In The Kin

03 Oct 2011 1 Comment

by Rebe 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!