You've been nowhere and you know nothing.

The longer you stay in a place, the more complex that place becomes, the less you understand. I am envious of so many of my colleagues in the humanitarian business who profess to the intellect and wisdom of being able to understand a community, a conflict a culture in matter of weeks. I am afraid that I don’t share their skills and rather prefer to tread the more Buddhist path: true wisdom begins when you know you know nothing.

I have now gone beyond my initial fears about being based in Kananga. For sure the place lacks the dynamism of a big city - you need to compensate for the lack of leisure activity options in creative ways; but for all that it lacks the town and the province is unique, quite unlike any other part of this vast land. Today is one of those days that I wish that I had read Anthropology instead of South Asian languages at SOAS! My understanding of the history of Kasaï is still very rudimentary, but it seems that this area was in pre-colonial times was the domain of the Kuba kingdom, which along with the Kikongo kingdom in today’s Bas-Congo region (close to the Atlantic ocean) were two of the most sophisticated feudal societies in Africa. The first outsiders to succeed in making contact with the Bakuba discovered a culture which had highly developed industries in metal, wood and textiles, a taxation system and an, albeit feudal, system of democratic representation.

The BaKuba people resisted the incursions of the Force Publique, Leopold II’s bloody mercenary force of colonisers far later than any other community in the so called Congo Free State. Leopold greedily eyed the Kasaï for its rubber reserves. The bloodiest pillaging ensued, with missionaries sending reports of annihilation of entire villages, severed hands and slave labour in the name of a free market economy.

A statistic that disturbs me the most, and qualifies, for me the Leopoldian era in the Congo along with the other great atrocities of modern times (Samantha Power, please revise your book), is that in a period of slightly less than 40 years, the population of the Congo was reduced from approximately 20 million people to 10 million. Apocalypse then: anarchy now? I am sure the linkage is slightly more complicated but in essence. There is a lot that colonialism has to answer for. Suggest that anyone who wants to explore this thesis more examine the arguments presented by Adam Hochschild in Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa.

On a more pedestrian level, my quality in of life has improved in two drastic ways: Firstly and most importantly I have to announce that I am a father! On Friday a man from Muetsche, about 200kms from here came to the door with a pair of rather lovely Grey Parrots; I have baptised them Anthony Aloiscious St. John Hancock and Cherrie Booth, and I have spent the majority of the weekend bonding with them, they are very beautiful, very keen on peanuts and their beaks are very very sharp! In the next few months, I hope that my offspring will become fluent in English, French and in Tshiluba … they are my (adopted) children after all; with that foundation we can work on the Dravidian languages.

The second great discovery is that Kananga produces excellent coffee; for sale in the market place for next to nothing. With my new companions and access to a high quality cup of Congolese coffee in the morning, Life in Kananga is becoming more and more bearable! I am even inspired to think of setting up an income generating project processing and marketing high quality café de Kasaï: with a little hard work I think Kananga can match the famous Asmara double Macchiato… coffee drinkers of the world: word up!

To Kinshasa and Back... Phew!

A week spent hopping on and off domestic flights between Kananga and Kinshasa. . I am beginning to understand that in the Congo, the bribe culture is pretty much accepted as the way to make an honest buck… and the fact that government employees have often not been paid in months really only compounds the problem, making the recourse to ‘fundraising’ a la bribery and corruption an essential way of life.

I was relieved to get back to Kananga after a week of life in the big city. I narrowly avoided being laid off my flight back to Kananga when the representative of the Director General for Migration at Kinshasa airport informed me that I would not be permitted to travel as I carried the wrong type of visa and did not have a mining permit (which, apparently all NGO workers involved in Primary Healthcare must carry in order to travel to Kananga).

The aforementioned office bearer continued that he would hold my passport until the plane took off, after which I would be free to leave the airport. There was however a get out clause: I could buy him a scratch card for his telephone in order that he could call his bosses to discuss my case. He refused to use my phone (my number was, of course not registered with the Director General!).

