Sick Day - 13th July 2010

Feeling rather sick! I stayed in the office to do desk work. 

Alanine Market - 12th July 2010

Alanine Market. Pictures of cycle transporters - two to three sacks of charcoal on bikes! Off again today to hit the charcoal sellers with Ramy at Alanine market. It is smaller than the others but we get to interview quite a few traders. I think I am getting better at asking difficult questions around illegal taxes and the involvement of the rebel groups. The women are pretty candid about it and it seems like this is a part of the economy of charcoal. I am starting to understand that the underground economy is the dominant economy. As we think we are finished interviewing all that were available we come across some charcoal sellers on bikes. I find out that one of the bike carriers is also a charcoal producer and we start interviewing...fascinating to find out all the details while being surrounded by 20 odd people! They all seem calm and rather curious. 

Chukudus

I see some chukudu wallahs and convince them to allow me to take some snaps. The lady next to them selling oranges seems to be a little peeved - she wants me to take a picture of her as well!  Shabbash...I take a few. I always like playing back the pictures I have taken and people just love seeing themselves!

World Cup Finals - 11th July 2010

I take a rest from the markets today and Ramy and I try to input what we found on a spreadsheet. The internet is slow and we grumble about it - but as they would say in Ghana - ‘das how it iz! 

Mamba Club!

Today is the World cup finals and we plan to go to the  Mamba Club. Gigi - Bruno’s friend is here and is leaving DRC for good. Before we head to the  Mamba, they both educate me on French Rap tunes (Marseilles vs Paris).I love the atmosphere at Mamba. We all gather around tables put together. What an atmosphere - I support Spain while we have a few silly billys going for the Dutch.

I am surprised that we have such a big screen and this is Goma - people would not think that this is such a happening place. Spain wins - yeeaaahh!!!

Visit to Virunga National Park - Rumangabo - 11th July 2010

Visit to Virunga NP - Rumangabo. This is my first trip outside Goma city and I am quite excited that I will be able to visit the headquarters of Virunga and there is also a chance that I might see Emmanuel de Merode who is a key person for me to interview. We all are squashed in the poshest of 4X4s that belong to WWF. Bruno, Christina, Thierry, myself and two more from the office. On the way we are to pick up the lawyer who is a key figure for the meeting with Bruno and Emmanuel. The moment I see him stepping into the car my face lights up like a christmas tree - he is wearing a turquoise satin silk shirt with a pair of prussian blue trousers - fantastic!  Christina sees my face and knows it all. As we approach the borders of Virunga I see trees that move a wave inside me - the sacred trees of Virunga. The sky is pretty dusty so we do not get a good view of Nyiragongo and the other volcanos and hills :(  We started climbing to approach Rumangabo and then I could see a sea of trees that merge into the distant mist - a breathtaking view. As we arrive Bruno gets into the full swing of his meetings while Christina and I join a group of visitors to see two baby orphaned gorillas. On the way we see blue monkeys and a colobus look looking at us with its majestic black coat and white tuft on its tail. The gorilla babies are adorable and look like babies in a gorilla suit. I love the chest beating dugu dugu dugu dooo! 

Virunga National Park

Bruno lets us know that Emmanuel can see us for a few moments and Christina and I wait.  As our lawyer approaches I am tempted and take a few sneaky pictures of him. He notices (help!) and ask  me - Why are you taking a picture of me? - You should rather take pictures of those monkeys he adds - yikes!! Christina comes to the rescue and it’s re-assuring that it was the monkeys I was pointing my camera at - phew! (I try to hide my giggling).

Colobus Monkey at Rumagabo - sorry I do not have a zoom lens!

I get to see Emmanuel and ask a few crucial questions - I am so pleased!!  On our way back  Bruno stops at a park ranger station while I take the liberty to hop out with him and guess what I see? Nyiragongo puffing up smoke in rage! I take my camera out and snap snap snap and the sky changes from a blue to a coral as the sun starts to set. We arrive in Goma and seem to drop off the lawyer in the middle of nowhere in the city - I am slightly obsessed with our shiny dressed lawyer.

A park rager at Rumangabo

Rumnagabo Headquarters

Niyiragongo Volcano puffing

With the picture of the trees and the expanse of Virunga in my mind - we go out for dinner at a pace called Anna’s bar near the lake. I have tilapia fish and rice - my God; do I get an enormous fish?  They all say it’s petite! I meet Nadine, Harper and Rachel. We get into a huge debate about the NGO sector and its impact on the economy - we stay quite late and decide to hit the Mamba Club for the world cup finals tomorrow.

Virunga and Mosque Birere Market - 8th July 2010

Virunga and Mosque Birere market are my targets today. I have decided to go by foot rather than car. This not only helps with the logistics but also enables me to see the city a bit more. On the way to Virunga (towards the sight of Nyiragongo volcano) the lava still exists on the road and remains solidified after the 2001 eruption. So many sights and sounds - ladies selling dried fish, furniture stalls with a sea of velour covered huge seats that are far too pretentious for my liking. 

Dried fish near Virunga ( most probably from lake Edward in Virunga National Park)

Fancy sofas for sale

We finally see a charcoal stall and start with my interviews. My eyes keep going to the two goats tied in the dark store struggling to munch on banana leaves - they were so cute! I hope they are kept for the milk. You also see that in these stores people keep leaves and vegetables in the dark as a cold storage to keep things fresh away from the sun. As we move into the market one of the charcoal sellers was braiding their daughters hair while she was asleep - adorable. It seemed to follow a cute theme.

The bicycle charcoal traders

After a few interviews we moved to Mosque Birrere - one of the largest depots for charcoal. As we approached a huge mosque appeared - hence the name of the market. We were not allowed to speak to the sellers - first we have to speak to the Association of Charcoal Traders. 

After the interview with the charcoal trading association at Mosque Birere Market

I followed a Ramy and another guy that ushered us down a narrow alley and then into a dark wooden shack with wooden benches and a table. It was thrilling to be able to convince them to speak - contrary to what I thought; they were welcoming and wanted to be interviewed.

My feet after they met charcoal in the markets!

The Charcoal Markets - 8th July 2010

As agreed Ramy and I walked to TMK which did not take that long. I was somewhat terrified of the erratic motos (motorcycle taxis). As we approached the market things seemed to turn black and white - ladies selling charcoal chunks of various sizes in small heaps emerged in the picture. I felt slightly uncomfortable with my rucksack and clothes that could tell me apart from others in the market - we were greeted nicely by the first stall - Jambosa!

Charcoal traders in TMK market

I was excited - this is it!! This is what I came for - to see the markets and how at all operates on the ground. The first mama (lady - usually ladies sell charcoal) invited us in -  a friend of Ramys. I liked the way the lady talked slow and somewhat lazy while others were bustling away shifting sacks here and there. The warehouse was full of Makala! The smell of charcoal is a dry one that I could feel with my teeth.

Charcoal in TMK

We moved from one shop to another where people were curious, skeptical yet welcoming. I think being a woman and appearing young made me  non – threatening to them. I managed to take some pictures in a the market - only of the stalls that we went to. I realised that people do not like their pictures taken without permission - understandable.

Goma - 7th July 2010

I was given a place at the office to work - a room with three tables and I had already brought my  computer. I tried to get on the Internet to write an email to let everyone know that I am OK. The keyboard did not work properly and seemed that it was dead. I wrote a email to my close ones saying I am OK but the keyboard is dead.

I met Ramy for the first time - who will be my shadowing me throughout my research work here since my French is non-existent and his is brilliant. He seemed a pleasant enough guy and he spoke English remarkably well - good for me! We decided on the charcoal markets and planned our visits. I was quite excited about going to these markets but also slightly apprehensive. We planned to go to TMK( pronounced temka) tomorrow which is a big market for charcoal.

Solidified lava which now formed a part of the road

I missed home. The roads seemed impossible! Lava rocks just thrown in to stop them converting into ponds of mud - I have not seen roads like this in a city. The city looks like a black and white picture with splurges of colour.