Tutaonana

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 again).

Rien que la verité

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 (Nothing but 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:

• Abstinence
• Bonne fidelité (Being Faithful)
• Condoms
• Dépistage (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 for those Congolese living with the virus, there is only limited access to ART (anti-retroviral therapy), which can significantly increase an infected person’s expected lifespan. The best way to stay well is still to focus on prevention, which is where Rien que la Verité comes in.

The Rien que la Verité album (which can be downloaded free from the link above) has one new song from each of the artists dealing with some aspect of the fight against HIV/AIDS and then an ensemble piece at the end. A video of the ensemble piece has also been produced and production is underway for a televised version of the concert.

The concert itself was fantastic — and I’m not just saying that because some friends organised it. Clips of the documentary made to accompany the album were also shown between acts. In the film, each of the artists speaks to one aspect of A, B, C or D or about destigmatisation of those living with the virus. Small film segments were also shown at the concert detailing how to correctly use a condom. Three organisations had rapid HIV testing booths at the concert and report having tested more people at the concert than in the last 6-8 months.

With Congo’s vibrant music culture, these musicians are national heroes whose voices hold serious weight. Seeing them speak on stage after each of their sets about the importance of dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic went far beyond lip service as the Lingala words went bouncing across the stadium filled with thousands. With the laughter bubbling across the stands during the condom demonstration, it was clear that the audience was taking it all in.

Philly Lutaaya, a Ugandan musician who contracted HIV early on in the epidemic was one of the first prominent Africans to come out with his status and used his popularity to promote HIV awareness and prevention, which he did with much success in his final days.

Having seen what the Rien que la Verité musicians -from Papa Wemba, the granddaddy of Congolese music, though newer stars like Werrason- are up to provides a lot of hope for stopping the spread of the disease in its tracks here in Congo. It also reminds one of the amazing things that can and do come together in this chaotic place.

A girl’s best friend?

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 been killed or tortured and millions have been displaced.

The Kimberly Process of diamond certification was established in 2003 with the intent of preventing the flow of conflict diamonds or blood diamonds that fund into the world diamond market. I’m no expert, but my understanding is that countries which have signed on can certify that the diamonds have been obtained legally and then export them to the international diamond market. Unfortuantely the process is fairly flawed, especially as many of Congo’s neighbours with no mines of their own want to export.

Even beyond illegally-mined diamonds that fuel conflicts are the daily risks taken to exploit legal diamonds. One of my colleagues who comes from the Province Orientale, where the 134 carat diamond* was recently found, explained how the rivers are mined: Divers go down in the rapids to fill bags of sand, which are then pulled up to the surface and sifted though. The divers often die, either because their air hose is not attached correctly or because they get swept farther down the rapids and trapped between rocks.

Many workers have also died recently with the collaspse of several underground mines. In the province of Kasai Oriental, once mine tunnels have been abandoned by mining companies, illegal diggers enter the tunnels, looking for diamonds that may have been missed. It is many of these people, in addition to formal miners, who are killed in such accidents.

When we turned around a few minutes later, our diamond hawking friend was standing next to a large SUV. A Congolese man inside was examining the stones with a jeweler’s eye piece, as we watched from the terrace. I remind myself that Congo is one of the countries signed onto the Kimberly Process and I wonder who exactly it is to decide which pieces of rock get a certificate and where the rest of the stones find themselves.

For this girl, I think I’m going to pass on Elizabeth Taylor’s best friend and go in search of a more amicable relationship.

*Apparently the infamous 134 carat diamond was sold not for $1.4 million as reported but $1.8 million, $400,000 being knocked off the official price to reduce the government’s share of the pie.

Blackout season

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 lamps?
Electricity!

Still in purgatory

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 is awaiting the paperwork to proceed to Portugal, where he owns a villa, for medical care (he apparently underwent an operation there last year). In a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune, he was asked whether he had ordered his men to disarm, to which he replied: I haven’t, not really.

While Bemba has agreed to Portugal’s requirements for his visit, including 90 day tourist visas for himself and his family - not an offer of exile, he has still not received permission from the Congolese government to proceed. Apparently although the rebel leader turned vice president turned opposition leader/senator’s arrest has been ordered for treason, the official warrant has not been issued by the court.