In this situation, I was mildly amused and I asked him to clarify: I was not permitted to travel, but if I purchased calling credit for his phone, he could facilitate my travel. I am afraid that this request for clarification ignited this officers simmering temper, he ordered me to leave the office, without my passport, by force, if necessary! I was summoned back to the great man after a long half hour. He handed me back my passport and explained that as I was assisting needy Congolese children that I would be permitted to travel. I was glad that I stood my ground!

So, good to be back in civilised Kananga. Here we may not have the vast array of bright lights and big city diversions…. We may not even have any electricity or running water, but when you have, the architectural grandeur of Belgium’s last ditch attempt at establishing its capital city in Kananga, clear skies, fair climate, and ‘Monolux’ the most up market joint in town, serving delicious chicken and chips in the strategic position directly on top of the petrol station… my choice will always be to be a resident of Kananga with the minimum necessary trips to Kinshasa.

Kinshasa not all bad though: 3615 the pizzeria is pretty good, although obviously the haunt of most of Kinshasa’s commercial sex workers. My big recommendations for Kinshasa are an evening run beside the Congo: the road is located in Gombe, and across the river (which is much smaller than I imagined), you can see the lights of Brazzaville in the twilight. The other top tip for all my Bollywood buddies is the Taj Tandoori, on the top floor of an ultra art deco apartment building, apparently constructed as a vantage point for the last Belgian King to be sovereign of the Congo Free State, a misnomer if ever I heard one.

Work stuff’s hectic. Lots to do, and some interesting results, judging from several emails form colleagues I am the latest in a long line of Aid worker avatars to be in Kananga. As one of my beloved cousins observed: it’s a funny old business we’re in!

first vision

Happy to introduce you to the Kananga chapter of Frog men and women....

its a kind of David and Goliath thing.....

Meanwhile south of the Equator....

in Kasai Occidental, as life in every other human community accelerates towards it's ever more self destructive, self obsessed point final, the people of Kananga are going about their quiet existence, trying not to hit the potholes in the main street, wondering when the next train will arrive from Lubumbashi, laden with everything a town of 1 million people needs to survive. The only thing that seems to function in the SNCC (Societe Nationale de Chemin de Fer de Congo) is a siren which announces, with Swiss German accuracy 7am, 1pm and 7pm. At first I thought it was some sort of air raid siren, but over the days, I have come to realise that its far more likely that George Bush would visit Kananga than there being a risk of an Aerial attack!

Thinking about it, I would prefer the former to the latter, in a sick kind of a way. I can't imagine anyone in this part of the world having the capability of orchestrating hi-tec Aerial combat which would be accurate enough to do any damage. A visit to Kananga by the most powerful man on the earth on the other hand would indubitably create more conflicts than it would solve.

Nothing much to report from Kananga this week; Elections for the new govenor of Kasai Occidental were halted when the electoral commission announced that the leading candidate was not a Congolese citizen: not only did he hold Belgian nationality, but a British passport (so no hope for my political career in this country). In the Province of Bas Congo a Christian group protested in the streets against corruption, which is refreshing, resulting in the Police shooting at the demonstrators and killing five, which is ghoulish and nauseating.

Having succeeded in an electoral process last November, which observers adjudged free and fair, Congo now has to work out a way to reverse decades of what Michela Wrong describes as kleptocracy in her book 'In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz.' (my very first Bohemian Frog Hunter recommendation!). Decades of corruption will be hard to reverse, we see that in our work here: a health care system robbed of any resources; NGO/Public sector interaction seen merely as a conduit for obtaining financial resources. In the light of this bleak economic reality however there is hope; we are succeeding in improving access to healthcare for communities living in remote underserved areas, we are increasing the availability of essential drugs and having an impact on reducing high risk deliveries and improving post natal care. Its easy in the Congo to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the poverty and the corruption: but for me personally, its about helping 'lame dogs over styles' to coin an old North of Ireland Presbyterian saying. Of course we can't change the world, of course we cant change the Congo, even the province. But if we can assist one community have better health care, assist one family to protect themselves against malaria by providing a net; then I think we are succeeding.

In a very little way.