Blogs from Congo Democratic Republic, Africa
Into "the Heart of Darkness"
Published: April 22nd 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
April 21st 2012
My legs were more than a little wobbly after the five plus hour climb, one that took me up an increasingly steep gradient, made all the more difficult by alternating stretches of slippery smooth rock and loose, jagged gravel. But now I was nearly at the top, just a few feet away from my goal. Before I mustered the energy to climb the last stretch, I turned to look at the surrounding vista. From my perch, more than 11,000 feet above sea level, I had an unhindered view of Lake Kivu, with the rambling outlines of distant Goma spread along its shore, and the wide, surprisingly flat plain at the base of the mountain, which quickly gave rise to another chain of mountains that mark the beginning of Rwanda. All looked verdantly healthy; all appeared peaceful. ... read more
Gorillas in the Mist and other adventures
Published: March 11th 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
March 11th 2012
Murrays travel schedule kicked off again in February. As you know, he loves to write about it, not! So bear with me while I try to document his trip. His first trip was to North & South Kivu in DRC for a final evaluation of the WASH program there. One of the highlights was seeing a gravity fed water scheme under construction, the women from the village were so happy that they would spontaneously break into song and dance. Another highlight was seeing positive results from a Sanitation and Hygiene program in Tongo. In January, 42 people died from 1 village. The people thought it was witchcraft, a study showed it was a malaria and cholera outbreak. Our organisation did an emergency intervention together with another agency. They set up a medical clinic to treat the ... read more
December 11th 2011
21 octobre : Lunch, bol de cereale. Souper, bol de soupe. 22 octobre : Lunch, croissant au chocolat et yaourt. Journee du rapport. Souper, salade. 23 octobre : Reste de la journee a l’appart a ne rien faire. En soiree, sorti avec Stephane de la MONUSCO, un autre Quebecois que j’avais déjà croise en Cote-d’Ivoire. J’ai pu prendre un plat tipiquement de chez-nous, ailes de poulet et frites avec 2 bieres. 24 octobre : Lunch, melon d’eau. Souper, au Grand Hotel de Kinshasa avec deux observateurs de l’Union europeenne que j’avais déjà croise au Niger. Sonia du Portugal et Daniele d’Italie. J’ai pris un poisson meuniere. 25 octobre : Lunch, salade de fruits et un shawarma. Souper, gibelotte de legumes. 26 octobre : Lunch, riz cantonais. Souper, biscottes avec beurre d’arachide. Termine ma journee de travail ... read more
December 1st 2011
After a couple of days in Goma we were offered to stay one more day and visit surrounded villages. To come out of the city and go deeper into the country was quite tense, stressful and a breathtaking event for us. We were driving on a bad but good for DR of the Congo road and in few hours we reached our goal – a village where originally has been a refugee camp just one year ago and rebels attacked and burnt it to the ground. After a calm ride suddenly the energetic children began to run after our car when we entered a small village road and the driver was forced to put on the brakes again and again so kids would fall of the car. ‘Mzungu, mzungu… Give me food, give me money, please’. ... read more
November 29th 2011
‘We don’t have any respect for our lives, the dangers from the volcano and lake is like a game for us. We are not like you westerners and plan for the bad, it is when we find ourselves in a dangerous position we think, oh I wish we had planned for the future. We are more scared and worried of our own people and in one week, after the election we are expecting something really bad to happen.’ This was a conversation we had on with a local from perhaps the most dangerous city in the world Goma, which is just across the border from Rwanda. Driving around Goma was like in safari where you are sitting in the safely and watching through the window to the reality – demonstrations, propaganda less than a week before ... read more
Walking on the edge of fire
Published: November 27th 2011Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
November 27th 2011
This was a detour that we both were not expecting and to be sleeping on the rim of Africa’s most active volcano, which happens to be in not so safe DR of the Congo, was a chance we grabbed. How we come to this adventure started a couple of weeks prior to this when we read a blog of another blogger ‘Freespirt’ who has done this earlier and left some contact details at the bottom of the blog. We thought about it, forgot about it and then went to a town called Gisini on the Rwandan border where we could see the glow from the volcano from this town, we were thinking again. Where we were staying we meet a couple of Americans who were trying to get into DR of the Congo but at ... read more
November 1st 2011
Is walking into the world’s most dangerous city something to be proud of? How about walking into the middle of a conflict zone? Why not hire Congolese soldiers and climb on one of the world’s most deadly volcanoes? Sod it, why not camp in a war-torn area next to a lava lake? It sounds extreme, almost insane, but it is all a load of hellfire and brimstone to me. “Nyiragongo is a two-mile-high volcano towering over the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—one of the world’s most active volcanoes. When? Is the question that haunts a team of Congolese Seismologists; when will Nyiragongo erupt?” (Finkle, 2011, National Geographic) Arriving in Kigali (Rwanda) and hearing about the possibility of visiting an active and deadly volcano strangely appealed. Realizing the volcanic creator contains the ... read more
The Worlds Most Dangerous City
Published: November 1st 2011Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
October 28th 2011
As you pass a United Nations sniper tower, a truck loaded with mercenary’s thunders past holding rocket launchers, machetes and AK47′s. While political activists rally for the looming elections, Congolese soldiers dressed like Rambo carry mounted machine guns to protect road blocks around the city. With armoured vehicles at every intersection, and police patrolling the streets, helicopter gunships hover above watching your every move. Attempting to enter a conflict zone on a tourist visa is surreal, the fact that it is even possible a mind-blowing experience. Realizing that the British Foreign Office has travel restrictions in place invalidating your insurance policy the reality. With tourist visa #479 it quickly becomes clear that only Non Government Organisations and the most intrepid travellers dare visit the Kivu province in the Eastern Congo. Delayed at the Gisenyi border ... read more
October 20th 2011
19 septembre : Début de ma semaine de congé. Je me pointe quand même au bureau pour gosser sur l’internet. Lunch, resto grec. Visite, avec 3 collègues, du mausolée de Laurent désiré Kabila, père de l’actuel président qui a été assassine par son garde-du-corps en 2001. Constat, la Garde présidentiel est compose d’autant de mendiants que de policier. Souper, yaourt et biscuit. 20 septembre : J’en profite pour aller au gym du cercle belge. Je traverse en bateau le fleuve Congo pour me rendre à Brazza. Rencontre intéressante sur le bateau d’un Québécois marie a une Burundaise qui habite a Washington. Il est ingénieur forestier et travaille pour une ONG US. Il voyage régulièrement en Afrik depuis 1982. La traverse en bateau prends environ 5-10 minutes, mais les formalités administratives, les arnaques et la mendicité des ... read more
September 19th 2011
30 aout : depart de matadi a 7:30, direction Boma, on arrive vers 10:00. Route passablement magane. Lunch : salade de poulet dans un genre de pub vraiment tres sympathique, ressemble presque a un pub de Montreal. Boma est une ville portuaire, il y a 3 Russes au bar, je les soupeconne d’etre des marins. L’hotel est correct. Souper : bol de petits pois et de carottes. 31 aout : Retour a Matadi. Souper dans un petit maquis avec une tres grosse maman africaine, riz et feves. 1 septembre : Retour a Kinshasa, depart de Matadi a 8 :30 arrive a Kinshasa a 16 :00. Il y a des petits troubles a Kinshasa. Souper a l’hotel, poulet a la congolaise, sauce aux tomates epices. 2 septembre : Conciliation financiere au bureau suite a notre voyage au ... read more
