Opposés contradictions
30 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in DRC
Take one, Take two. This scene is full of opposites and contradictions.
Driving along the large 8 lane boulevards I double take because at any given intersection cars circulate in all directions…Traffic lights have been installed within in the last few months but as our driver Papa Alfonse says: people don’t respect them; they have to learn. As a passenger I always let my eyes wander and inspect each passing car, I check out the driver, the car model, the funny fur dash boards…everything is pretty normal, SUV, shitty bus, SUV, taxi, SUV…Except until l notice that every other car is a right sided steering wheel…Its fascinating because really anything goes in Kinshasa and apparently cars from Dubai are newer, nicer, cheaper and righty steering wheels (as opposed to those whiney Peugeots from Europe). Apparently its not confusing, just a question of habit.
DRC is considered central Africa and so is not part of the oh so stable CFA, here they have the Congolese Franc one that has fluctuated so much that there was a time when you needed a bucket load of bills just to buy some bread. So to stabilize the economy the generous United States of America has lent their currency so that Congo is a bilingual financial market. Any given bill or price tag can come in dollars or francs, you can pay in one or the other or a combination of them both. Paying in dollars is always at a loss of a few hundred francs though, yet impossible to avoid.
Like manyAfrican nations the beers here are very large and not very good. A regular sized beer is 720ml and is usually a dollar but can cost up to four depending on the bar. A lovely been called Mützig is only available in small bottles (considered regular size by Canadian standards) but is the same price as the big ones. So drink less, pay more.
Ordering grilled fish turns out to be deep fried fish…One four local yogurts costs 500F (.50cents) and four imported yogurts cost $9.00. Local tomatoes cost anywhere from 200F to 2000F depending on where you buy them.
Rent costs on average two to three thousand dollars per month yet the majority of people make no more than a couple hundred dollars a month. DRC is one of the most resource rich countries in the world and yet one of the poorest.
King Leopold reigned over this country for decades and yet never set foot here; the contradictions persist.
In The Kin
03 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in DRC
After 36 hours of travel we arrived in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city. We arrived precisely at 18h05 the expected time but of course some of our bags did not complete the journey with us. While waiting to take off in Paris I diligently watched as Steffen’s back pack was left ignored on a trolley. All the other bags were loaded into the underbelly of our Air Bus but not his…the flight attendant assured me if would surely be loaded. After two hours of increasing jittery jostling people began sticking their anxious heads out the baggage conveyer belt flaps to locate their belongings (suspected stolen or tampered with). Both of us got one bag and we finally filed our claims and resolving to come back Saturday. Our boss Papa Noël picked us up and pretended he didn’t mind the wait although he had worked all day and worked his way through some traumatizing traffic.
We found our hotel, a meal and a bed, not to stir for 12 hours. We of course were picked up no later than 13h to go to work for the afternoon…sounds horrible but we supposed it was better than lying in bed all day. The office is conveniently located next to the President Kabila’s private office…this is quite something given that the election is in two months from now. There seems to be an excellent security plan in place which consists of floating us across to Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Democratic one in which I find myself). However the whole security issue seems like it still needs to be panned out. Upon pressing P-N for info regarding who to call in case of emergency he explained everything and said he’d have the contact info for us before he leaves for Montreal next week.
Over the weekend we were meant to be taken on a tour of the city and then to see the Bonobos but after about 3 hours in the truck (we had recuperated our bags no problem) we were then sent to pick up the boss’s son at the airport. Why we had to go along is a mystery but it did give us a chance to be traumatized by the midday traffic. All in all we spent 9 hours in the car. Granted we ended up having a lovely dinner on the Congo River, but it was not exactly how you would imagine your first Saturday in Kinshasa.
However, we are quick learning that spending a day in a car here is quite typical; this city is crawling with SUVs, mini pick up trucks, vans and buses. There are giant 8-lane boulevards with street lights and traffic lights that count down from 88. Walking this evening we were nearly run down twice, of course they swerved but there was definitely the feeling that it was intentional…The feeling of white supremacy and colonialism is still extremely present and the separation is devastating. It is as though since independence there has been no integration of blacks and whites that resulted in anything but big walls with barbed wire. People seemed shocked to see us walk to the super market—it’s not dangerous in broad daylight and a block away from our hotel—but it’s simply not done. In fear of my legs turning to rubber and perhaps some habits from Cameroon I refuse to call our chauffeur for such a task.
We have already found the Kin Market where no white people shop and the prices are slightly more reasonable—note this city is far more expensive even than London England! Rent is around $2000/mth, a box of Bran cereal is $20 and gas is the same as in Toronto.
So far we feel excited to be here, pleased with the office, confused with many things and cooped up in a shitty little hotel room that regularly has water and power loss…Luckily we love each other’s company and know that things can only improve!
Vive la coopération!
