Before Goma

BEFORE GOMA

Background --

Catherine Corpeny and I arrived in Goma on November 5^th, 09 around 11 am. For me, this is a trip back to my native Congo to have a sense of how badly the situation is quickly deteriorating on the ground. For Catherine, it’s the first trip to the Congo, the first trip to Africa for that matter. Catherine is an American actress and screenwriter who has worked on behalf of human rights, specifically women’s rights, for the last four years. She recently returned from Washington DC where she lobbied members of Congress to co-sign the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.

After watching the documentary “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” by Lisa F. Jackson, advocating for the protection and empowerment of Congolese girls and women has been at the forefront of Catherine’s advocacy work. We are making this trip with in mind the goal to meet with local NGOs assisting Congolese women/girls rape survivors. We hope to establish relationships with Congolese women leaders, members of grassroots NGOs, human rights advocates and rape survivors in order to evaluate their needs and to seek ways to help facilitate the amazing work already happening on the ground.

It took us about three days to reach Goma, the first leg of our Congo trip. Catherine flew from Los Angeles and I from New York the same November 2^nd night. After months of emails exchanges and phone conferences we finally first met at Heathrow, London for our connection to Nairobi, Kenya. Catherine is a very intelligent woman, very much interested in being part of the solution to the plight of her counterparts in the Congo.

We discussed strategy during our flight from London to Nairobi. We had some very interesting conversations about the Congo, the Great Lakes Region, Africa, the United States and the world during that flight. Catherine has a solid grasp of what’s going on in all these areas. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 was one of the topics we discussed at length. Analogies were drawn with what’s currently taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Southern Sudan and, of course, the Holocaust of Jews in Nazi Europe from 1933-1945. “Never again!” it was said back then.

Nairobi, Kenya --

Jomo Kenyata airport in Nairobi, Kenya was the first stop of our African journey. We are in Africa! Catherine was excited. She was trying to connect, to make sense of it all. She looked around trying to process every bit of information coming her way. Sitting in the hallway she said, “This place reminds me of Harlem, the 125^th Street subway station.” I wasn’t sure whether she was referring to the station on the blue, the red or the green line. One thing was sure: The Kenyans look very highly at their airport, and they would not be amused at the prospect of anyone comparing it to a subway station. Of course, I was in Heaven, enjoying every single aspect of my continent: The people, the air, the sun, everything’s so great!

Bujumbura, Burundi --

The plane that took us from Nairobi to Kigali made a detour to stop at Bujumbura airport, in Burundi. The plane taxied up to a point where a red carpet, lined up soldiers and some officials were waiting for some important personalities who had traveled with us. All along, we didn’t know that the persons seated on 2B and 2D were some high ranked Kenyan officials. The Kenyan Vice-President, I heard, was the person the red carpet was waiting for. He got out under the lights of TV cameras and the sound so superb of the Burundian Drummers, aka “Tambourinaires Burundais.” Burundi is my wife Christine’s country. Though the stop was unplanned, I was very pleased we made it. I remember how, traveling with Documentary Director Lisa F. Jackson in August of 2008, so many of Christine’s relatives greeted us warmly at this very airport.

Kigali, Rwanda --

As our plane began its descent at Kigali airport, here and there, I could see soldiers and military equipments along the airport. Many thoughts went through my mind. I told myself, “This is how it all began, the Rwandan genocide that is, with the shooting down on April 6^th, 1994 of the Falcon 50 carrying Presidents Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi.” The two were returning from a peace conference with the RPF of Paul Kagame in Dar Es-Salaam, Tanzania. Kigali airport was under UN troops control when this terrorist attack took place. Who orchestrated this odious act? Did the person or group of persons who masterminded the plane attack measure the consequences such action would unfurl? Was it a calculated action? Who provided the very sophisticated missile that took down the Falcon 50? I came back from my reveries when the plane stopped. I asked Catherine if she was okay. She replied, “Here we are!” It was November 4^th, 09.

Nothing gives me more goose bumps than spending a night in Kigali. For the time being, it’s the voie obligée to get to Goma. There are no international airlines serving Goma. And local Congolese airlines have such bad reputations that most travelers try to avoid them as much as they could. After checking in at the Gorillas hotel, Catherine and I hired a cab to drive around Kigali. Although Kigali reflects a sense of safety, its people seem very restive. While talking, walking, or driving people look around them with an air of suspicion that tells the alerted eye something is not right. It’s as though everyone watches everyone and no one trusts anyone. You find the effigy of President Kagame all over the place. It reminded me of the time I was growing up under Mobutu Sese Seko’s dictatorship in the Congo, then known as Zaïre. His image everywhere was a way of deifying him, of him telling us the people, “I see you everywhere you go, everything you do. You better watch out!” On our way to the “Heaven Restaurant,” we drove by Rwanda President’s residence. Of course, the “No Entry” sign and military presence were clearly visible.

On the road to Goma --

The drive from Kigali to Goma the morning of November 5^th was interesting. John, driver for the Volcanoes and Safari Company, picked us up from the hotel around 7:15 am. John was a very talkative fellow (I think this is in part due to the nature of his job). But, we tried to keep our conversation light most of the times. John is a Munyankore from Uganda, President Museveni’s tribe. To Catherine’s question whether he believed Presidents Museveni and Kagame were working for democracy and peace in the region, he gave the evasive answer that what mattered for him was driving tourists on safaris. He said that he cared very little about politics. But, he didn’t hesitate to say that the actual make up of MONUC (the UN Peacekeeping force in the Congo) won’t bring peace to the Congo. For him, bringing in the Brits, the Americans, the Germans or the French is what will solve the problem quickly. Along the mountainous road, I was discombobulated by the great number of people walking from one village to another. Apparently, many children were not in school, because there were just too many playing along the “highway.”

As we reached the border Gisenyi – Goma, my old friend Kizito was waiting for us.