Among security circles, there is valid concern that even if Bemba is given permission to travel, the helicopter ride from the embassy to the airport –either in Kinshasa or Brazzaville- is enough exposure to pose a threat of assassination.

On a lighter note, TimeOut recently published this interview with Chéri Samba, a Congolese self-proclaimed painter-journalist who current has an exhibit on at the Tate Modern.

The shot heard round Kinshasa

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 it.

Surprise, surprise, all hell broke loose.

Two days later, downtown is pretty quiet and most people are headed to one of the downtown supermarkets to stock up and trade war stories. Government troops are still looking for those among Bemba’s men who have not yet turned themselves in.

The airport is now open and SNBrussels and Kenya Airways are flying today — although apparently when some mundeles (expats) tried to make a break for the airport, their cars were fired upon by FARDC. Flights schedules are due to return to normal tomorrow.

Here’s a quick peek at some of the damage in my neighbourhood.

The Biac building, containing several organisations including UNICEF and the Spanish and Greek embassies, was the target of several exploded and unexploded ordnance (mostly artillery, I’m told) and sustained fairly serious damage. The ordnance that made the large hole in the second and third floors apparently hit an air conditioner which prevented it from exploding farther into the building where it would have caused significantly more damage. There is one fatality reported from the first floor bank and another critically wounded.

And for me, I’m going to go see about a fresh beer and sign off from a much quieter Kinshasa.

Holding pattern

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 evacuated 600+ people from the area where the fighting was focused including around 200 kids from the French school and a large group from the BIAC building where UNICEF has its offices. Have no fear though, a UNICEF-employed friend reports ready access to PopTarts.

Congogirl reports civilians out and about in her area, which is always a good sign.

No clues yet as to what Bemba’s next move will be (although he’s hiding out in the South African embassy, he has not offically sought asylum) but no doubt tomorrow will reveal a bit more. Until then, there are reports of a curfew until 7am.

Moving in the right direction

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 make it home tomorrow morning.

Missing: one traffic stand

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 impression.

Je ne savez pas

Anyone who’s someone in Kinshasa was running around last night in preparation for the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s visit. It’s the Sec Gen’s first official international trip as world leader. Ban will make an address this afternoon in Kinshasa -on what, I couldn’t begin to tell you- before heading to Kisangani in the east tomorrow.

A good portion of the rest of Kinshasa, expat and Congolese, spent the Friday evening at the premier of Les Enfants Bouc Emmissaire (The Scapegoat Children), a short film on Kinshasa’s street kids produced by ORPER (Oeuvre de Reclassement et de Protection des Enfants de la Rue or Work for the Rehabilitation and Protection of Street Children).

Street kids in Kinshasa have a terrible reputation as vagabonds, thieves and trouble-makers. As in many African cities, there are hoards of these kids in bedraggled clothes, sniffing glue and begging for a few cents and throwing stones when they don’t get what they’re looking for. The shegues, as they are known in Kinshasa have been involved in instigating many of the riots that took place during the elections period, rumouredly at the behest of political leaders who know it only takes a few francs to convince a street kid to do your dirty work for you. They are avoided by everyone. An annoyance at best, a sign of our total failure as a race at worst.

We shut our car windows, maybe passing a few francs through a closing window slit, lock our doors and look the other way.

No one knows quite how many street kids there are in Kin (although speculations are in the mid tens of thousands) or exactly how they’ve found themselves on the street. Many children have been thrown out of their homes after being accused of sorcery, which is a tale heard many times over and recounted again in the film. One girl in the film is accused of sorcery when her grandmother dies and the family church threatens to burn her à la Salem. She runs away and ends up unsurprisingly on the street, where many chidren are raped, exploited and beaten by gangs of older children.

The up side is that she and many other children have been rescued rescued by ORPER and now find themselves in children’s homes where they have a chance to return to their childhood and find a path to a better future. Some of these children sit watching the film with us, dressed in their choral uniforms, whose performance opened the evening. These children’s eyes no longer have the reddened glaze that drugged-up, hungry ten year olds bare like teeth in the street.

In the parking lot as we are leaving, three kids come to the car window begging. We back out without looking as I think of the last line in the film:

Now you can’t say I didn’t know.