First update from Bunia

I am in the DRC – the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the heart of Africa. Not only a unique, but in a way also a symbolic event for me.

I arrived yesterday morning in Bunia on a small MAF-airplane from Entebbe airport in Uganda. An adventure in itself. For those boarding a MAF aircraft means going around the regular checking-in process and so I found myself happily pushing my carriage past a long line of people waiting. Felt kind of like a VIP.
Flying on a small aircraft is another thing, and by then the VIP-association had definitely gone. But it was a smooth flight over small towns, green forests and the huge lake Albert.
Once we landed in Bunia I took a photo from the airport from where I was sitting. It was going to be the first and last picture I would take here, cause with militia’s and police-men everywhere, taking photos in public is not a wise thing to do. I’ve heard a couple of stories of people who got caught in the action and had to be rescued from a mob or jail. And since my desire for adventure is not that great, don’t expect nice little Bunia pics on this blog. ;-)

Yesterday and today Ri-et has taken me on a small tour along people and places that I had to meet and see. And of course we talked a lot.... Center for those who want to socialize seems to be Monuc-house, a ‘hang-out’ place for members of the Monuc force (the UN-peace keeping mission in the DRC) and other NGO’s.
Moving around doesn’t seem to be too dangerous in this area although it’s very limited. You can walk through the sandy and after the rain, muddy streets (no tarmac), at least in this part of the town where there’s a strong UN and NGO-presence. And during the evening you can go out by car for a drink to the Monuc house or a meal in one of the two or three restaurants in town that offer a very short menu. Last night we went to a place that’s run by a Greek and we had a choice of chips with pork, chips with fish or chips with chicken. For 6 dollars we endured a few power cuts but enjoyed a good meal.
This afternoon I have started with meeting people and talking with them about the situation here in Bunia, the complexity of the country at large and about their work/organization.

More on Bunia? See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunia. And on DRC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

Of voor de Nederlandse equivalent, zie: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratische_Republiek_Congo