Flying for Kosovo

You all know by now that one of the hardest things about this mission is the bureaucratic nightmares that I have to encounter in each country.  Things like customs, airport paperwork upon landing and upon leaving, obtaining visas, etc., they all take so much time and often times it feels like I am running in circles all day trying to get things straightened out.  Many times the personnel are not as helpful or as knowledgeable as they would be in airports in say, the United States or Europe, but they still want to make sure that you know that they are the ones with the authority.  It is not their fault, and I am not complaining, but I hope you see why I would rather avoid this if I’m able.  If I did everything as requested folks, I would still be sitting somewhere back Morocco or something.  In this case, I want to thank my friend Ms. Germaine Malongc as she was instrumental in helping me get a visa for visiting this country.  For a small fee, she was able to get me a visa pronto.  It worked out better this way because her and the official in Congo-Kinshasa* knew each other personally, which increased my chances of the visa being authorized.  I also want to again thank our good friend Mr. Jean-Philippe van Nyen from back in Sao Tome and Principe.  Remember, he is the one that graciously offered to request that I receive diplomatic travel status with his organization, Order of Malta.  His offering has put me in a completely different category of travel as far as country officials go.  Now instead of jumping through so many bureaucratic hoops, the process goes much faster and I don’t have to give every single personnel my reason for travel and have them exert their authority and try to give me problems each time.

Friends, having travelled now for such a long time in Africa and having been exposed to many challenges and struggles, it is often difficult for me still to get used to the unknown and unpredictability that I often times face.  The stress that it generates in your body is something that I can’t explain.  Many times I am physically tense most hours of the day because you never know what you are going to encounter next.  I’ve just had a very short flight from Congo-Brazzaville to Congo-Kinshasa, but what a difference in infrastructure, organization and culture.  Things look more chaotic on this side of the border and much more complex, with a higher price tag.  It took me two tries to get a taxi for a reasonable price.  Of course, once I did I enjoyed spending time my new grandpa for the next two days, Mr. Rene Tombuele Kiteki, as he drove me all around Kinshasa.

I find it odd that the capitals of these two countries are so close together, yet so different upon landing.  I believe that they actually hold the world record for being the two closest capitals.  After all of my travels, it is rare for me to see two neighboring countries, which are connected geographically for thousands of miles, try so hard to not be associated with each other.  Coming from Europe my friends, it is quite strange to see these things in the world.  Especially since we have transportation like ferries and tunnels connecting countries together (like English channel connecting France and England and Mont Blanc connecting Italy and France, etc.).

Despite having a river between the two Congo’s (which at times is only a few hundred meters wide) the two countries have decided not to have territorial connections.  This means that there are no bridges at all connecting one country to the other, so the only way for accessing each other is through either boats and/or planes. I am even guessing that you could throw a rock from one side of the river to the other, except that there is such a lack of trust between these two that this is probably not possible.  The only other place where I have seen this lack of accessibility between countries was between the Central African Republic and Congo-Democratic Republic.

It is my understanding that they two Congo’s are very different from each other due to a number of reason.  One reason is that Congo-Brazzaville is historically French in origin, but the Congo-Kinshasa is historically Belgian.  Since then, there has been a lot of conflict in this area at several points throughout history.  The latest conflict was the Second Congo War, which began in 1998.  It is my understanding that this war began as tensions from neighboring Rwanda (at the time in its own civil war) spilled over into the DRC.  This war devestated the region, involved seven foreign armies and has sometimes been referred to as the African World War.  Estimates reveal that this war has been the deadliest since World War II, with as high as 5 million people killed.  Even though peace accords were signed in 2003, fighting still continues and it is believed that tens of thousands of people still die each month due top the war, disease and famine.  Things seem to be extremely difficult in the eastern portion of the country, where it is rumored that the prevelance of rape and other sexual violence against women is still considered the worst in the world.

On a more positive note, I was very excited upon arrival to be able to call some old Kosovar friends that have worked in Kinshasa for several years now with the United Nations.  It had been so many years that we had kept in contact only by internet.  It felt wonderful and gave me a great sense of security and comfort to be meeting with my brothers from back home who share the same values and culture as me.  After finishing my work the first day, I met up with Mr. Mehmet Berisha when he came to my miserable hotel to pick me up and take me to get some dinner.  It was the greatest feeling to spend the evening with a group of my Kosovar friends from long ago and converse in our language for a few days before I moved on to continue our journey.

For the next few days, I was treated like a King by my brothers.  Both nights we went for a nice dinner and one evening we had the added company of Mr. Dionis Avdimetaj, Afrim Lepaja and Meriton Ahmeti.  I was even invited to say at Mr. Jeton Krasniqi and Feim Zeka’s apartment and it was also great to know that they lived in a very nice and secure area of town.  Mr. Krasniqi and Mr. Zeka were so kind to lodge me in their wonderful apartment.  They gave me lots of care and attention.  The most amazing though, was that they both generously gave a donation to our mission, which touched me deeply.  May higher powers bless you all my dear friends and thank you for everything that you have done for me and our mission.

In the two days that I stayed in Congo-Kinshasa, I was able to get a lot accomplished.  A television broadcast was done extremely well, thanks to my very professional friends, Mr. Richard Shako Kanyengeo and his camera technician.  And the journalists and bosses with each newspaper were also great.  Thank you to Mr. Dieudonne Mwantote with the newspaper Le Palmares; Mr. Jean-Marie Kapongo with Africa News; Mr. Tshingombe Lukusa John with Journal Congo News; Mr. Jonas Kota with Forum Des As; Mr. Jean-Rene Bompolonga with Le Phare; and the team with newspaper Le Potential, Mr. Mulumba Kabuayi and Pierre Emangongo.  Finally, I want to thank Mr. Berisha again for driving me around for my business in Kinshasa.

Thank you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the great team at the Protocal Minister’s Office for taking the time to discuss Kosovo’s independence and for accepting Vlora Citaku’s letter in order to present it to their boss.

Though Congo-Kinshasa has its share of problems and many unfortunate years of civil war, I hope to hear one day that this country has been able to raise its head above water so that the lives of all its people can be improved.

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