Archive for the ‘DRC’ Category
Congo 101, or "Can't you clap?"
This has got to be the best quote yet to run in anyone’s Congo stories. From Stephanie McCrummen, who has been doing stellar work from this region for the Washington Post for years; she visited a town where a Congolese politician was announcing the Rwandan troops’ arrival to help Congolese soldiers. To a quiet crowd, [...]
Rwanda and Congo: It's not what you think
In the last week, everything here has changed. Rwanda and Congo, former enemies, are the statecraft version of best buddies. Congo invited Rwandan troops across the border to chase Rwanda’s most hated rebel group, and in return Rwanda arrested one of its alleged erstwhile allies… Here’s a story I did about the arrest of the [...]
So, wait, what exactly is going on in Congo?
I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I’m not there at the moment, alas. Here’s a piece by a colleague of mine, Scott Baldauf, the Christian Science Monitor’s staff writer based in Africa, that analyzes some of the political questions at the center of the recent wave of violence. More soon.
News from Congo, not mine, and not good
Things are getting worse in Congo again. In a story I co-wrote a few months ago—and in Human Rights Watch reports that came out just before that—was a fact that felt inevitable, that as delegations sat around tables talking their way through the finer points of peace, men in the fields were still fighting. According [...]
What to ride, where to go in Congo
Well, sort of. You won’t probably make it very far on a chikudu unless you’re a local. It’s a rough-looking hand-made road warrior, part scooter, part bicycle, though I’m pretty sure it’s a lot harder to learn than riding a bike. You can read about it in my new article here. And here’s my review [...]
The new thing in resource-fueled conflict: cows
Here’s a story I reported during my trip to Goma, about which I know I owe you all lusciously interesting tidbits. I’ll try to oblige soon. In Congo, a new twist on ‘blood diamonds Warring rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo are stealing and selling livestock to finance a conflict sparked by spillover [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [