Le mois de juin

Cher tout le monde,

Apologies for my extreme lack of posting. My post rate seems to be at one per month right now. I’ll try to get that number up in the future. I recently purchased a computer so the updates should be a bit more frequent from now on. 

The last month has been fairly routine for me. I haven't taken any recent trips for work, because we are having some funding problems. In the mornings I go to the office of the NGO I work with PPR, where I work on french and various other things with some of my colleagues. Around 1 or 2, I leave the office and buy lunch which I to take the MCC office. I used to eat lunch at the PPR office, but I don't do that anymore because nobody else there eats lunch and I don't want to be the only one eating. I think most Congolese eat in the morning, in the afternoon around 4 or 5 when they return from work, and then maybe a third time between 7 and 10 and night. It's also generally seen as very poor manners to eat alone or in public. One of my Congolese friends once told me, I don't want to eat alone like a wizard. People find it very strange if they see me eating something while I walk to work. Food is something that is supposed to be shared.

After lunch I sit around the office napping or listening to the radio until 3 (or 15 as they say here, I'm not sure why but they use military time). From 3 to 4 I have a French lesson with my teacher Oscar. We often talk about Congolese history and politics. This week he showed me video that accuses Congolese President Joseph Kabila of being a Tutsi and not the real son of Laurant Kabila. Laurant Kabila was president of the Congo from 1997 to 2001. He was assassinated under suspicious circumstances. The assassin killed himself leaving his motive and potential accomplices unknown. Joseph Kabila, Laurant's son quickly consolidated power, and has managed to say in control of the Congo since then. For those who don't know what Tutsi means, it's a complicated ethnic identity that many Congolese see the way that some Americans might view Muslims. Google it if you want to know more. I'm fairly sure that the whole thing is simple a rumor. It reminds me of the rumor in the United States that Obama is a Muslim. I think the emotions behind the accusation, particularly the idea that Kabila is an outsider who isn't particularly concerned with the well being of him country and fairly valid. I just don't think the facts add up.

After work I go home. Two of my parents sons came home from school a few weeks ago. The older one, named Deni goes to college in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where he is studying to become an architect. The younger one, David, goes to a high school a few hours from Bukavu. They are both home for the summer. I'm happy to have them around because it takes some of the paternal pressure off me (my Congolese host parents are very paternal). They also both speak English and are generally enjoyable to be around. My weekends are filled with various activities. I went to a wedding last weekend and will maybe go to another this weekend. I've also been playing bass at my church, where we had a concert a few weeks ago.

I recently got the chance to do some hiking with friends in Kahuzi-Biega national park. We were planning to do a fairly long hike to the top of a peak called Mount Kahuzi. Unfortunately, there was a patrol being done that day (people scouting for armed groups). This was disappointing, but we still got to do a shorter hike to see a couple of waterfalls. Even on this hike, we had to be accompanied by two armed guards (because there are armed groups in the forests). This probably sounds intense but I never felt insecure during the hike. I think it’s pretty uncommon for them to have any trouble, but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s unfortunate that the area cannot be more secure because it’s really beautiful.   

Serge, me, Mark, Ben, and Safari at the first waterfall. My pants are a bit wet from the mist.

Mark preparing to leave the second waterfall.

We were accompanied by a couple of armed guards during our hike, a necessary precaution because of the armed groups that live in the forests. 

This is a peninsula in Bukavu called the boot. There are a number of good store in the area. I've heard rumors of a place with a tennis court but I've never actually seen it. 

This is a picture of the papaya tree that grows in my host parents back yard. I've been told that someone who works for them climbs the tree to get the papayas, but I'm not sure how he does it. They also have a couple of orange trees (the oranges are actually green) and a plantain tree. As far as I can tell, the trees produce fruit pretty much year round. 

This is one of the guy who works for my host parents rounding up the goats and bringing them back into the compound. He takes them out into the street everyday so they can eat the grass on the side of the road. They live in a pen behind my room (I can see them from my bathroom window). They occasionally make noise but not as much as the chickens that crow in the early hours of the morning. I usually sleep through it anyway. 

