What Congo has that America doesn’t
On my taxi ride to the border, my Congolese driver asked me how the Democratic Republic of Congo compares to America. The dichotomy struck me as absurd, but I tried to think of something polite to say. “Well, there’s more music on the streets in Congo,” I said. He smiled. “And there’s more dancing. Definitely [...]
Sweat equity
Near Kinshasa’s biggest airport, I happened to catch sight of what might be its only train. It makes the blue metal boxes clanking through India look advanced. These could’ve been rusting shipping containers with windows cut in the sides. I have no idea how the “cars” were strung together, let alone with so many people [...]
Still in Africa. More soon.
I’ve been in eastern Congo for the last 3 weeks, and the internet here is terrible. This is, in fact, the first day it would even deign to load my blog. So I’m on a bit of an unintended hiatus—with lots and lots and lots of stories from Goma to come! Stand by!
Burundi rebels’ unintentional allies
The peace is shaky again in Burundi, where the government is accusing the FNL rebels of plotting further attacks, and the FNL are saying–as they have been for years–that they just want to be a legitimate political party. So says Reuters. This is good news for anyone who makes money off of instability, which is [...]
Too much Times on her hands
What in the name of all things holy and profane is going on in that most precious of printed real estate, Maureen Dowd’s column space in the NYT? There is nothing–no news peg (unless the Christie Brinkley thing is one, but I’m not American-pop-culture with-it enough, halfway around the world, to know), not grander meaning, [...]
A New York post
This has nothing to do with Africa, but my mom sent me a link to this illustrated story in the Times—it’s kind of like a picture book for adults, and it’s about kids; how cleverly clever–and I have to share. The illustrator, Christoph Niemann, writes about riding the subway with his two young kids, Arthur [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [