Hi Sarah,
As luck would have it, I had to suddenly go to Kinshasa on very short
notice this week. The notice was so short that I was not even able to
come to work and send an E-mail to "Riverman" that I was coming!!!
That was a pity 'cos it would have been really good to meet for a
beer.
My impressions were very favourable. As I've said, I was last there in
1994, and the place has changed dramatically for the better. There
appears to be real progress, and the city appears to be functioning
fairly well. There is still a lot of typical African big city grime,
poverty etc. but there are businesses open, bakeries working,
enterprises flourishing, a good cellular telephone network, internet
access, and only one power failure in four days. What a contrastt to
the Kinshasa of 9 years ago...
Obviously, there are still enormous problems facing the country in
general, but I was told that Kinshasa is a safe city by African
standards, and that almost everything that yuo might require is
available somewhere, albeit at a somewhat inflated price :-)
Eating in good (western style and up-market Afro style) restaurants is
expensive, but the food is generaly good quality.
Regards,
Marc
On 27 Feb 2005 23:07:28 -0800, "Sarah S"
wrote:
>Has anyone who has recently been to Kinshasa (or lives there) advise me
>on current safety conditions and/or accomodation possibilities? I am a
>Ph.D. student planning a 6-week research trip in June and July 2005 to
>Congo-Kinshasa. (I will be meeting and interviewing various people who
>work for nonprofits and the government while there about their
>perspectives on the civil war and reconciliation, and DO NOT plan to
>leave Kinshasa during my stay).
>
>I have been told over and over by family / friends / colleagues that I
>am crazy for wanting to go to Kinshasa (particularly during the planned
>elections!), but I also know that security conditions "on the ground"
>are often very different than the official news. Any word from people
>who have recently been would be much appreciated.
>Thanks!
>
>-Sarah
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