Last Thursday, June 30th was Congolese independence day. This is the day that Congo gained it's independence from the Belgians and became the Republic of the Congo. This unfortunately plunged the country into a civil war influence by both cold war powers (the US and Russia) eventually leading to the rise of Mobutu and his 30 year dictatorship of what became known as Zaire. No matter how you view the countries independence, it's still a very important day in Congolese history. This song was written prior to the vote for independence and became one of the first pan african hits. It's also one of the first examples of Congolese Rumba. It's also a good song to play at your American independence day party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y6BjNJD0ZM

I guess I've been slacking a bit on the posts. Its been a busy time but the Congo is starting to feel a bit more like home. It's hard to believe I've been here for almost 3 months now.

Earlier this month, I went on a mission to Goma and Minova with PPR. Goma is a city a little bit smaller than Bukavu on the north tip of Lake Kivu (Bukavu is on the southern tip). There is a road between Goma and Bukavu, but the most common way to travel between the two cities is by boat. I had the pleasure of taking one of the slow boats (Emanuel II) which takes about 6 hours. It's a nice slow ride where you get to see the lake and enjoy some lunch along the way. I was greeted at the dock in Goma by my two friends and co-seeders Aaron and Grachet. I stayed with them plus Elodie and Michelle at their house in Goma. It was a great chance to catch up with all of them and see the city of Goma. Goma is a nice city, a little more spread out than Bukavu, at the base of a big volcano. The streets of the city are littered with volcanic rock from the last time the volcano erupted (I believe sometime in the last 10 years). In addition to my time in Goma, I went on a mission to Minova and Kalehe to learn about the work of PPR. We took a number of refugees from Minova to a CNAR office. CNAR is a Congolese organization that PPR partners with, that repatriates Rwandan refugees.  

Since my time in Goma, I've been hanging around Bukavu working on my language skills, learning more about the region, and slowly carving out a role for myself in my work. My schedual has become somewhat routine, which is nice. I wake up around 7:30 and eat breakfast. Breakfast usually consists of potage (potato soup), bread, coffee or tea, and maybe a banana or a slice of papaya. On a special day, I might put some nutella on the bread. After breakfast, I leave for the office, usually arriving between 8:30 and 9. At the office, I sit around chating with my co-workers, reading news and other things in french or English, and listening to podcasts (generally things focused on the Congo). At various and seemingly random times throughout the day, people will come get me for meetings amongst PPR staff or with one of PPR's local partners. Most of my job at this point is just listening and learning. My french getting pretty good, but détails can still be difficult. Hopefully, I will start to become more useful in the next few months.

After work, I usually either go to an internet cafe or go home. If I go to the cafe I work on this blog or watch videos on youtube (usually things making fun of Donald Trump). I typically get home around 5 or 6. Then I eat dinner with my host parents and spend the rest of the night reading, listening to the radio, or watching tv with my host parents. My mom likes to watch an American preacher named Joyce Meyer. The other night, while we were watching her preach (translated into french) the words "Denver, Colorado" suddenly popped up at the bottom of the screen. I then realized that she was standing on the stage of the Pepsi Center. For those who don't know, the Pepsi Center is an event center in downtown Denver. I was there a few months ago when I went to a Denver Nuggets game. There is something surreal about watching a piece of home on tv halfway around the world.  

My Saturdays are usually spent wandering around the city, reading, and playing ultimate frizbee. There is a group of Egyptian guys we usually play with, who all work for MONUCO (the UN Peacekeeping mission in the Congo). They like to yell at each other in Arabic, which for some reason makes the game much more exciting. On Sundays I usually sleep in the mornings, and go to an English church service in the afternoon.

On the way to Minova, we ran into a spot where the road was flooded with water. There were people working to fill in the spot with dirt. There was also a group of people pushing a bus that had tried to drive through and gotten stuck in the middle. I felt very sorry for all these people. Luckily, our 4 Wheel drive pick up made it through without too much trouble. What can you do but laugh? The truck was probably 3 or 4 feet deep in water here.  

This is a picture of the country side on the way back to Goma from Minova. The guys I was with bought a big thing of plantains, because they are cheaper in the countryside. It was encouraging to see powerlines out there, because they seem to be uncommon outside of the cities.

This is back in Bukavu. A picture of lake Kivu close to my house.

