its a tragedy, as a talented man's life was cut far too short, but he truly lived and served in his given years.
Fortunately, the two other staff members who worked my flight were not on the plane that crashed. Rest in Peace to the pilots and humanitarians who have given their lives in the service of others.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3818/Overview#tab-Photos/0
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Journey in Ituri (Pt 2.)
After spending our night in Epulu, Jean-Remy and I went to visit the Okapis in the "zoo". For conservation purposes, 14 okapis are kept in large open-air pens, complete with trees and close lines holding the branches they eat. Using their long tongues, okapis prefer to eat upwards like their taller cousins. They are strikingly innocent and beautiful. They freeze still and stare when they hear people. One eventually was brave enough to approach the fence to say hello...tres jolie she was! Their body is similar to a horse, head to a giraffe, and rear-end has the black-white pattern of a zebra.
Later, around the park ranger facilities I heard a loud cry, and saw a baby chimpanzee tethered to a table leg. The story was that its mother was killed and the baby was abandoned and ill, and turned into park authorities. It had to have been the saddest looking little animal I've ever seen. Hopefully they had some way to get it to an orphanage.
After a long journey, we returned to Beni. The town has 4 Monuc bases, but fortunately there is little for these blue helmets(from South Africa, India, and somewhere else) to do! It was fascinating to visit Beni after spending time with missionaries just across the border in Uganda. They've lived in the Bundibugyo district for 15 years or more, only 5 miles from the border, but due to chronic insecurity and uncertainty, have ventured little into the DRC. They receive patients at the health center who speak French or are Congolese residents, or sport the local "French cut" flattop hairstyle, but see very little commerce go thru to Congo - save for a few massive road graters recently. The border has basically been a barrier for the missionaries travels and work. It has has left Bundibugyo underdeveloped - seemingly the end of the road, cut off from the rest of Uganda by the towering Rwenzori mountains, and little thru traffic to DRC. During the upheavals of civil war, many rebels made chaos of this border region. They had myriad questions when we met, about what it looks like, how its different, is it just forest?, etc. It felt no different from Bundibugyo. Mud and wattle houses lined the roads which were crowded with tons of people/livestock/transport, while little children relentlessly called out to me "Mzungu! Mzungu!". Save for the French signs, its the same on the surface. People probably have low standards for local government and services.
The road between Bundibugyo and Beni was improved by the EU in 2005. The guys watching the gate on the road told me it was easy to pass thru to Uganda - 72 kilometers to the border, through the primeval forest of Virungas National Park. Unfortunately I was unable to take this fascinating route this time, but hopefully others will now! Some of the missionaries have longed to pass into Congo to try to spot an okapi, so with the relative stability of this micro-region, they will be enabled to fulfill those desires.
Later, around the park ranger facilities I heard a loud cry, and saw a baby chimpanzee tethered to a table leg. The story was that its mother was killed and the baby was abandoned and ill, and turned into park authorities. It had to have been the saddest looking little animal I've ever seen. Hopefully they had some way to get it to an orphanage.
After a long journey, we returned to Beni. The town has 4 Monuc bases, but fortunately there is little for these blue helmets(from South Africa, India, and somewhere else) to do! It was fascinating to visit Beni after spending time with missionaries just across the border in Uganda. They've lived in the Bundibugyo district for 15 years or more, only 5 miles from the border, but due to chronic insecurity and uncertainty, have ventured little into the DRC. They receive patients at the health center who speak French or are Congolese residents, or sport the local "French cut" flattop hairstyle, but see very little commerce go thru to Congo - save for a few massive road graters recently. The border has basically been a barrier for the missionaries travels and work. It has has left Bundibugyo underdeveloped - seemingly the end of the road, cut off from the rest of Uganda by the towering Rwenzori mountains, and little thru traffic to DRC. During the upheavals of civil war, many rebels made chaos of this border region. They had myriad questions when we met, about what it looks like, how its different, is it just forest?, etc. It felt no different from Bundibugyo. Mud and wattle houses lined the roads which were crowded with tons of people/livestock/transport, while little children relentlessly called out to me "Mzungu! Mzungu!". Save for the French signs, its the same on the surface. People probably have low standards for local government and services.
The road between Bundibugyo and Beni was improved by the EU in 2005. The guys watching the gate on the road told me it was easy to pass thru to Uganda - 72 kilometers to the border, through the primeval forest of Virungas National Park. Unfortunately I was unable to take this fascinating route this time, but hopefully others will now! Some of the missionaries have longed to pass into Congo to try to spot an okapi, so with the relative stability of this micro-region, they will be enabled to fulfill those desires.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Voila! Bienvenu!!!
Bonjour du monde! I am back in the USA already- enjoying summertime! This is after a wild week of travel to 3 countries and transportation methods of varying comfort levels. AirServ flew via a few other outposts which gave me some great aerial views of the primeval forest landscape of central DRC. Finally we arrived in Goma, the city bounded by all of the following: volcano, beautiful lake, Rwanda; and refugees and rebels lingering not far away. Its a beautiful setting...with any sense of stability would no doubt attract lots of tourists.
After asking around about tourism in the area, I was steered to head to Rwanda. As an American, no visa is required, and the place is anglophone friendly. Gustave, the chauffeur, drove with me to Volcans National Park thru the terraced Milles Collines (thousands hills) and tea fields of the countryside. Beautiful! That park is the one to visit for tracking mountain gorillas high up on the slopes of green volcanoes. However, I neither had $500 or the time, but got to imagine how cool it would be to sit close to these humble beasts for an hour.
In Beni, a smallish city north of Goma in north Kivu, I met with Wildlife Conservation Society who drove with me the 300 km to Epulu in the middle of the Okapi Faunal Reserve - a world heritage site and famous protected area in the Ituri Rainforest. The drive was beautiful...the roads surprisingly good and crowded with smart looking people and livestock. We killed or straddled no less than 5 chickens and goats as we barrelled along. The ride also included a ferry ride across the Ituri River, whose bridge had collapsed a year ago under the weight of an overloaded truck. This has really disrupted business for those who transit thru, but has spawned some local economic activity - vegetable/fruit markets, boat builders, supervisors and ferry pullers(?!) - definition: those on the boat who hold and pull the rope that spans both shores hand over hand.
