Nice story.

Last Friday we met again with Professor Chimanuka Bantuzeko; he is professor at one of the universities here in Bukavu and in 2007 he was responsible for the surveyors who were send out to do the baseline survey. We already met with him several times before that week as we would like him to also do the final survey. Under very difficult circumstances he and his team pulled off an amazing job in 2007; surveyors had to cross rivers filled with crocodilles (but, of course, without bridges), surveyors had to walk (or cycle, or use the motor) for days to reach villages that were randomly selected by us for sampling, surveyors were kidnapped for days by a multitude of different rebel organizations (a.o. the Interhamwe), etc.

It was Friday evening – the evening before Macartan would leave – so we went for a Primus in one of the local bars (Belvedere). Within two hours we had consumed several beers and several additional Congolese – friends and students of Professor Chimanuka – had joined our table. It was great.

For example, one of the people that joined was Alain; a surveyor for the 2007 baseline survey. For the survey Professor Chimanuka sent out the surveyors in teams of two – one man and one woman – and Alain had some nice stories to tell. He talked about how they had to cross rivers filled with hippos and crocodilles. He told us how they walked for a day up to their belly in the mud to cross a 3-kilometer swamp. Finally, he told us how they had to flee one village in the night because an Interhamwe commander ‘fell in love’ with his his fellow (female) team member. Then Alain got a smile on his face and told us that... the two of them recently got married.

Not only is it a nice story, it also gives an idea of just how amazing this data is. Not only is the content extraordinary (see here), so was (and is going to be again) its collection; placing a heavy burden on us to use it well.

Alain now works for a company in Bukavu that buys minerals (casserite, coltal, gold, etc.) from miners in Shabunda; one of Sud Kivu’s territoires. They fly in the resources at Kavumu Airport (the military airport to the north of Bukavu) and then transport this in trucks to Bukavu where it is to be sold. I arranged with Alain that somewhere in upcoming days I will join him for a day to his work; to learn more about the process of arrival/selling/processing/buying of natural resources first hand. Looking much forward.