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Congo-Kinshasa Safety?
Has anyone who has recently been to Kinshasa (or lives there) advise me
on current safety conditions and/or accomodation possibilities? I am a Ph.D. student planning a 6-week research trip in June and July 2005 to Congo-Kinshasa. (I will be meeting and interviewing various people who work for nonprofits and the government while there about their perspectives on the civil war and reconciliation, and DO NOT plan to leave Kinshasa during my stay). I have been told over and over by family / friends / colleagues that I am crazy for wanting to go to Kinshasa (particularly during the planned elections!), but I also know that security conditions "on the ground" are often very different than the official news. Any word from people who have recently been would be much appreciated. Thanks! -Sarah |
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"Sarah S" wrote in message ups.com... Has anyone who has recently been to Kinshasa (or lives there) advise me on current safety conditions and/or accomodation possibilities? I am a Ph.D. student planning a 6-week research trip in June and July 2005 to Congo-Kinshasa. (I will be meeting and interviewing various people who work for nonprofits and the government while there about their perspectives on the civil war and reconciliation, and DO NOT plan to leave Kinshasa during my stay). I have been told over and over by family / friends / colleagues that I am crazy for wanting to go to Kinshasa (particularly during the planned elections!), but I also know that security conditions "on the ground" are often very different than the official news. Any word from people who have recently been would be much appreciated. Thanks! -Sarah Hi Sarah: I'm in Kin, and have been here for 3 years and I can tell you whatever you want to know. First of all, don't believe all the hype. Its too bad you won't be leaving Kin during your time, as the surrounding countryside is much nicer, and safer, than town. If you do get a chance to get out of town, take it. Its the far east where you don't want to go, but thats about 1500 miles from here. Nontheless, I've been there also, and its even more stunning than I can describe, but these days the war has turned ugly again. Its currently safe, within well-defined boundaries. There are some standard precautions that are instinctual to folks who live here, and if you take them, you'll be fine. The local economy has improved (from hellish to just destitute), so its not as godlessly dangerous as it used to be a halfdozen years ago. Similarly, a lot of the dangers of a few years ago (like military roadblocks taking extortions, or enforced curfews) are now gone, and the roads are open and there are shops, restaurants and hotels. The big advice I can give you is to not draw too much attention to yourself, and you'll be fine. I see from your resume that you speak intermediate french; that will help. If you have some city 'street smarts' you'll be completely okay here. To help you with the 'local knowledge' and ease your worries, I'd contact one of the NGOs or missionary groups and see if you can arrange a driver and car for your time here. In fact, to get the most of your time, I'd say a car and driver are mandatory, unless you want more of a 'local experience' than most folks want. Maybe you can make some church contacts through your dad? It is volatile here, and if you do some rather arcane things, it can make for a bad situation, but these are avoidable. For example, there have been some street demonstrations against the UN, and during those times, the wiser white folks stay indoors and behind closed curtains for the day. When the street mobs get together, it becomes unpredictable and if you accidentally walk into a gathering, or try to drive through one, you could get mobbed and seriously hurt. They aren't out to be violent, but things can turn that way for no reason. On the other hand, if you actually have things to DO indoors (like work), you might not even know about the demonstrations going on across town, as they don't come looking for you. These 'demonstrations' take place about once every month, so they aren't really a defining aspect of daily life. They are usually ugly (burning tires, etc) but not violent. The same goes with giving people handouts when you are out and about. There are hundreds of orphaned kids and walking injured people on the streets asking for handouts, and if you give them something, then they will sense an opportunity, more will come around, and eventually you will have a small mob around you. This will draw attention, and that's when it gets unpredicatble. When I walk downtown (which is rare; I only walk from my car to the shop and back, but sometimes I'll walk a few blocks just to 'feel the vibe', like yesterday) I keep a stone face and say in Lingala "ne moyen tay" to the beggars (it means 'it aint gonna happen'). They get the sense that I'm a local, not a newbie that they can put the touch on, and they go away. Look at it like being in NYC: don't walk around with your mouth wide open, looking like a tourist, and you won't be targeted. I know it sounds horrible, insensitive and ugly-american elitist, but having a horribly thick skin is a necessity of