2: Rogers with Suzanna, in green, & her friend, also came over to greet me!
20 Aug. 2012: Monday:
This was a HUGE day for me,....the day I met my 'Protocol', Tom Lindquist, at the Congo border, and crossed over into the Congo. Tom & his wife Kathy, had grown up with me in the Belgian Congo as missionaries' kids, over 50 years ago. They continue to travel from Florida to Congo to work with Berean churches,-at least 3 times a year. I really respect their commitment!! They maintain a sort of Guest House in the border city of Bukavu. But, I'm getting ahead of myself,.....
I had goose bumps the size of eggs(!) as Tom & I stopped at the small, dingy Immigration Building on the Congo side of the border. Tom knows some of them, and is fluent in Swahili, English, French, and Kilega,..so things went smoothly. I had to 'appear' before a lady official for her to 'approve' me into Congo. After clearing Customs on the Congo side, we walked up the hill, and took a taxi to Tom's apartment., in Bukavu, Congo. I had traversed this road many, many times before, and frankly, not much had changed.....
We were met by Kathy,-Tom's wife; Renee,-their daughter; Baby Ella,-Renee's daughter; and, Basodecki,-their housekeeper/cook/jack of all trades. We climbed rickety old stairs to their apartment on the 3rd floor. Their place had a living room, dining space, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, hallway, and a kitchen. On the street side was an open balcony overlooking one of the busiest and noisiest streets in Bukavu. We shared many, many good times, as we renewed old friendships, and caught up with each other's lives. Bukavu Town has about 3/4M people,....-I say 'about' because there is no such thing as a census count, ever! Basodecki served us eggs, coffee, juice, & toast for breakfast, while we enjoyed laughing & talking. This building was built by the Belgians, again over 50 years ago.
One 'downer' right away: you must be VERY careful regarding taking pictures in the Congo. In fact, in all of Africa they do NOT want you taking pictures of airports, planes, police, government buildings, soldiers,..you get the drift! Naturally, I was dying to take a "ton" of pictures!! Often, visitors have been arrested, detained for 3 days in jail,-with no food nor water,-and fined $500 for "not having the proper photo permit!" Never mind that a 'photo permit' doesn't exist in the first place,-this is just one of the many ways to extort $$ from visitors. Anyway, I had to be very careful about pictures. What I have I was able to sneak with my cell phone, or get permission before shooting the picture,(not always an easy thing to do). My hosts 'protocol' preferred I just keep the camera out of sight, having seen too much trouble from cameras.
After breakfast, I 'snuck' two pictures of beautiful Lake Kivu. By the way, because of the smoke here it is always hazy,...and, Lake Kivu now emits a methane gas (!), which they use for energy purposes. As a kid I had spent countless hours swimming in Lake Kivu!!
A young African man named Songa, a grandson of someone I knew back in the day, came over to greet me, and practice his English. I practiced my Swahili/Kilega with him. His English was much better than my trying to remember his local dialects. One thing I had counted on was that my African languages would return quickly to my mind. After all, as a kid the Africans had often told me, " Roger, (Banuamazi-African name,)- you speak our language even much better than we do!!). Sadly, now at the ripe old age of 67 my recall button wasn't working,-a major personal disappointment. The picture above of Songa and myself shows me giving him a letter from my brother, Dave, in Colorado. We are laughing at some of the things Dave wrote in Kilega.
Upon first arrival at Bukavu, the power and water supplies were both not working. Tom had set up a power system to a group of car batteries in his apartment. He also had a solar panel system to keep the batteries charged. This enabled us to have lights, & power. AMAZING! We went online with Kathy's laptop so I could put more $$ into my International Phone, making it operational again! Happy Roger! I texted my kids in US that I was safely in Congo. While that was taking place, the power and water supplies came back on. Happy Roger, Tom, Kathy, Renee, and Basodecki again!
Lunch consisted of rice, greens, beef cooked in palm oil, & soup. TERRIFIC! It tasted just as good as I remembered from 50 years ago! Some Congolese came by to buy some items from Renee,-who is closing down her Bakery/Coffee Shop next door. They ended up buying some stuff. I couldn't understand their dialect, so instead discussed African politics with Songa.
YIKES!!! What a MESS this world,-and particularly this continent-, are in. Specifically, Congo DRC should be one of the RICHEST nations on Earth,..not one of the poorest! Yet it is perenially listed at or near the top of the poorest nations list! Congo holds the world's largest concentrations of gold, silver, diamonds, tin, cobalt, & coltan. Coltan is used in every cell phone and computer in the world! In addition it is home to the second largest Tropical Rain Forset and Jungle in the world. BUT, the ongoing conflicts, meddling. and Intrusions by Western Powers, Warlords, local Militias, Government Officials from Top to Bottom, Neighboring Nations and even the Chinese and Miiddle East lead to a thriving black market on all of these minerals. Congo's wealth is pillaged, plundered, and outright stolen. Dishonesty, thievery, smuggling, cheating, and plain old greed are rampant across the country. The rich get richer, and the poor are at Poverty level or barely able to survive. So, the minerals are taken out of the Congo at much reduced prices, or smuggled "free" across porous border crossings, into the hands of greedy governments and entrepreneurs. . Meanwhile the Congolese miners themselves get next to nothing,- sometimes $1 UinS per week,-working in deplorable conditions, often digging by hand. All of this has been going on since the day in 1960 when the Congo DRC got its Independence from the Country of Belgium. Along the way have been constant fighting, Wars in Central Africa, Genocides, attempts to break up the Congo, and Congolese Heads of State who have stolen.Billions of Congo's riches, putting them away in foreign banks, at the expense of their Congolese people!! Volumes have been written about the Congo's years of conflicts, rapings, killings, wars, Regional African Wars, millions of dead or displaced Congolese., homelessnes, AIDS, poverty, and the myriads of reasons behind it. That is not my intention here,- rather it is to guide you through my own years growing up in Colonial Belgian Congo, my fleeing the Congo after Independence came in 1960, and my return to my Congolese roots 52 years later, at age 67. Frankly, I had to see for myself,..and it wasn't a pretty picture,...breaking my heart for the many, many friends I have who somehow, through faith, true grit and perseverance eke out a kind of subsistence living. The irony is this: in spite of appalling conditions and a broken heart, many of "my people" are beautiful beyond words. Their strong faith in God, love for one another, and plain old grit is absolutely AMAZING!!
I was told by Tom that the fighting between warlords, army deserters, the Hutus, the Tutsi, & who knows whom else, was only 80 kilometers away,-across Lake Kivu, in the North Kivu area of Goma. I cannot tell you what beautiful cities were Goma and Bukavu when I left in 1960!
Late in the afternoon Kathy & Renee went to a large 'slum' area of Bukavu, called Pageco. We were invited to the Berean church 'Center' there. This place was in the very heart of Bukavu, at a traffic circle where it seemed all 3/4 Million city residents had gathered!! Such yelling, honking, pushing, shoving, and shouting! The local police, (gendarmes), were desperately trying to maintain some kind of control. Police are also on the lookout for vehicles carrying foreigners!! Since the local Police and National army have not been paid for MONTHS, they have become very good at making up ways to harass and extort money from especially the Foreigners!!!, but even their own locals, too. My own thoughts went back in time to the mad dashes we had made in 1960, when fleeing the country. I must say, a bit disquieting. At age 15, I had escaped the Congo with a healthy dislike for the way so many Congolese had attacked and turned against me, my friends, and family. Those bitter memories had taken me years to surrender into God's care. It was with great joy that I realised in returning to this dangerous country that God was in control, and I could trust Him, all the way through! !! Bitter thoughts and feelings were miraculously gone! What would keep it from happening again? Nothing, really,...but now that didn't matter anymore.
. At the Mission center many African pastors welcomed me with a traditional Congolese ceremony. At least 6-8 men made personal speeches, many recalling days and years of Mission work with my parents over the years. It was a moving, heartwarming time. After they had welcomed me, I spoke through Tom, my interpreter, about my joy to see them again. As we wrapped up our meeting, several church leaders told of their churches needs, both financially, materially, and asking for Americans to come help them. This is not unusual at all in Africa. In fact, I have never met anyone their who was at all bashful to 'share their needs'. In fact, much is assumed by the Africans, -so I needed to be thoughtful and careful with my response. Thoughts from my 30 year Sales Career kicked in,.."never overpromise, never under deliver!! Tom lead in a closing prayer and we returned by taxi to the apartment. A young African Immigration worker named Emile came by the apartment. He heard we needed help to get permits in order to go downcountry to where we all used to live. So, he offered to help us. Praise the Lord. Emile stayed until almost 8PM, so we waited for d(inner, since it is rude to eat in front of them, without offering to feed them, too, and frankly we didn't have enough food. He finally left and we ate cheese sandwiches and pineapple for dinner. The pineapple is grown here, and is TO DIE FOR!
Rich MacDonald came by also,..a missionary who had worked with my parents, in various places. We talked for a couple of hours. Rich lives here permanently with his wife Kathy, (formerly Kathy Baylor), and owns/operates Radio Okap, a Christian Radio Station. I had grown up with Kathy in the Congo many years ago. Her parents were dear friends of our family. Once again it was a good time of memories and renewing relationships. Since Rich and Kathy run the radio station, they too had much to tell me about the situation in the Congo!
10 PM found me pulling out a hide-a-bed sofa in the living room,..hanging a mosquito net,...and going to bed. On the first night back in the Congo in 50+ years,..I slept GREAT!
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