Jean-Remy, the WCS officer, and I hiked to a forest plot of 10 hectares on which every tree has been mapped and catalogued - the process takes a year, and has been done 3 times in to monitor 5 year intervals of forest dynamics. A few BaMbuti pygmies are caretakers for the plot's camp, and help a Congolese PhD student researching Lianas...its fun to look at these vines and to try to figure out where they start and end. They know the forest well...every fruit, tree species, footprint, and disturbance. One of the pygmy guides said something about rain...as I strained my ear, within 10 seconds began to hear the distant sound of rain. Luckily the canopy protected us from feeling anything more than a light mist. We returned to the agriculture by settlements along the road, and after 6 hours in the forest finally saw some monkeys...3 or 4 different kinds. We stayed right next to the Epulu River at the home of American primatologists - After climbing around a tree by the river, Jean-Remy told me about the home-school teacher who was attacked by a nile crocodile there! We closed the night with a Primus and some plastic chairs under the moonlit sky in the tiny village's Okapi-emblazoned bar. What a place! More to come about the journey later....
Well..that is just the first few days...but
After asking around about tourism in the area, I was steered to head to Rwanda. As an American, no visa is required, and the place is anglophone friendly. Gustave, the chauffeur, drove with me to Volcans National Park thru the terraced Milles Collines (thousands hills) and tea fields of the countryside. Beautiful! That park is the one to visit for tracking mountain gorillas high up on the slopes of green volcanoes. However, I neither had $500 or the time, but got to imagine how cool it would be to sit close to these humble beasts for an hour.
In Beni, a smallish city north of Goma in north Kivu, I met with Wildlife Conservation Society who drove with me the 300 km to Epulu in the middle of the Okapi Faunal Reserve - a world heritage site and famous protected area in the Ituri Rainforest. The drive was beautiful...the roads surprisingly good and crowded with smart looking people and livestock. We killed or straddled no less than 5 chickens and goats as we barrelled along. The ride also included a ferry ride across the Ituri River, whose bridge had collapsed a year ago under the weight of an overloaded truck. This has really disrupted business for those who transit thru, but has spawned some local economic activity - vegetable/fruit markets, boat builders, supervisors and ferry pullers(?!) - definition: those on the boat who hold and pull the rope that spans both shores hand over hand.
Jean-Remy, the WCS officer, and I hiked to a forest plot of 10 hectares on which every tree has been mapped and catalogued - the process takes a year, and has been done 3 times in to monitor 5 year intervals of forest dynamics. A few BaMbuti pygmies are caretakers for the plot's camp, and help a Congolese PhD student researching Lianas...its fun to look at these vines and to try to figure out where they start and end. They know the forest well...every fruit, tree species, footprint, and disturbance. One of the pygmy guides said something about rain...as I strained my ear, within 10 seconds began to hear the distant sound of rain. Luckily the canopy protected us from feeling anything more than a light mist. We returned to the agriculture by settlements along the road, and after 6 hours in the forest finally saw some monkeys...3 or 4 different kinds. We stayed right next to the Epulu River at the home of American primatologists - After climbing around a tree by the river, Jean-Remy told me about the home-school teacher who was attacked by a nile crocodile there! We closed the night with a Primus and some plastic chairs under the moonlit sky in the tiny village's Okapi-emblazoned bar. What a place! More to come about the journey later....
Well..that is just the first few days...but
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Into the Bush
I am 10 days from departing Africa, and finally have an exit strategy. It is pretty much the coolest I could have ever hoped for. After 2.5 months of developing a macroview of USG-funded conservation efforts in the Congo Basin, and being lost in the loveable chaos that is Kinshasa….I’ll leave the megacity for the forest to visit on-the ground conservation in Okapi Faunal Reserve, a World Heritage Site in Ituri District, DRC. Okapis, or “forest giraffes” – are odd looking, and have much shorter necks than their savannah relatives an adaptation to foraging in forests. This region has multiple conservation issues – rare endemic species, pressure from hunting, degraded local livelihoods due to human immigration for economic opportunities like gold mining,.
Monday, Aug 11 I depart to Goma, the eastern city on Lake Kivu, which gets partially destroyed every few decades by nearby volcanic eruptions. It is also the de-facto IDP camp of the hot-zone of the various convoluted conflicts. For two nights, I hang out there in transit to Beni, a city one hour north by plane. From Beni, I’ll travel about 300km on improved roads (gravel tracks) with conservationists from WCS through primordial forest to the ranger station in Okapi reserve. A high population of pygmies live and hunt in the park and use inobtrusive methods (hunting duikers with dogs and nets I think), while the “national highway” that bisects the reserve for commerce between Bunia and Kisangani, opens the park to human traffic and increased human migration. The settlers clear thickly forested land for agriculture and hunt with snares and rifles. The soil is quite poor in nutrients and requires frequent rotation and long fallow periods. The human presence in and around the park is factored into management procedures as CARPE and conservationists try to preserve livelihoods of natives and key species.
Nearby is the only legit logging concession in all of eastern DRC, for a company who leases the land and pays taxes. They have problems with immigrants on the fringes of the property cutting timber for themselves. The company has a saw mill which produces value-added timber products for export.
After returning to Beni, I’ll take a taxi thru the safe savannah part of Virungas park north of Lake George to the Uganda border. There I’ll meet great friends for a few days in Queen Elizabeth NP and some wildlife. What an opportunity ya? It has been a heck of an time, learning about this complex place, and learning about USG activities to promote conservation and management of natural resources of the Congo Basin.