Another neighborhood in Bukavu

This is a small park like area just outside of Bukavu called quinze kilometre (15 kilometers). I spent a nice afternoon here with my church here last Tuesday, which was a Holiday. We ate lunch (fries, salad, and Goat) and sat around talking. I had to smile when the servers brought out a case of Primus (the national beer of Congo). It was a very nice time.





The political situation in the Congo has slowly escalated over the past month. I don't want to say too much about the specifics, but if you're curious, you can learn a lot by googling "Congo", and you can email me at jacobmartin@mcc.org if you have any questions. If your someone who prays, now is a very good time to pray for the Congo. It seems like things are going to get pretty real throughout this election cycle. I could maybe also say that about America right now. I hope everyone reading this pays very close attention to this election, and uses their right to vote.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope everyone is doing well. Here are a couple songs that I like. I think the first guy is french but I'm not sure. The second video is a Congolese-Dutch artist that lives in the Netherlands. There are a number of famous European artists that come from that Congo or Central Africa in general.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ2Ob0Uuk68

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK0CytIm0Ak

Buhrinyi, PPR, et le Autre Choses

I'm now into my third week of working with PPR. Most of what I've been doing so far is training and learning about thé organization. I went on a field mission last week to the town of Burhinyi, which was excited. Burhinyi is about 3 hours south west of Bukava by truck. This is not like three house in the United States, because you can't drive 70 to  80 miles per hour on dirt roads filled with holes. People still tend to drive as fast as they can, but it usually takes a little longer to get places. Nevertheless, it was a nice drive and I got to see the beautiful countryside of Bukavu. Burhinyi is a small town high up in the mountains. It's a bit chilly and foggy, and really beautiful. It would be a great place to live, if the FDLR didn't live in the forests on the other side of the mountain. We stayed in a small guesthouse without electricity for the two nights we were there. 

This week, I'm participating in a training seminar with other PPR staff members, focused on negotiation strategies. The seminar is led by a two students from Harvard law school, who are accompanied by a teacher. They're teaching us a style called open negotiation, that tries to consider the needs of both parties. So far, it's been a really interesting seminar, and I'm looking forward to the last day tomorrow.

I'm also adjusting to a new housing situation this week, because I moved out of my old house and into the home of my host parents last weekend. I've spent a couple weekends with them before, but now I will be living with them for a couple of months. I've been enjoying their cooking (they usually insist on me eating as much as humanly possible) and watching African sitcoms and french game shows with my mom.  

A picture of the hospital in Burhinyi. There are big valleys between the mountain ridges.

Moise was my partner on the trip to Burhinyi and he is the head animator at PPR. Germain, who is working on the car, was our driver. We had some car problems but we got there and back okay.

I'm writing this post from an internet cafe right next to a central market in Bukavu. I was here yesterday too, and there was some protesting and conflict going on outside. Moto drivers in this area often have conflicts with the police, because they are not supposed to stop to let off or pick up passengers. While I was using the computer there was a group of people watching the fighting from a balcony (the cafe is on the second floor). A cop sprayed some kind of gas towards us that filled the whole cafe. Everybody was coughing and my nose started to run and burn a bit, but it went away after 5 or 10 minutes. In the moments that I watched, the cops got pretty physically agressive with the drivers. It's hard for me to tell if this sort of thing is normal or related to the upcoming elections. My friend Moise (not the one who works for PPR, but the one who is in Seed) told me a few weeks ago that he thought protests and tentions related to the election would start to rise in May. I guess it's May now. Who knows what will happen?

That's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well.

Un peu de historire

Orientation has been over for a while now. Aaron, Grachet, Elodie, and Michelle, are living in Goma where they will be for the next two years. I've spent the last few weeks reading books and working on my french. I'm going to try and pass on some of the small understanding of the Congo and Central Africa that I've gained.

It's hard for me to judge where exactly the Congo is politically right now. The president of the Congo, Joseph Kabila has been in power since 2001, 10 days after his father, Laurant Kabila, was assassinated. The Congo was in the midst of a massive war at this time, involving 9 different African countries. Kabila worked with the international community to create some amount of stability and set up "democratic elections." He was elected president in 2006 and again in 2011. His second five year term is about to come to a close, meaning there is technically supposed to be an election this year. There have been various efforts to stall, and there is a lot of doubt as to whether or not the election will actually happen. The constitution clearly states that a president can only serve two terms and that elections must happen this year. Of course, this constitution was written with a lot of help from the international community. Who knows whether or not it will be respected. I'm not sure what will happen this November, but it's hard for me to imagine Kabila giving up power willingly. From what I've learned so far, this is pretty normal in Africa. 

