DRC – Dictators, Civil War, Lava and Gaseous Lake – Better Than I Imagined!
When I first met Paul, my Volcanoes Safari driver, I told him that I planned to go to DRC and if he had a problem with that he was just going to have to live with it. I was a bit tired of other safari drivers that are hyper-vigilant about protecting you from Africa while you’re on their tour. Surprisingly, he was understanding and told me he could ake me to the border. His vehicle could not go there and that was fine with me. He arranged a friend, Etienne, who is Congolese to give me a tour. We picked up Etienne on our way to Gisenyi, Rwanda the border town that sits on beautiful Lake Kivu. Goma, DRC is the next place over the border.
I had done some homework on Lake Kivu and I knew that it is one of the lakes in this part of Africa that has a huge buildup of gas occuring which will one day be released likely killing anything living around it. If you recall, there is a lake in Cameroon that did this in the 1980s killing everyone around it. That was small potatoes considering “only” 1800 deaths whereas Lake Kivu has millions of residents! Since Cameroon, scientists have started studying the phenomenon and they will hopefully be able to warn people prior to the release. I asked Etienne about it and he said people are aware of the issue, but there is no evacuation plan. Why? Let’s just say when you live on the edge of life like Goma does, who can worry about such possibilities…
We cross the border fairly easily paying $30 for my visa. A drive is arranged and we head out of town to where a 2002 volcano eruption originated from. We go towards the looming volcanic mountain where gorillas live, but we do not go all the way to the mountain because there are DRC and Rwandan (Hutu genociders hiding from the law) rebels who will rob and maybe murder visitors. The 2002 lava (previous eruption in 1977) poured out of a new vent unexpectedly quite a few kilometers from the real volcano. It managed to flow towards Goma and wipe out three-quarters of the city.
Goma must be the most unlucky place on Earth. Let’s recap… It is in DRC a country brutalized by Belgium colonialists in the 1800s through WW1 for ivory and rubber, followed by better treatment from the colonialists after they cleaned up their act a bit, followed by 30+ years of rule by dictator Mobuto Sese Seco considered the biggest thief of all time ($5 billion) and a great friend of the Bush clan and finally a civil war which has roared for the past nine years or so. Goma was the main receiver of refugees from Rwanda after the genocide and I’m talking about criminal refugees since Northwest Rwanda was the area where the worst of Hutu Power originated. The refugee camps were shut down, but now the criminals are in the surrounding mountains holding villages hostage. So this city of three million had three-quarters of its area covered by 3-6 meters of lava four years ago to top it all off.
As we were driving through Gisenyi, I saw my first refugee camp. They are from DRC and they are Tutsi who have been persecuted there. I thought once again about “can’t we all just get along”!!! In Goma I saw a lot of UN troops for the most part hiding behind there fortresses and at the airport. A few were driving around. They are mainly there coordinating the election that took place on July 31st and I saw many planes and helicopters landing and taking off. We drove down from the volcano vent which is still steaming back into town along volcanic roadway. One of my favorite sights was kids and adults on wooden bicycles/scooters. They can’t afford bikes, but they are ingenious enough to build them. Etienne told me that a man must build or buy a bike in order to marry a woman. The idea being that he has to have the means, monetary or skill-wise, to be worth marrying. I found it to be fantastic and I really appreciated it. Such a contrast to what I saw with the in-betweens in Uganda. I saw someone building one and we stopped to meet him and take photos. Great experience… wonderful people, too.
We drove around the city and witnessed people living on the lava beds many of them having rebuilt homes right where the old ones were wiped out. I can’t think of a more horrible place to live and I was glad it was not a hot day. I can’t imagine how hot it must get on the lava. Of course, we’re talking about zero living plants and the roads and yards are all raw lava. Etienne’s house was lost and I saw his plot, but he has yet to rebuild. His loss is humbling to me. I met some of his nephews and nieces and they were excited to meet me just as everyone else I saw.
We ate at a little Congolese cafe where I enjoyed beef in broth, beans and matoke (cooked green bananas) and a beer. Three of us ate a lot of food for less than $10. Although conditions are tough, people are not sad in Goma and everyone seemed well-fed from all of the surrounding farms just like I have seen during most of my trip. Africans may not have the best diets, but they certainly have access to good food.
We drove down to the potentially lethal Lake Kivu and I saw where the lava poured into the lake (nice black sand just like Big Island!) and where one of Mobuto’s palaces used to stand. No money saves you from lava. We also visited some buildings that survived the lava flow even though it went right through. One hotel now has its second floor at street level and we went down the stairs to the reception area which used to be at street level. We went to a huge Catholic church which is now just two walls plus the altar after the rest of the rock structure was melted away. Where the walls met behind the altar there is a cross still standing.
I felt the place is safe enough during the day to have done by myself, but I wouldn’t walk around with a backpack and I’m sure nighttime is questionable at best. I look forward to returning to a better, more peaceful DRC in the future. DRC probably has more potential than any country around if it can somehow be tamed. I enjoyed the friendliness of the locals and I know they will make great hosts someday in the future. Thank you Etienne, Paul and the driver whose name I forget. Great day adventure in a country considered unwise to visit by those who have never been there.
Tags: Travel
vagabondrick
Rick, I wish you would have a million grandchildren, just so you could tell them about your adventures. Wow!! That’s all I can say.
It is truly the people, it’s all about the wonderful people. Their lives, their families…most are so great and sooo appreciative for what they have. It sounds like this was a day you will never forget and one that you will think of often for the rest of your life. What a great day. Love, Julie
Rick,
I’m glad you were able to portray the endurance, the steadfastness, and the stubborn will to SURVIVE amid conditions that Westerners could not even begin to fathom (unless they’re there themselves).
Don