being here. To give you a positive mental image, let me say that there are dozens of restaurants and cafes where you can sit, have a beer or a pizza, talk all day and enjoy the sights and sounds of Kin around you with no danger. The owners keep the panhandlers at bay, and you will have no idea that you are in a volatile city. Every day there are hundreds of people in suits and ties, briefcases and business attire doing their jobs. I often wander down by the river among the fishermen and locals, the military guys there know me (they call me 'le Prof') and I have no problems. As for the election time: that's anybodies guess. The elections are not going to happen in June, and either there will have been enough small demonstrations between now and then that the date passes unceremoniously, or its gonna hit the fan. The definition of the latter is that crowds will gather, probably stand around the Presidential palace and the ministries and shout stuff until the military comes out, fires a few rounds in the air, and everyone runs home, smashing a few windows and turning over a few cars in the process, then the city shuts down for a week or so. As some of the vice presidents (one in particular) are not opposed to armed conflict, its entirely possible that there could be some warfare...there has been open machine gunning in the streets twice in the past year, but you will certainly survive it, although it scares the bejesus out of you. However, the real problem will be that the airport will definately close down if there are riots, and you'll be stuck here, come hell or high water. Also, you won't be able to travel to the NGOs you wish to interview. Its really up in the air what will happen, but people stay through these things. There are really only three housing opportunities in town. The Grand Hotel, which is expensive and has both upscale and ramshackle accomodations, the Memling which is expensive and has mostly upscale accomodations, and being housed by a host family from a church group, an NGO or the Diplomatic corps. The Memling and Grand run about $150 a night, so a 6-week stay will be a small fortune. I can offer some alternatives if you need me to. I don't know enough of your situation to know what support network you have here, but to show up without any support (no hosting NGO or government body, no driver, etc) is tantamount to being a tourist, and there aren't any tourists here. You would find it difficult, at best, to arrange meetings with government officials, and even with your experience, you might find Kin intimidating. On the other hand, there are hundreds and hundreds of western workers, and life goes on without us getting killed or kidnapped. Yesterday, I went shopping, bought fresh eggs, bread and vegetables, got a haircut, had an omelette and cup of coffee at a local restaurant, and drove alone all over town. Two months ago, I hid in my apartment behind barbed wire with armed guards for a day while the demonstrations passed. Life in Kin. Its definately not Berkeley! Feel free to ask me absolutely anything about being here, I'm glad to help. --riverman (you can email me at yahoo.com. My username is myronbuck.) |
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Kinshasa has clearly changed a lot since I was there in 1993/1994. I
thought I'd dropped into hell :-) Mobuto was on his way out, the Rwandan genocide was going on etc. I spent a few days in Kin, then went on to Goma (full of refugees), and then to Kisangani, Mbandaka, Beni, and finally Bunia. I was hassled at every opportunity. Soldiers forced me to take photographs of them, then extroted money. The water supply in Kin dried up, and I spend three days in tropical heat with nothing more than a trickle of brown water (but plenty of Primus and Tembu) In Bunia I probably ate more insect protein than any other protein, as the food was crawling with bugs. There was just no way to avoid it. I can honestly say that I've never been so relieved to get out of a country. And I've done quite a lot of African travel, most of it rough. I will probably have to visit on business in the next few weeks/months, so I read your posting with great interest. I am greatly releived to hear that I might have a better experience this time :-) Marc On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 12:25:40 +0100, "riverman" wrote: SNIP Life in Kin. Its definately not Berkeley! Feel free to ask me absolutely anything about being here, I'm glad to help. --riverman (you can email me at yahoo.com. My username is myronbuck.) |