I've recently read two books that have been very helpful in understanding Congolese and African Politics. One of the books is called The Sacrifice of Africa: A Political Theology for Africa. This book is written by Emmanuel Katongole, a Ugandan catholic priest. He writes about the history of colonialism that haunts Africa today, and the way that stories propel this despair. He also talks about the need for imagination and vision in creating a better for Africa, calling on the church to provide this vision. The other book is called "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters," and it's written by Jason K. Sterns. This book chronicles the recent history of War and Violence in the Congo. It's a great read for anyone trying to understand the modern Congo and central Africa in General. The title comes from a quote by the late former president Laurant Kabila, who said something along the lines of, "I saw you all dancing in the glory of the monster." The monster Kabila is referring to is Mobutuism, the culture of greed and corruption propelled by the former Congolese president/dictator, Joseph-Desire Mobutu. To truly comprehend the meaning of Kabila's statement, it's important to understand the colonial history that created the current Congo state.

The Congo Free State was created on June 1, 1885. The name was a lie, created by the man who schemed his way into personal ownership of the Congo, King Leopold II of Belgium. Claiming to be acting in the interest of humanitarianism, Leopold spent the next 23 years draining the Congo for every bit of wealth that he could squeeze out of it. In his wake, he left nothing but horror. An estimated 10 million people died. 100 years later, the Congo is a new place, but King Leopold's Ghost still seems to haunt the Congolese people. Various governments have come and gone, but the same system of ruling through fear and greed has remained. This is the culture that Kabila refers to in his statement. The monster is a culture of greed and fear, propelled by a king thousands of miles away on a quest for power and wealth.

In a recent interview with Pierre Englebert, Sterns discusses this problem. Englebert recently released an article talking about decentralization in the Congo. This has been an idea in African politics since the 1990's. The hope is that by giving more power to the provinces, Africans might find more accountability in their local governments. Decentralization was a major part of the plan in 2006, when the new government and the new constitution were created. Unfortunately, central leaders in the Congo were generally uninterested in giving up power, and the system of decentralization didn't end up working very well. Englebert concludes in his paper that decentralization probably hurt the Congo more then it helped. The interview gave me the impression that the actual structure of the government is not as important as the integrity of the government. He then went on to acknowledge the culture of greed and corruption in the Congo. He made an important distinction, which is that he is not making an attack on the character of the Congolese as individuals. It's not easy to be a person of integrity anywhere, but in the Congo it is especially difficult because corruption is so rampant. Some say it's impossible to survive in the Congo without being a little corrupt.  

As I've come to understand the trend of African leaders refusing to give up power, I've asked myself, why is this so much easier in the United States? The answer as far as I can tell is fairly simple; George Washington set the precedent that after two terms, a president steps down and hands over power to whoever is chosen. Thanks George Washington. I wonder if he knew that almost 250 years later, that precedent would still be followed. This takes us back to Emmanuel Katongole, and one of the essential points of his book. He writes, "who we are, and who we are capable of becoming, depends very much on the stories we tell, the stories we listen to, and the stories we live." In this case, the story of George Washington and his presidency has shaped our country for generations. Unfortunately, the Congo has also been shaped by the many stories of colonialism. I hope for the future of the Congo that this story can be changed. I also hope that all the people reading this remember the power of their actions and words. The stories we tell with our lives create the future. Let us pray that it is a good one.




That probably all sounds pretty grim, but there is a lot of good stuff that happens here too. The DRC is a magical country with a strange feeling of beauty, and a lot of really good music. I'm continually impressed by what I hear on the radio. This is probably the most popular song in the country right now. Everyone always gets excited when they hear it. The word that he says a lot in the chorus is a Lingala word that means "it didn't go it." People like to shout this word whenever a player misses a goal in a soccer game.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fYV6ul5Mrc


That's all for now. I'm starting an orientation with PPR tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, but I think it will go well. I hope everyone is doing well.