Monday, Aug 11 I depart to Goma, the eastern city on Lake Kivu, which gets partially destroyed every few decades by nearby volcanic eruptions. It is also the de-facto IDP camp of the hot-zone of the various convoluted conflicts. For two nights, I hang out there in transit to Beni, a city one hour north by plane. From Beni, I’ll travel about 300km on improved roads (gravel tracks) with conservationists from WCS through primordial forest to the ranger station in Okapi reserve. A high population of pygmies live and hunt in the park and use inobtrusive methods (hunting duikers with dogs and nets I think), while the “national highway” that bisects the reserve for commerce between Bunia and Kisangani, opens the park to human traffic and increased human migration. The settlers clear thickly forested land for agriculture and hunt with snares and rifles. The soil is quite poor in nutrients and requires frequent rotation and long fallow periods. The human presence in and around the park is factored into management procedures as CARPE and conservationists try to preserve livelihoods of natives and key species.
Nearby is the only legit logging concession in all of eastern DRC, for a company who leases the land and pays taxes. They have problems with immigrants on the fringes of the property cutting timber for themselves. The company has a saw mill which produces value-added timber products for export.
After returning to Beni, I’ll take a taxi thru the safe savannah part of Virungas park north of Lake George to the Uganda border. There I’ll meet great friends for a few days in Queen Elizabeth NP and some wildlife. What an opportunity ya? It has been a heck of an time, learning about this complex place, and learning about USG activities to promote conservation and management of natural resources of the Congo Basin.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Longtemps!
Its been some time...2 weeks at a blog. Hectic, logistic, event and effort heavy are the days- CARPE land has had a lot going on. Just this week, a DRC wetland was newly declared the largest Ramsar site in the world - which brings international recognition to the importance of the ecological services supplied to the nation, region, and world by the big swamp between Kinshasa and Kisangani.
Birds migrate here from Siberia during the winter, and it provides natural resources for many people, climate regulation, and habitat to species found nowhere else on earth.
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17808
Over 1000 miles separate Kisangani and Kinshasa on the Congo River, but the contours have the slope of a platter, braiding the river out to 10 miles wide and saturating much more land. Just below Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the landscape squeezes this huge volume of water creating unnavigable rapids, powerful currents, and deep cuts into the bedrock. In some places the river reaches hundreds of feet deep before it plunges into the ocean where it has carved a massive canyon. Hard to fathom this stuff!
Last weekend, my roommate and I traveled to Pointe Noire in Congo-Brazzaville and are here to tell about it. Dave has lived in Africa for 8 years, in some harder places than our current setup in Kinshasa. Only together would either of us have ventured in the first place. Our destination was Pointe Noire, an oil wealth port on the Atlantic in the Republic of Congo; arguably the most tourist-friendly city in both Congos. On a map, it does not look so far from Kinshasa to Pointe Noire – one might assume it is drivable distance. This is the Congos though, and I’ve learned that logistics rule the day. First, one needs a visa allowing passage into the next country. Divergent colonial (Belgian and Republic of Congo-French), post-colonial trouble (dictatorship in DRC, versus communist ROC, concurrent civil wars ending in the last few years) make these neighbors prone to keep their distance from the other.
Brazzaville and Kinshasa are separated by the mile width of the Congo River…the closest capital cities in the world, hardly twin cities given how difficult it is transit between. All Congolese music is the same, but Kinshasa has way more people, is much more hectic, and has better selection of goods, while Brazzaville is quieter, has wider streets, more heavy artillery pockmarks from recent civil war, and better beer (I favor Ngok to Primus, if not for the flavor then the cool crocodilian logo).
Only with the help of expeditors on both sides could we have made it. They handled forms and visas with anonymous authorities and made sure we found the proper canot rapides at the crowded beaches. Then we caught a Trans Air Congo flight to PN, on an old Malaysian 737. Its unique drag mechanism on the wing had me frantically looking for the inflatable slide upon our landing. Nonetheless...we enjoyed the powerful waves of the Atlantic ocean, and much walking around...something we don't do much in Kinshasa.
I'm getting down to a few weeks of work, before travels to Uganda, and hopefully the tropical jungle too. Travel here is awe-inspiring and exhausting. Once its done you just thank God that you've made it!
Birds migrate here from Siberia during the winter, and it provides natural resources for many people, climate regulation, and habitat to species found nowhere else on earth.
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17808
Over 1000 miles separate Kisangani and Kinshasa on the Congo River, but the contours have the slope of a platter, braiding the river out to 10 miles wide and saturating much more land. Just below Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the landscape squeezes this huge volume of water creating unnavigable rapids, powerful currents, and deep cuts into the bedrock. In some places the river reaches hundreds of feet deep before it plunges into the ocean where it has carved a massive canyon. Hard to fathom this stuff!
Last weekend, my roommate and I traveled to Pointe Noire in Congo-Brazzaville and are here to tell about it. Dave has lived in Africa for 8 years, in some harder places than our current setup in Kinshasa. Only together would either of us have ventured in the first place. Our destination was Pointe Noire, an oil wealth port on the Atlantic in the Republic of Congo; arguably the most tourist-friendly city in both Congos. On a map, it does not look so far from Kinshasa to Pointe Noire – one might assume it is drivable distance. This is the Congos though, and I’ve learned that logistics rule the day. First, one needs a visa allowing passage into the next country. Divergent colonial (Belgian and Republic of Congo-French), post-colonial trouble (dictatorship in DRC, versus communist ROC, concurrent civil wars ending in the last few years) make these neighbors prone to keep their distance from the other.
Brazzaville and Kinshasa are separated by the mile width of the Congo River…the closest capital cities in the world, hardly twin cities given how difficult it is transit between. All Congolese music is the same, but Kinshasa has way more people, is much more hectic, and has better selection of goods, while Brazzaville is quieter, has wider streets, more heavy artillery pockmarks from recent civil war, and better beer (I favor Ngok to Primus, if not for the flavor then the cool crocodilian logo).
Only with the help of expeditors on both sides could we have made it. They handled forms and visas with anonymous authorities and made sure we found the proper canot rapides at the crowded beaches. Then we caught a Trans Air Congo flight to PN, on an old Malaysian 737. Its unique drag mechanism on the wing had me frantically looking for the inflatable slide upon our landing. Nonetheless...we enjoyed the powerful waves of the Atlantic ocean, and much walking around...something we don't do much in Kinshasa.