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"Marc Lurie" wrote in message ... Kinshasa has clearly changed a lot since I was there in 1993/1994. I thought I'd dropped into hell :-) Mobuto was on his way out, the Rwandan genocide was going on etc. I spent a few days in Kin, then went on to Goma (full of refugees), and then to Kisangani, Mbandaka, Beni, and finally Bunia. I was hassled at every opportunity. Soldiers forced me to take photographs of them, then extroted money. The water supply in Kin dried up, and I spend three days in tropical heat with nothing more than a trickle of brown water (but plenty of Primus and Tembu) In Bunia I probably ate more insect protein than any other protein, as the food was crawling with bugs. There was just no way to avoid it. I can honestly say that I've never been so relieved to get out of a country. And I've done quite a lot of African travel, most of it rough. I will probably have to visit on business in the next few weeks/months, so I read your posting with great interest. I am greatly releived to hear that I might have a better experience this time :-) Marc I have posted a series of articles called "Life in Congo" on another newsgroup, and at www.getlostmagazine.com. I found that there was basically no info about Kinshasa out there, so I documented my arrival and enculturalization process over the past few years. You might find it interesting reading. Meanwhile, you can ask me about stuff before you arrive, if you wish. We could even meet for a beer, as your replies to my posts about Zimbabwe were quite helpful, too. --riverman |
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I'd be very happy to meet for a beer (or two) IF/WHEN I get there. I'm
still in negotiation phase with my Congolese colleagues, but I'm fairly confident that I will get the go ahead to travel to Kin. I'm going to have a good look at your articles. Regards, Marc I have posted a series of articles called "Life in Congo" on another newsgroup, and at www.getlostmagazine.com. I found that there was basically no info about Kinshasa out there, so I documented my arrival and enculturalization process over the past few years. You might find it interesting reading. Meanwhile, you can ask me about stuff before you arrive, if you wish. We could even meet for a beer, as your replies to my posts about Zimbabwe were quite helpful, too. --riverman |
#6
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I'd be very happy to meet for a beer (or two) IF/WHEN I get there. I'm
still in negotiation phase with my Congolese colleagues, but I'm fairly confident that I will get the go ahead to travel to Kin. I'm going to have a good look at your articles. Regards, Marc I have posted a series of articles called "Life in Congo" on another newsgroup, and at www.getlostmagazine.com. I found that there was basically no info about Kinshasa out there, so I documented my arrival and enculturalization process over the past few years. You might find it interesting reading. Meanwhile, you can ask me about stuff before you arrive, if you wish. We could even meet for a beer, as your replies to my posts about Zimbabwe were quite helpful, too. --riverman |
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Hi Sarah,
As luck would have it, I had to suddenly go to Kinshasa on very short notice this week. The notice was so short that I was not even able to come to work and send an E-mail to "Riverman" that I was coming!!! That was a pity 'cos it would have been really good to meet for a beer. My impressions were very favourable. As I've said, I was last there in 1994, and the place has changed dramatically for the better. There appears to be real progress, and the city appears to be functioning fairly well. There is still a lot of typical African big city grime, poverty etc. but there are businesses open, bakeries working, enterprises flourishing, a good cellular telephone network, internet access, and only one power failure in four days. What a contrastt to the Kinshasa of 9 years ago... Obviously, there are still enormous problems facing the country in general, but I was told that Kinshasa is a safe city by African standards, and that almost everything that yuo might require is available somewhere, albeit at a somewhat inflated price :-) Eating in good (western style and up-market Afro style) restaurants is expensive, but the food is generaly good quality. Regards, Marc On 27 Feb 2005 23:07:28 -0800, "Sarah S" wrote: Has anyone who has recently been to Kinshasa (or lives there) advise me on current safety conditions and/or accomodation possibilities? I am a Ph.D. student planning a 6-week research trip in June and July 2005 to Congo-Kinshasa. (I will be meeting and interviewing various people who work for nonprofits and the government while there about their perspectives on the civil war and reconciliation, and DO NOT plan to leave Kinshasa during my stay). I have been told over and over by family / friends / colleagues that I am crazy for wanting to go to Kinshasa (particularly during the planned elections!), but I also know that security conditions "on the ground" are often very different than the official news. Any word from people who have recently been would be much appreciated. Thanks! -Sarah |
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Thanks so much, Marc and Riverman for the helpful information! It has
been *incredibly* useful as there is so little public info available on travel to Congo-Kinshasa. The articles Riverman published (link above) were also great. I am looking forward to being there in June. Appreciatively, Sarah |
#9
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Thanks so much, Marc and Riverman for the helpful information! It has
been *incredibly* useful as there is so little public info available on travel to Congo-Kinshasa. The articles Riverman published (link above) were also great. I am looking forward to being there in June. Appreciatively, Sarah |
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