Missive from the Congo 020

This week’s missive is about Rwanda. Last weekend being a long weekend (Easter), five of us drove to Kigali, Rwanda for a change of scenery. In this missive I will discuss some of the similarities and differences between Rwanda and the Congo.

Someone, I don’t remember who, when referring to Rwanda, called it the “Switzerland of Africa”. The metaphor is apt. Rwanda is tiny. It has a total area of approximately 25 million square kilometres or about half the size of Nova Scotia. As with Switzerland, Rwanda’s neighbours are much larger. In comparison the Congo is almost 100 times larger than Rwanda. Rwanda is also very hilly. It is referred to in French as “le pays des milles collines”. The entire west and center of the country is mountains. It took three hours to drive from Goma to Kigali and the entire time was spent climbing and descending mountain passes. As an indication of how much up, down and around the road does, the distance from Goma to Kigali as the crow flies is 106 km but the actual road distance is 155 km. That’s a 50% premium. Needless to say it was an exciting drive in darkness.



New pavement in central Kigali



Having said that, one of the first things you notice the relative quality of the roads. The entire road between Gisenyi (the town on the Rwandan side of the border) and Kigali is paved, as are all the major roads in Kigali. Moreover the pavement is not leftover stuff from colonial days like much of the pavement in the Congo. It’s relatively recent and in good condition. In fact they were laying some fresh pavement while were there. The road east of Kigali to Akagera National Park was also well paved, at least up to the town just outside the park. Now to be fair, the side streets in Kigali weren’t any better than those in Kinshasa. Nonetheless there is a very significant contrast between Kinshasa and Kigali.

The means used to get around town in either city are pretty similar. Generally that involves collective taxis (mini buses), motorcycles and bicycles. The main difference though is quality. The vehicles in Kigali appear to be in good order. The relatively good condition of the roads helps keep them that way I’m sure. There are also a great number of motorbikes, as with Goma. Again the difference is quality. The motorbike taxis in Kigali appear to be regulated. The drivers have jackets with some kind of numbering scheme. All drivers have helmets and a spare helmet for the passenger. No such luxuries in Goma. There were also some “normal” taxis in Kigali. Again no such luxury in Goma and I don’t remember seeing any in Kinshasa.





Public service announcement



Finally, the thing that struck me the most is the language. Rwanda is a former German colony that was part of what was known as German East Africa. Following the end of WWI, the League of Nations declared Rwanda a mandate territory under the control of Belgium. As such, Rwanda became a mostly French speaking country. However, there is now a decidedly English bent to the country. The clerks, wait staff and others seemed determined to speak English instead of French. Public service announcements were in both Swahili (I assume) and English. I saw relatively few French signs, and those seemed relatively older. One of my fellow travelers, who has worked with a Dutch non-governmental organisation, said there was conscious public policy decision to shift to English. English is now taught in schools to a greater degree than French and as mentioned above many of the public service messages are in English as opposed to French. It is apparently intended as a deliberate break from the past.

All in all, Rwanda was a rather interesting study in contrasts. I don’t know how Rwanda and the Congo compared before the Rwandan genocide and subsequent African wars but they have surely drifted apart now.

Missives from the Congo 019

So I've been in Goma for a little less than a week though I've already spent two nights out of town in Bukavu which is at the other end of lake Kivu. Like the other major cities I've been to (Kinshasa, Kisangani, Kindu and now Bukavu) Goma has it's own personality. The first thing you notice is the weather. Goma is 1,500 m above sea level in the mountains of the central African plateau. It is cool here. The average daily high in 25 degrees and the low is about 15 degrees. So perfect weather in my books. There is no air conditioning at the house and you need a blanket on the bed. The altitude also means many fewer mosquitoes though we still sleep under the bug nets.

The other significant difference is the roads. The roads in Goma are atrocious. The is largely because of Nyiragongo, the volcano just 20 kilometers out of town. The entire town is built on more or less recent lava flows. The flows are hard, irregular and jagged. It is very difficult to create a smooth road surface on the lava flows. They cover the base with generous amounts of crushed stone and stone dust but some of it invariably washes away with the rains, leaving potholes with jagged lava rock sticking out. It's tough on the suspension and worse on the tires.

The availability of food and restaurants is much greater in Goma than in Kisangani four years ago. It rivals Kinshasa but at a lesser cost. More on this in a later missive.



Finally, Goma has a more eclectic mix of vehicles on the road. There are many more cars than in Kisangani but not the crush of vehicles you see in Kinshasa. There are also many motor bikes and, unique to the Goma area, chickadoos. These are like oversized wooden bikes mainly used to carry stuff around. Driving is ever a challenge in the Congo. Goma is no different in that respect.

All and all Goma is living up to its' reputation as the best place to be in the Congo.

Missive from the Congo 018

Boulevard 30 Juin, Kinshasa

So this is my last day in Kinshasa for quite a while. I take off to Goma tomorrow AM so my impressions of Goma will have to wait until next week. So this week I’ll talk about life in Kinshasa a little more. Last week I said that time seemed to have passed Kinshasa by. While much have remained unchanged in the last four years, after being for ten days or so, I have to admit that there has been some changes. The most noticeable change is Boulevard du 30 Juin. This is the main boulevard in Kinshasa. While is it was one of the better roads fours years ago, it has been rehabilitated with assistance from China. New pavement. New drainage. And new lightposts. It’s as good as any road in Ottawa, actually better than most. There is also construction along an extension of 30 Juin to widen the street and improve drainage.

Collective taxi

Another, more subtle change is in the number of what were referred to by the Canadians four years ago as “spidermen”. These are the guys, and they are invariably men, who hang off the back or sides of the collectives taxis. Four years ago they were everywhere, often four or five to a vehicle. Now I’ve seen a few but they are few and far behind. I mentioned the “spidermen” to my tour guide while on safari in Kenya four years ago. He said that the same thing occurred in Kenya until the government cracked down on this patently dangerous practice. I don’t know if that is the explanation for the change or something else but it is progress of sorts.



One other thing I noticed is that there seems to be more fitness clubs. Four years ago I was only aware of two places; the Grand Hotel and Elais. Now, there are at least two others and perhaps more. There are also bank machines. In fact the banking system has developed to the point there UN staff posted to major cities are now have their mission subsistence allowance paid to a local bank.



So I guess Kinshasa has seen some progress. It still has a very long way to go to be a liveable city for more than an very small minority but some is better than none.

Missive from the Congo 017

So here we go with the first missive of this my second tour to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The trip over was the usual very long day. The icing on the cake, after the seven hour flight from Paris, was the three hour drive to Canada House. This is a drive that normally takes less than one hour. However there was a rugby match which clogged up the only route from the airport tight. A one point there was eight lanes of traffic on a two lane road. The main cause was oncoming traffic turning left at an unregulated intersection. Some things never change.


In fact change does not seem to have troubled Kinshasa too much these last four years. I didn’t spend all that much time in Kinshasa last time but there is precious that appears to have changed. There are still vendors on the sides of the roads selling, watches, purses, clocks, maps, office furniture, safes, etc. In fact, if there is a market for it, you can probably buy it on the streets here.

Canada House "Blue"

One thing that has changed is Canada House. The size of the contingent in Kinshasa increased by two persons so Canada House had to change. The Canadians here currently rent two three story condos in a small three building compound. There are five bedrooms in each house. I am currently in one of the spare rooms on the third floor, at the top of a very narrow and steep spiral staircase, with steps whose spacing is ever so slightly out of whack. It’s clearly a sobriety test.

The introduction course to the mission starts Wednesday and runs for five and a half days. In it I will get to cover most everything I covered previously at least three times with the possible exception of the course on sexually transmitted diseases. They didn’t cover the use of condoms in Kingston. I believe the highlight of this week will be the English language proficiency test. Can’t wait.

Stair to the third floor

Finally, as many of you know there was an unfortunate airplane craft on Monday. I won’t speculate on the cause of the crash. The investigation will reveal that in due course. I will ask though that, should something like this happen again, you not panic or get anxious. There are tens of thousands of UN and UN-affiliated personnel here. The odds that I would be involved in any specific accident are remote at best. It is also likely that I would be unaware of the accident for hours or days and may not have ready access to the internet to post something to Facebook. So relax. Your stress won’t change a thing except make you feel anxious and lose your appetite. There’s no need for that.


That’s it for this week. Next week, first impressions of Goma.