I'm getting down to a few weeks of work, before travels to Uganda, and hopefully the tropical jungle too. Travel here is awe-inspiring and exhausting. Once its done you just thank God that you've made it!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
More Virungas Links
Sorry, blogspot's "hyperlink" doesn't work...oh technology!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/
2008/07/080711-gorilla-murders.html
http://appablog.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/
us-leads-ministerial-conference-on-
transboundary-conservation-with-rwanda-
the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-
uganda-of-the-congo-and-uganda/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/
2008/07/080711-gorilla-murders.html
http://appablog.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/
us-leads-ministerial-conference-on-
transboundary-conservation-with-rwanda-
the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-
uganda-of-the-congo-and-uganda/
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Virungas Trouble
No sooner do I internalize what is happening in the Virungas National Park in DRC from a well-done National Geographic article, and my boss's pronouncements, and there is an attack on conservationists working for World Wildlife Fund and park rangers working for the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). Its really shocking that rebels control ecotourism, just a few miles from some of the best tourism outfits in Africa. I'm sure the security situation in the park will jump to the front of this summit next week. Unfortunately, it takes a few gorillas and rangers getting killed for people to notice...while millions have been killed since the Rwandan genocide was exported to the DRC. The gorilla park is where resource wars are everyday reality.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7497005.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7497005.stm
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Virungas Summit
My boss, a legend of a guy, is off to Goma DRC and Gisenyi Rwanda for one week to coordinate the Virungas Summit. This is mediated by the Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment, and Science of the US State Department, and coordinates efforts between relevant forestry ministers from DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda. There is a lot of political baggage between these 3 countries, so this high level meeting has a lot riding on it. NG ran a great article about the crazy realm that is the Virungas, linking the execution of gorillas last year to a lucrative charcoal trade in this densely populated, lawless area. Check it out here:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/
virunga/jenkins-text
After all the grand fetes for Independence Days, it is nice to get back to work! I will miss my boss, but will have to carry on!
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/
virunga/jenkins-text
After all the grand fetes for Independence Days, it is nice to get back to work! I will miss my boss, but will have to carry on!
Monday, June 30, 2008
DRC Independence Day
June 30th, 2008
If ever there was a day deserving a blog entry. On June 30, 1960, Congo was granted independence from Belgium, and started the road to sovereignty and governance by citizens. It has not been easy, but now is a time when there is much hope. The traumatic recent past been followed by huge international efforts to rebuild Congo into a state. While that’s a lofty endeavour, it is encouraging to hear about people working with Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration projects, peace talks in the east (complex and subject to demands/chronic saber-rattling), and training eager troops to hopefully protect and serve. This holiday is followed later this week by the USA Independence Day, which allows us to reflect on the foresight, and conviction with which so many have served our country for the good of the future. May the US and DRC continue to strive and improve the reality of their visions.
This long weekend, allowed for a trip outside Kinshasa once again. Some friendly veteran DRC Foreign Service officers invited several newcomers (summer interns and short-terms) to camp in Bombo Lumeni National Park. Check out the photos…it was different than one might expect from a national park in the Congo…no monkeys, snakes, impenetrable jungle forests…rather a beautiful savannah landscape reminiscent of safari regions of East Africa. There was thick gallery forest along the rushing clean Bombo or Lumeni rivers, which we floated down with the currents (sometimes taking our lives into our own hands). We also explored the nearby savannah, with its unique trees, crunchy ground, and wide vistas. There was little wildlife as it used to be a hunting reserve, but there were plenty of birds, plants and insects to see. On one exploration outing, we attempted to follow a trail to some rapids further along the river. An abandoned flipflop foreshadowed our subsequent reaction to stepping on an army ant nest or hidden tunnel/megahighway. As we all cursed and jumped in the river, the pinchy little buggers just didn’t let go until killed, sometimes breaking the skin. That’s a very small consequence of all the exploring that we did, and for that I am grateful. These weekends are very useful to experience and understand more about this massive, complex place. Work this week will be short and exciting…Tuesday a Congressional Delegation sweeps through for 24 hours in DRC, Friday is off, but I dress up and play host for the official July 4th celebration at the Ambassador Residence expects 1000+ guests. Saturday is the American employees picnic at the Ambassadors… I’m expecting/hoping we’ll go traditional with hot dogs, baked beans, and lawn games! In the meantime, there is lots of work for me to do, setting standard map templates for the 12 different conservation landscapes that USAID/CARPE funds. My coworkers are expert, friendly, helpful, and great teachers. So far its been a valuable experience – truly inspiring me and exciting me for another month of work, year of education, and a career ahead.
If ever there was a day deserving a blog entry. On June 30, 1960, Congo was granted independence from Belgium, and started the road to sovereignty and governance by citizens. It has not been easy, but now is a time when there is much hope. The traumatic recent past been followed by huge international efforts to rebuild Congo into a state. While that’s a lofty endeavour, it is encouraging to hear about people working with Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration projects, peace talks in the east (complex and subject to demands/chronic saber-rattling), and training eager troops to hopefully protect and serve. This holiday is followed later this week by the USA Independence Day, which allows us to reflect on the foresight, and conviction with which so many have served our country for the good of the future. May the US and DRC continue to strive and improve the reality of their visions.
This long weekend, allowed for a trip outside Kinshasa once again. Some friendly veteran DRC Foreign Service officers invited several newcomers (summer interns and short-terms) to camp in Bombo Lumeni National Park. Check out the photos…it was different than one might expect from a national park in the Congo…no monkeys, snakes, impenetrable jungle forests…rather a beautiful savannah landscape reminiscent of safari regions of East Africa. There was thick gallery forest along the rushing clean Bombo or Lumeni rivers, which we floated down with the currents (sometimes taking our lives into our own hands). We also explored the nearby savannah, with its unique trees, crunchy ground, and wide vistas. There was little wildlife as it used to be a hunting reserve, but there were plenty of birds, plants and insects to see. On one exploration outing, we attempted to follow a trail to some rapids further along the river. An abandoned flipflop foreshadowed our subsequent reaction to stepping on an army ant nest or hidden tunnel/megahighway. As we all cursed and jumped in the river, the pinchy little buggers just didn’t let go until killed, sometimes breaking the skin. That’s a very small consequence of all the exploring that we did, and for that I am grateful. These weekends are very useful to experience and understand more about this massive, complex place. Work this week will be short and exciting…Tuesday a Congressional Delegation sweeps through for 24 hours in DRC, Friday is off, but I dress up and play host for the official July 4th celebration at the Ambassador Residence expects 1000+ guests. Saturday is the American employees picnic at the Ambassadors… I’m expecting/hoping we’ll go traditional with hot dogs, baked beans, and lawn games! In the meantime, there is lots of work for me to do, setting standard map templates for the 12 different conservation landscapes that USAID/CARPE funds. My coworkers are expert, friendly, helpful, and great teachers. So far its been a valuable experience – truly inspiring me and exciting me for another month of work, year of education, and a career ahead.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Out of the Green Zone and into the Country
I was finally able to escape after almost 4 weeks in the “green zone” of Kinshasa, called Gombe. Celestin, a longtime diplomat driver, drove Ruksandra, Cecily, Cynthia, Tiffany, Becky and myself an hour outside Kinshasa. Our destination was N’Sele Farms, which had been a lavish residence of Mobutu’s when he was shaking the coins out of Zaire’s pockets in the 70s and 80s. This complex was a few kilometers from le grande flueve, and had been the site of his pineapple plantation and pineapple juice factory. Today, it rarely receives tourists judging by the overgrown parking lot and several residents coming out to greet us. Some men gave us a brief “official” tour of the grounds, walking us past the outbuildings which serve as the homes to several good looking families with lots of small children. The artificial pond is empty and much of the grounds are used to grow their manioc. The Chinese architecture had been meticulously stenciled with traditional Chinese and occasional African vistas. This had no signs but was right off the highway and recommended by our embassy as a Day-trip. Surely it was worth it!
After the tour, we tried to go down to a meeting complex WITH a sign “Centre Touristique” by the river, but a roadblock prevented us. Apparently they didn’t get our reservation. Celestin, the driver, masterfully handled several roadblocks, explaining we were “diplomatiques” with a certain destination. Nothing like an old guy with a lot of worldly knowledge!
We followed the well paved road with occasional large potholes past a steel mill, adjacent large village, and ended at a restaurant right on the river. We ordered some Maboke river fish and manioc. It took forever but it was a wonderful setting to sit by the river watching the water traffic: occasional barges, water taxis, pirogues, and some speedboats about a mile away along the Congo-Brazzaville coast. The river is just giant, if not for the current; one might think it was a finger lake.
After this we attempted to find the Congolese dance class, and were directed “Go right at the MONUC, down the bumpy road, take the fourth right at the blue Primus bar, and at the end of the street you’ll find a NEW theater”. It was dark, and we were in the middle of a bustling part of town, and managed to find our guy Jacques. He wasn’t teaching the normal class tonight, but we got to watch him and a student practicing their modern dance until the power suddenly went out. This gave us a chance to talk with him about his vision for the advertised group dance class. Not sure I’ll be any good but he is, and maybe I can be delegated to play the bongos instead. Today was a lot of fun, and finally felt like we got out into real DRC!
After the tour, we tried to go down to a meeting complex WITH a sign “Centre Touristique” by the river, but a roadblock prevented us. Apparently they didn’t get our reservation. Celestin, the driver, masterfully handled several roadblocks, explaining we were “diplomatiques” with a certain destination. Nothing like an old guy with a lot of worldly knowledge!
We followed the well paved road with occasional large potholes past a steel mill, adjacent large village, and ended at a restaurant right on the river. We ordered some Maboke river fish and manioc. It took forever but it was a wonderful setting to sit by the river watching the water traffic: occasional barges, water taxis, pirogues, and some speedboats about a mile away along the Congo-Brazzaville coast. The river is just giant, if not for the current; one might think it was a finger lake.
After this we attempted to find the Congolese dance class, and were directed “Go right at the MONUC, down the bumpy road, take the fourth right at the blue Primus bar, and at the end of the street you’ll find a NEW theater”. It was dark, and we were in the middle of a bustling part of town, and managed to find our guy Jacques. He wasn’t teaching the normal class tonight, but we got to watch him and a student practicing their modern dance until the power suddenly went out. This gave us a chance to talk with him about his vision for the advertised group dance class. Not sure I’ll be any good but he is, and maybe I can be delegated to play the bongos instead. Today was a lot of fun, and finally felt like we got out into real DRC!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
#17
How sweet it is! Boston Celtics: 2007-08 World Champions.
This championship is the first one I can really remember, despite being in born in 1983. This is the 3rd Celtics championship of my lifetime. Wow, though the NBA has fallen some from its 80s glory days, the championship level requires team chemistry and defense, and boy did the Celtics make us proud this season! How fun is it to see sacrifice and dedication to excellence rewarded in this way. Paul Pierce and the guys made me so proud. I am so glad I was able to watch games 5&6 from 2-5am on Monday and Wednesday this week. Despite being a zombie the following day, it wasn't in my chemistry to skip the Celtics versus Lakers finals. The Celtics were classy and respectable. Truly the teams and individuals that win always have those traits. Nothing like being a sports fan in New England these days!
This championship is the first one I can really remember, despite being in born in 1983. This is the 3rd Celtics championship of my lifetime. Wow, though the NBA has fallen some from its 80s glory days, the championship level requires team chemistry and defense, and boy did the Celtics make us proud this season! How fun is it to see sacrifice and dedication to excellence rewarded in this way. Paul Pierce and the guys made me so proud. I am so glad I was able to watch games 5&6 from 2-5am on Monday and Wednesday this week. Despite being a zombie the following day, it wasn't in my chemistry to skip the Celtics versus Lakers finals. The Celtics were classy and respectable. Truly the teams and individuals that win always have those traits. Nothing like being a sports fan in New England these days!
