Elections, hibernation, and good behaviour

Alright, this weekend, DRC's first election in 40 years is about to take place...huge implications, huge possibilities, could truly mark the end of an era of untold violence and chaos and tragedy for this country. Bukavu is crawling with journalists, and if you're especially skilled at surfing the web you may find some articles on my programme (a polish weekly, the new york post, and maybe the herald)--vultures! Check it out, read up, this is Congo's weekend in the media.
As for me, I've just returned from Dubai, heaps of stories and pictures from the last month, and since we'll be locked in our residence over the weekend (no one is entirely confident that something studpid wont happen election day...) So keep your eyes peeled for some picture laden posts...if anyone know's how to do that fancy collage/zoom thing with photos, let me know.
Shirt of the week: "Desperately seeking a meaningful overnight relationship"--spotted on a pakistani gentleman, Carrefour, Dubai

Soundtrack of the week: rocking out to Wintersleep (dark and brooding, gets me through late afternoon report writing), K'naan (somali hip hop), Damien Marley--not sure what planet he's on but welcome to Jammrock is nice(k'naan is touring with him this summer)

Big Props: City of Dubai, for giving south asian construction labourers(may be too soft a term, but by definition, slaves don't receive pay, right?) the afternoon off during the months of July and August...maybe 50celcius really is too hot.
Pace
C 

still fumbling with the pictures

Tea, my action pants (which are still holding out, though with more than a few patches), Sarah Mosely doing some sort of action pose, and a close up of serious tea technology.

Personalities and Poses

Zara, her fabulous sisters, sara, john henry, the logs dept, Ibrahim the sleeping guard...and Bongi. Enjoy, snapshots of from Nyala, south Darfur...C 

attempted picture post

Pub Golf...3 teams...9 'holes"...par 1 beer/3 sips
my team lost. Thanks Brian, who would've thought Food for the Hungry would be such lightweights! 

And the kitchen sink?

Came into work saturday...for a mock evacuation exercise! Wild, slightly less than unexpected, and the wacky scenario twists, well, that truck over there in the corner, it and all its occupants are actually 'in' bunyakiri...what are you going to do?
Well, I was one of those individuals caught in the field, far from the office, unable to get home...what am I going to do? pray that my 2 tanks of gas(landcruisers have two) can get me to kinsangani? Look for the nearest pakistani battalion and sit tight (hopefully with spicy tea?) well, fortunately it wasn't the real thing, and I was free to roam about the office compound, observing the precedings.
People piling into vehicles, important documents being secured, logistics staff running every which way...and a few enthusisastic fundies trying to 'save' a giant photocopier...can you picture the scene...we've minutes to get into the vehicles, sort everything out, and here comes mfude and Ngungu with some department's photocpier!
Hilarious.

On a sadder note, to follow up on the bunyakiri fiasco...the team and I went to verify the beneficiary list, make sure that they truly represented those who had been displaced by 'negative forces' in the forest...The civic authorities gave us a summary list of beneficiaries--ca8400households(x5=individuals)...1400 of which were returnees from some other outbreak of violence--some as from as much as 4 years ago. So we were expecting to verify lists totaling about 7000HH...we showed up at the civil authorities office, and were promptly handed lists totaling 11,474 households or 57,370 individuals or 688,440$ in Non-food item kits...besides the fact that the presence of an extra 60K people would have been immediately evident in this little clearing in the jungle(the area in question compromised of 7 villages over a 30+km stretch of road)...some of the lists didn't represent the IDP community at all...a couple random samples produced 0% representation of IDPs on the list of beneficiaries...not a single individual identified as an IDP was actually present on those lists....I couldn't believe it. And the worst part? Because of the persistent fraudulent behaviour of the community leaders in the effort to truly identify those who have been forced to flee their homes, we wont be able to assist those who really need help.
And so it goes. This week, off to luhago...1400hh fled the forest, living under trees, in cassava fields, on the sides of the hills...humantiarian committees have been set up, lists have be compile, and they've checked out, see what we can get done this week.
Pace e tranquillo
C

President Kabila's toothless Fu-Manchu

So election campaiging has begun...gleeming portraits in the streets, maybe just a tad bit photo--shoped (one candidate's teeth are whiter than white)...just like home, there's propaganda on every telephone pole, every car bumper, boulevard, and house gate...and just like home, vandals have already busied themselves defacing whatever than can!

Pretty exciting, pretty noisy...hoping to start a new t-shirt collection(unfortunately the RCD only has umbrellas emblazoned with their logo/motto

Soundtrack for the week: been rocking out to 'the Weakerthans' and 'Jonathon Inc.'

T-shirt slogan of the week: aside from the standard surrey terry fox run t-shirts, most amzing one this week courtesy of the IMC guard in Bunyakiri...
"Works like a Bugger, eh?"--scandalous, but oh so appropriate for Canada day
Yes, happy Canada Day.
Pace e tranquillo
C.
(still trying to figure out this piicture thing, thanks for the patience)