So sorry we've been off the grid! The electricity has been out and basically put the internet on the fritz. Right now we are at a restaurant that has free wi-fi so that we could make sure to share with you all! It's been a really productive weekend. We have moved from our hotel to Janny's apartment overlooking Lake Kivu. We feel so blessed to have met her... she has introduced us to many stakeholders and has now opened up her home to us, as well. It's going to be an intense work week of interviews and filming. We will be meeting with activists, survivors of sexual violence, military representatives and a couple of other key players (more details to come). We ask for your continued prayers and/or positive thoughts as the days to come will be extraordinarily emotional and difficult.
Before we begin what is sure to be an intense week-- we have shared so many moments of laughter here as a team and we wanted to share a few with you.
There are young men who carry around huge yellow jugs and when Jesse asked what they were, Philippe (Mara's cousin) explained they were selling petrol (gas). They buy the gas and then sell it at a higher price when the gas stations are closed... They call them Gaddafis.
We came back to Janny's before heading to meet with some female Congolese activists and journalists to do some work. We entered the kitchen to find a live chicken sitting on the floor next to the world's smallest bananas (still on the branch). As we sat in the living room typing away there was a raucous coming from the kitchen and then, as Poe would say, "the raven cried no more." I guess we're having chicken for dinner?
Jesse went for a walk and met Bruno the mask seller. He keeps his masks displayed in a tree but his shop is down the road in a sewer. He wanted to show Jesse his wares but a UN truck was parked over the "entrance" (a.k.a. manhole) to his shop. Now who says the Congolese aren't entrepreneurial and resourceful people?!
The electricity and internet have been a bit spotty, but we will try to keep you as up to date as possible as the week progresses. As promised, we want to provide you with a few options to find more information on the DRC, its history and what fuels the current conflict.
Check out these websites:
www.enoughproject.org
www.vday.org
www.irc.org.
or search the New York times website and Jeffrey Gettleman for recent news.
For those of you who are looking for good summer reads and are interested in more detailed information, the following books are great.
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hothschild
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Jason Stearns
or for a less "intellectual" read Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
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