Hope for a real Victory
After 20+ years of marauding into peaceful villages to kidnap, steal, and kill (somehow in their devil's mind equivalent to grocery shopping), the Lord's Resistance Army is returning to its common tactics, after 2/3 years of relative quiet in the jungle. My heart goes out to the Southern Sudanese gov't who has done its best to mediate while also trying to put its own pieces back together caused by terror from the same hands-the Khartoum/LRA regime. The LRA kept backing away from appointed meeting spots and times to discuss a ceasefire; asking for the ICC to drop all charges, and have resumed attacks in CAR, and Sudan. The LRA saber-rattling prompted the armies of South Sudan, Uganda and fledgling forces of DRC, whose legitimacy still gets mud-slung by its record of abuses, to commit to demolish them. For justice sake, I hope the international community supports a bombing to take out their jungle camp right now, before another corner/border of Africa is further embroiled in hell.
I support Captain Ronald:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR-7FQLN4?OpenDocument
US condemns LRA, but will it mean anything?:
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17631
I support Captain Ronald:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR-7FQLN4?OpenDocument
US condemns LRA, but will it mean anything?:
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17631
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Queen Mother’s Birthday
…why do I care? I don’t, sentimentally, everyone loves birthdays, but I don’t even know Queen Mum’s name. Attending the Queen’s Birthday Party at the British Embassy is something to do, something that keeps life exciting. While I sit around on my wireless internet and dream of what to do this weekend, exciting poignant stories to put on my blog, to make myself seem worthy of doing something overseas, I can hardly justify a purpose in why its worth my working here. Yeah I might have more patience than most to produce maps-GALORE, but don't know much how to help the crippled dude who sleeps on asphalt right outside my compound, and waits for who knows what tomorrow. I look for excitement, who am I gonna meet, what connection will I make at the next party, what will I do next?? ….i wonder what that dude looks for…a cigarette or two to mix up the day? Wonder why he sleeps on the asphalt rather than under the beautiful budding tree a few feet safely off the road? Is he taking a chance at getting hit? What about Gabriel, the 5 year security guard who makes sure American diplomats are safe and secure while he stays up all night and gets paid a minimal salary, dreaming how wonderful it might be to practically apply his engineering degree. Not here, not yet… the few development projects prefer international graduates, because the Congolese schools aren’t much good. Well he’s certainly no dumber than me, just a victim of longitude and latitude it seems. And what am I to do; to work my hardest, to tell his plight, to be thankful, and to help where I can. Is giving 50 cents to or ignoring a begging woman the best decision in the midst of society that looks at donation as deliverance…whats best in the short and long term? For me to discuss problems of the Congo over an expensive, suitable lunch, with some of the best minds in the world, or to go low-budget and fork out my money and let the chips fall? It’s a crazy world…wonder what the guidebooks say?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Building Natural Resource Management
Peace and governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo will improve with the capability of natural resource management. With competing interests of foreign economies, internal corruption and neglect of local populations, natural resources are not capable of being managed or quantified. With the global demand for the basin’s resources, and the global value for providing a massive carbon sink and maintaining the hydrological cycle, it is in long term interests of all stakeholders to build capacity to manage natural resources. Stability for the whole region is affected by these resources.
This can only be achieved with donating contingent on goals being met. Some European countries are throwing huge amounts of cash at the Congo Basin with little clear plan. As carbon becomes a legitimate market, huge money transactions will involve DRC, but it will be foolish to throw money at a state just to say you did…I think the US is taking a very pragmatic approach here, and really could not handle the huge funds Europe is talking about. Funding the state doesn’t work here yet, its failed time and again, and without clear goals, monitoring, and adaptive management, donating is doomed to profit few and harm many. Lets hope donors plan and harmonize with other stakeholders in the region for the sake of practical results rather than self-preservation.
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17604
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17606
This can only be achieved with donating contingent on goals being met. Some European countries are throwing huge amounts of cash at the Congo Basin with little clear plan. As carbon becomes a legitimate market, huge money transactions will involve DRC, but it will be foolish to throw money at a state just to say you did…I think the US is taking a very pragmatic approach here, and really could not handle the huge funds Europe is talking about. Funding the state doesn’t work here yet, its failed time and again, and without clear goals, monitoring, and adaptive management, donating is doomed to profit few and harm many. Lets hope donors plan and harmonize with other stakeholders in the region for the sake of practical results rather than self-preservation.
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17604
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17606
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Links about situation in the East DRC
The fragile East:
Repatriation efforts for Rwandan FDLR rebels
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7432186.stm
Nkunda's rebels
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/africa/
10congo.html?fta=y
DRC, Uganda and South Sudan prepare for battle with LRA
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17576
In other news, some other interns for State Dept. and USAID arrived. It is great to have some people in my peer group and similar life/work situation. I am enjoying learning from my intelligent, helpful, and dedicated coworkers who have built CARPE into the the top regional environmental program. It's well-spent USG money that should have a great impact on conservation efforts - incorporating people's livelihoods as primary consideration. Without that conservation can be harmful.
Repatriation efforts for Rwandan FDLR rebels
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7432186.stm
Nkunda's rebels
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/africa/
10congo.html?fta=y
DRC, Uganda and South Sudan prepare for battle with LRA
http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=17576
In other news, some other interns for State Dept. and USAID arrived. It is great to have some people in my peer group and similar life/work situation. I am enjoying learning from my intelligent, helpful, and dedicated coworkers who have built CARPE into the the top regional environmental program. It's well-spent USG money that should have a great impact on conservation efforts - incorporating people's livelihoods as primary consideration. Without that conservation can be harmful.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Dispatch from the "Field"
My Kin Ticker:
14 days in!
12 swimming/nature viewing sessions at the pool - nature being palm & banana trees, kingfishers, birds, and low-flying bats!
14 evenings enjoying a porch!
9 lunches at the New Aladin Lebanese restaurant - expat hotspot
1 lunch at the ambassador residence (2+ to come)
1 French tutoring session with Mr. Jules
6 acquaintances named Jacques
5 acquaintances named Jean
~25 rides with drivers who obligingly help me practice French
1 "goat-bar" dinner...you pick the goat pieces and while they cook, enjoy Primus beer and street-hawkers selling boiled peanuts
12 pictures taken...Kinois don't like cameras much!
