Archive for the ‘DRC’ Category
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 [...]
Of palettes and poverty
My colleague and I could think of very few things in the world that could possibly be as interesting as the National Museum of Kinshasa. What would the exhibit text say? How colonial would it be? What would be on display, and whose narrative would it serve? We never found out. We went to the [...]
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 [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [