Strangers in the Land: A Congolese Murder Case

A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the Third World. Maybe it's his first time around. He doesn't speak the language. He holds no currency. He is a foreign man. He is surrounded by the sound. The sound! Cattle in the marketplace, scatterlings and orphanages. He looks around, around.By Jan LundiusSTOCKHOLM / ROME, Jan 21 2019 (IPS)I thought about this song by Paul Simon while I in 2011 spent a few weeks in Kinshasa. I was a foreign man in a strange world, surrounded by sights and sounds, completely dependent on my new-found Congolese friends. When our taxi got stuck in a traffic jam and we had to walk to our destination I was stopped by a group of heavily armed youngsters, lead by a man who claimed to be a policeman, charging me with an exaggerated high fine for taking photos within a restricted area. Zaída Catalán and Michael Sharp. Credit: TT News Agency/AFP/Getty Images and Human Rights WatchFrom my first day there I had found that in this impoverished nation a person like me was considered to be a walking wallet, incessantly confronted with phrases like: “I helped you, will you not help me?” “Monsieur, only something small.” I had to give some Congolese Francs to soldiers and policemen and US dollars to bureaucrats, the price depended on their status and position. The “policeman” who had stopped me was particularily threatening and I did not like the sight of Kalashnikovs in the hands of his companions. However, my friend...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Aid Armed Conflicts Crime & Justice Featured Headlines Health Human Rights TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news