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.

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!

#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!

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

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?

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.