J'y suis

Donc…qu’est que je veux dire ? I arrived in Kinshasa one day and a bit ago. As usual the time forms kind of an envelope – accordion really – where things come and go at speeds as fast as lightning as often as they crash to a halt.

Like for example this text is being drafted on a French keyboard. Coliste je ne peux pas trouver les keys!

Or for a better example, upon stepping down from the airplane at 1745 hrs in the dusking evening darkness looming I was in the land of French. No more could a patois franglais manage me. Mind racing to remember, catch up, distil, pretend boredom-from-experience sure-this-is-no-problem capability in the din of the KIN airport luggage lounge touts, luggage handlers, beggars; heat and odour …the next hour and a half was to be a tiring jostle in front of the baggage belt waiting for my bag.

I was greeted by Tcheese, our driver of the day to envoy me back to Chez Chinois. There I met the new team: Catherine the NYC desk on a visit, Herve the head of mission, Maguil the assist HOM, Cathy is the departing Finco and her replacement Dominique. After a shower (I had been in airplanes for what, I don’t know – I left Canada at 0645 on Tuesday, traversed the office in NYC for three hours which, by the way, is one hour less than it takes to travel thru traffic from La Guardia-Manhattan-JFK, and arrived in KIN on Thurs night and all together is only a four hour time difference) we ensemble drove into KIN (no driver just us) for a pizza and beer.

Yummy pizza to be sure. Just to let you all know it comes recommended if you happen to be in town. Otherwise, the $13USD for a platito sized pizza might put you off. Shootings, militias and MONUC patrols?…never saw anything.

Not much to say about KIN itself as I have only traversed it twice and both times in the dark in a tired framework. It is a large city, sprawling really in the real sense of the word. Folks have moved in from the countryside over the years and the conflicts and so the city is really one large, one story, collection of shacks and walking paths. Downtown is paved and the buildings are city-like… Our house is quite nice. It is large and clean. There are six bedrooms each with a large bed (with net) and air conditioning; seems there is 24hr elect and water. There is a water heater for the douche and a washing machine – quell lux! The kitchen is furnished with two large fridge/freezers and there is even a microwave. It will NOT be like this in Dubie that is for sure.

Breakfast is on the terrace where the wind blows softly. There is no view through the 2m walls around the compound, the house –and terrace – is all ground floor. The cuisinier set the table with pain et beurre, café vrai, de l’eau frai. C’est vraiment comme L’ Europe. I have noticed one thing – that the area around the house is very quiet. Monrovia for example was difficult to have a discussion on the elevated terrace for all the fighting, bickering, laundering, music and pot smoking; mais ici c’est très tranquille. What is up with that? So far I find KIN in some ways more advanced ( electricity and water and luxuries) yet I also find KIN less so (greater poverty, larger populations, less infrastructure, greater demands resulting from longer and more brutal conflict, fewer autos, amazingly dilapidated – unbelievably so wrinkled and hay wired - VW vans transporting HUNDREDS of people. Oh, to be sure the vehicle traffic here is mostly European origin unlike the US versions in Monrovia; an interesting detail exposing the history and formation of the state.

Here is another realization: I left Canada forced to wear a fleece for warmth. It is not surprising that I have jettisoned the fleece upon arrival 7 degrees below the equator, but it is surprising that I am not consumed by the 31 degree temperatures. I should be sweating in the humidity (the first rains have come) yet I am not. Feels like home to me.

I could also say that it feels like I never left… that is to say, when I dove into the back of the Toyota land cruiser (an earlier model and more…utilized to be sure) it felt so surreal natural. Like my summer of family and French and biking never happened; it is a crazy dreamscape.

The office is located five minutes drive away and so we pile into the Toyota at 0800 to start the day. We are at security level 1 meaning there is no threat so it is possible to walk. The day runs from 0800-1300 when we return to chez nous for lunch. Somewhere between 1400 and 1500 return to the office until 1700ish. By the by, the office is on the ground floor of the office/compound of the MSF-Belgium mission. I wonder how much cooperation is really happening. No matter, MSF has a huge mission with more than 30 expats (lodged in 8 houses I hear)…it is clear that they are the rich brothers here – if only you could see the STUFF in the compound. If we had gear like that in Liberia our logistic supply lines would NEVER have been so weak. Tant pis.

OK that is life here in a small context. It is hard to grasp the true context with new eyes in a strange environment under pressure to grasp issues of work in a strange language. I must revisit this vision from time to time.

Work: Still getting a handle on what it really is, and what is to be done. It has been clarified that there will be no other expats in Dubie for the duration– the nutritionist has moved to a busier base. It is clear that the base is at risk of moving and that brings many problems with it – if there is truly not sufficient beneficiaries then it is unjustifiable to be on site. Staff, Nationals who have carried the weight of running the base for the last three months without an expat Chef de Base will be frustrated by my presence further frustrated and concerned retarding the longevity of their employ vis a vis paycheque. Being wary of scams and theft from disgruntled staff is one thing, not being able to ‘work to the future’ by creating a vision of a functioning programme (there are three actually WaterSanitation/ FoodSecurity/ Nutrition– and only me) due to the potential closing is another thing. THEN there is the rainy season just starting, meaning that the access to supplies (transport) will be hindered two ways: the roads will fall apart and not dry out until next June limiting supplies to costly plane, and the already battered and barely functioning single truck on base will be threading a fine mechanical fitness line as vehicles are used and abused harder as the roads disintegrate so much faster. And I wonder if anyone has forecasted the needs for the base and programmes in time to get a buffer stock (like fuel for the generator) before the roads close?

Oh well, no sense in listing the hurdles as this is the nature of the business. As my dear old dad says: I can do everything, but only one thing at a time.

On the up side, looks like I will get a Congolese drivers permit so I can drive in the off hours. Small gifts, eh?

On the other hand, nobody has yet described the base in Dubie – do you think there is a reason? Is it so isolated and…basic? There IS a cook/cleaner there, but as she is the wife of one of the security guards I think I need to replace her – not quite fair to keep two salaries in one family is it? On verra.

Today is Saturday. Here the weekends are free (or technically free) but today I will continue with the finance briefings as Cathy is leaving mid-week. Got to learn about the staff contracts, the pay schedules, the finance tracking program; service contracting and cost estimates and most importantly the donor contracts. This is one of the big differences here; there is no sense that ‘money is no object’. We seem to be bound more tightly to the LogFrame in our activities and objectives as ACF is not so large and forward as MSF. Thus money is limited to the donor amount and terms and conditions of the proposal- there is no huge pot of cash to be drawn from as needed.

Finally I like the staff here. The expats (always a risk) seem to be more in the game. That is to say more aware of the context of Humanitarian work including all the hurdles and in that way more flexible. I must say that it was always problematic to explain to doctors and nurses that …that say Liberia is a different paradigm than Hamburg. Folks here seem to be relaxed and less frantic so that effects me too in a positive chilling way. Still there are problems; does the chillosity diminish the zest to do a good job? While MSF was sometimes over the top, there sure was a drive to save the world. We gotta take a stance here, this work is not just another job. There must be a reason to travel so far, live so hard in dangerous places, and work as a volunteer. What IS the motivation?

Finally, internet is ok in Kin but not so much in the field. It may be a while for the next update.
Peace and Love