1 car-pedestrian accident sighting - the flashmob didn't get too angry, the driver stopped, the woman looked ok, and the driver drove her to the hospital
0 sickness:)
3- times being called "Mondele, Blanche or American"; pretty conservative!! maybe I just don't understand!
333- times I wished I spoke French!!!!
4 times seeing nearly a whole car being hauled down the road in a wheelbarrow
6 scenarios dreamt for how to get from here to Uganda in August:)
3 sightings of the massive Congo river!
14 days in!
12 swimming/nature viewing sessions at the pool - nature being palm & banana trees, kingfishers, birds, and low-flying bats!
14 evenings enjoying a porch!
9 lunches at the New Aladin Lebanese restaurant - expat hotspot
1 lunch at the ambassador residence (2+ to come)
1 French tutoring session with Mr. Jules
6 acquaintances named Jacques
5 acquaintances named Jean
~25 rides with drivers who obligingly help me practice French
1 "goat-bar" dinner...you pick the goat pieces and while they cook, enjoy Primus beer and street-hawkers selling boiled peanuts
12 pictures taken...Kinois don't like cameras much!
1 car-pedestrian accident sighting - the flashmob didn't get too angry, the driver stopped, the woman looked ok, and the driver drove her to the hospital
0 sickness:)
3- times being called "Mondele, Blanche or American"; pretty conservative!! maybe I just don't understand!
333- times I wished I spoke French!!!!
4 times seeing nearly a whole car being hauled down the road in a wheelbarrow
6 scenarios dreamt for how to get from here to Uganda in August:)
3 sightings of the massive Congo river!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Bemba and the ICC
At English club, the topic university students discussed was the arrest of Jean Pierre Bemba and its consequences. Bemba's family is from nearby Kinshasa, worth 100s of millions from Mobutu-era cronyism. He was an "opposition" rebel during the 2nd Congo War (1998-2003), one of the four Vice Presidents during the transitional government from 2003-2006, and lost the presidency in a runoff to Kabila. Bemba was the eventual Presidential runner-up in late 2006 in the first democratic elections since 1960. In 2007 he was elected a Senator, and because there was signicant tension between him and the national army, employed a sizeable personal security detail which led to the last fighting in Kinshasa in March last year.
He was recruited by then president of Central African Republic to aid him against rebels that threatened and eventually overthrew the CAR government in 2003. Bangui is just across the DRC border/Congo river and was the site of widespread sexual violence during this time. The Int'l Criminal Court was commissioned by CAR to investigate and just last week Bemba was arrested in Belgium. This led to protests at the Belgian Embassy. Protestors were irked because Bemba was arrested in Belgium not in Portugal, despite their membership in the ICC. This might be just a timing thing, but maybe Belgium is trying to assert their "authority" here...I don't know. The Belgian consulates in two other cities have since been closed.
The politics here are touchy. Bemba who enjoys local support who sees the current president as an outsider in Kinshasa, despite being a warlord responsible for troops involved in atrocities. There is always the western meddling too. People have good spirit though. Students respected each other's views. Its a fascinating place, the politics really control the livelihood of so many....and have struggled for so long. For justice this arrest is good, for the politics, I gotta hope this opens an opportunity for someone out there who might be a better politician than Bemba.
He was recruited by then president of Central African Republic to aid him against rebels that threatened and eventually overthrew the CAR government in 2003. Bangui is just across the DRC border/Congo river and was the site of widespread sexual violence during this time. The Int'l Criminal Court was commissioned by CAR to investigate and just last week Bemba was arrested in Belgium. This led to protests at the Belgian Embassy. Protestors were irked because Bemba was arrested in Belgium not in Portugal, despite their membership in the ICC. This might be just a timing thing, but maybe Belgium is trying to assert their "authority" here...I don't know. The Belgian consulates in two other cities have since been closed.
The politics here are touchy. Bemba who enjoys local support who sees the current president as an outsider in Kinshasa, despite being a warlord responsible for troops involved in atrocities. There is always the western meddling too. People have good spirit though. Students respected each other's views. Its a fascinating place, the politics really control the livelihood of so many....and have struggled for so long. For justice this arrest is good, for the politics, I gotta hope this opens an opportunity for someone out there who might be a better politician than Bemba.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Researcher found in the bush
After nearly 10 days in the bush, a bonobo chimp researcher was "found". The articles say that a 23 year old German lady separated from her teammate when they were looking for these rare monkeys near Salonga National Park. Articles say some priests apparently rescued her, but I may speculate that poachers found her...pretty amazing, to save themselves they could have done anything BUT bring her back to priests in their village (2 days away from where she was lost). This just gives me the sense that not all illegal poachers, artisanal loggers and miners are evil; they're humans just trying to get by.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Friendly Sunday night
Today was mostly isolated til this evening when my neighbor invited me to his church party in our compound. Around 200 from the Int'l protestant church showed up for an outside dinner. Met some American expats, missionaries, and Congolese young male students who attend local protestant universities. They're in the English club and go to the American Corner to learn about US culture. Of course, it was nice to be able to speak English, and amazing that they speak their 3rd language so well - 1)Lingala, 2)French and 3)English...wow, puts me to shame. Also, there is some good music coming (mariah carey and some native) from somewhere and cheers about some football match. Kinshasa is growing on me! Just need to learn how to order ingredients for a good goat recipe.
The Pillagers
Sorry for the blogfunk - patience is needed on my part. Knowing the history of DRC is important to understanding the present..why resources worth gobs of money coexist with poverty, scant law, and disorder. Lumumba was determined for independence in 1960, and quickly alienated the US, UN & Belgium with his "At any cost, with anybody's help" rhetoric. Early on the CIA got involved behind the scenes to ensure Congo didn't go Red...its difficult to understand why we were so scared about this, as Belgium had left Congo with infrastructure but little capacity. It wasn't long before Lumumba was taken out, and Western support thrown behind Mobutu to keep him in our fold. We showered him with $$$ and praise as the early 1970s saw some development, stability and world attention as Don King promoted his two boxers Foreman vs. Ali for the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle". This was apparently the height of the Congo's glory, which crumbled as Mobutu formed a kleptocracy which still echoes today. He pilfered all the money he wanted from the national banks, bought homes all over Europe, chartered Concordes for his flights to visit political allies in the west. Bush and Reagan frenziedly stuffed dollars in his pockets as a "deposit" against communism in the region. Now sadly its difficult to see why it was worth it. From just below the elite, every civil servant had to start robbing and begging to make it. This took off like a disease under Mobutu, and echoes of it are here today...in 1991, looting in Kinshasa by the unpaid military still scares people about protests. Other pillagers have come from closeby, as the Rwanda 1994 crisis seems to have just been exported to the east DRC, causing resource-funded regional battling. Ethnic battles here seem to be taming as ceasefires and reintegration efforts continue. What's in store for the future of this place? We can only hope that American interests here can be conducted with wisdom, foresight and morality. Though the US contributes 0 troops to the 18,000 UN peacekeepers, they supposedly fund a good chunk as penance for our sins.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Je suis Kinois (i am kinshasan)
Try it out...garbage..sounds naturally french! Not so, its camelote...really a pretty word for trash. Kinshasa is turning out to not be so crazy...but maybe I'm still a bit sheltered. As my American seatmate on the flight here said - Kinshasa is the ranger training for African cities. My introduction to Congolese negotiation was a few vociferous discussions about seating on the airplane...and it happens on the street too. Gombe is the area of town that was secured by the UN peacekeepers or MONUC a few years back, and is home to most of the embassies, NGOs, and expat residencies. Tuesday, Bemba a former Vice-president/warlord, was arrested in Belgium for crimes against humanity, indicted by the ICC. This touched off small demonstrations in Gombe where Bemba's thugs battled the army in Feb 2007 after the election. We didn't see much, as protesters prevented us from lunching in the normal Lebanese eatery. It was kinda subdued because people are just kinda tired and hungry with the prices of food. There's not much excitement to report, though I'm finding exercise to be kinda limited to swimming in the pool in our compound. Going out after dark is not recommended and frankly, I don't really know where I'd go. I finally went on the roof of my work building to see the Congo river...man is it huge..pics to be posted soon. Otherwise, views of Kinois life between home and work are tons of people out and about, working hard, trying to make a buck...soda, bags of water, clothes, maps, even a sad looking dog...all offered by hawkers to stopped cars.
Forest conservation programs encounter some odd results these days. Despite all these dollars spent and the DRC moratorium on logging since 2002, relative "stability" has logging at full-force. We're not here advocating fences around the forest, but planning, monitoring, and auditing rather than an all-out pillage....an all too familiar action towards Congo's resources. So now for the first weekend in Kinshasa?! I guess hitting the French and forestry reading hard is a good place to start...exciting ja! Bon weekend!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Made it!
Hi...Bonjour du monde! Welp, I am in Kinshasa, and have now settled in, and started to figure out what I have to got to do to survive (and thrive?). First off, learn French! My English/high school Spanish/Sesame St. French MIX is not gonna cut it. Apparently French is rare among males, so not to be insensitive to women...but guys, if you want to meet girls, head for French class! Kinshasa first impressions....lots of people! Expensive - a box of cereal was $15 USD! I skipped it for now...too rich for my Dutch blood. Its hard to import goods here because of the poor infrastructure. There were derelict skeletons of bridges over the airport road, and the planes themselves looked kinda recycled. For accomodation, I'll be in kinda an island fortress compound, with not too much access to the streets. Its not recommended to roam by yourself, as its just so big. From what I've heard, people are feeling food prices really bad....they've historically been high, and recently spiked.
What better than to have a tropical thunderstorm the first evening...clouds made it dark by about 5pm, whipping the palm trees with wind and rain. Kin la Belle, Kin poubelle...its all here at the start!
What better than to have a tropical thunderstorm the first evening...clouds made it dark by about 5pm, whipping the palm trees with wind and rain. Kin la Belle, Kin poubelle...its all here at the start!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Mefloquine Monday
Kin la Belle, "the beautiful", and Kin Poubelle, "the dustbin", two fond nicknames of Kinshasa on the river Congo. Depends where you stay I guess. In an 800 pp Africa travel book, Kinshasa gets about 4 pages, DRC about 8...for the 3rd largest city and country in Africa. It seems there is little to learn about this place prior to arrival. There's about 300 miles of paved road in an area equal to east of our great American river...it possible to drive crosscountry? Kinshasa sounds intense...sprawling, potholed, dangerous, and unfriendly to tourists. But the nightlife is hailed, as Congolese music is famous across Africa....the airport is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle..and construction of an $80bn dam, twice the size of Three Gorges may soon commence.
Unreachable yet in the same country, remote tropical forests host rare species like the giraffe relative Okapi, Mountain Gorilla, and pygmy chimp Bonobo. These forests and the tribes who rely on them are invaded by pilferers of diamonds, coltan, gold, mahogany or more valuable logs which filter through UN-patrolled lawless regions via illicit networks to the world market.
So thats what I know...the truth is I know nothing and I can't wait to learn!
Unreachable yet in the same country, remote tropical forests host rare species like the giraffe relative Okapi, Mountain Gorilla, and pygmy chimp Bonobo. These forests and the tribes who rely on them are invaded by pilferers of diamonds, coltan, gold, mahogany or more valuable logs which filter through UN-patrolled lawless regions via illicit networks to the world market.
So thats what I know...the truth is I know nothing and I can't wait to learn!
1 Week Countdown!!
Hi Audience, one week of USA before summer travels and work in Congo. This week, I'll pack all requisite travel/work STUFF, move completely out of my apartment, talk about GIS at a technical high school, cram-listen French CDs, and get the mind right! Getting the mind right should include hanging with the family and friends, watching the Celtics and Champions League soccer, eating some good home-cooking, and communing with nature. There are lots of logistics I could worry about, but really its not worth it. Flexibility, being in the moment, and a longview perspective, will serve best in making this opportunity valuable. A good dose of humor and sensitivity too...I'll pray for the eyes to be open. Adventures, places, friends, await.
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