Bukavu changes a little bit everyday. Sometimes it's a change in the cost of dinner. Sometimes it's the weather and sometimes it's the people around you. It's tough to adjust to a place when you can't quite figure out the rules of the game.
Different members of the expat community have found different ways to explain this phenomenon to me. One said "I couldn't figure out why but I was really emotional for the first month, it's better now" and numerous people have told me that it takes about a month to "get used to it here". Whatever the cause and explanation is, below are some of the things I've experienced over the last two weeks and my attempt to make sense of it
Local Organizations
I'm working with three organization in Bukavu, all of whom work on peacebuilding and have overlapping agendas which include peace education, conflict transformation and have strong links with local churches.On top of that one has a focus on women, human rights and justice, one a focus on development and a third that I'm still getting to know. They all start the day with a morning prayer and all are highly critical of the government's ability to govern effectively.
These organizations all feel very diverse but also inextricably linked through funders, themes and at times partnerships. I'm looking forward to getting to know the staff better and what makes each of these organizations unique.
Field Visits to Bideka and Kadutu
All of the organizations that I am working with have strongly suggested that I visit their partners in the field. Each of these organizations have local fieldstaff or "animateurs" who help to implement peacebuilding projects at the local level. In my first two weeks here I have been fortunate enough to go on two short field visits.
The first was with the justice focused organization where we went to Bideka. In Bideka we met with members of the community who had been victims of sexual and gender based violence who were receiving help in obtaining treatment from the Panzi hospital who help to repair fistulas experienced by rape victims. It was striking to hear women describe their experiences of sexual violence, especially from the one who was unable to speak in front of the group but who insisted on meeting with Ian and I privately to tell us her story and who broke down at the end wondering what to do with her life now, after having been attacked for the second time and losing her family to violence. It was a good opportunity to learn about the insecurity which continues to face people living outside of Bukavu, which includes threats from demobilized forces and non-state armed actors. We also got to see the school where students were writing state exams and visit the health center which offered very basic services. Vaccines are stored in a fridge, food is distributed to people sufferring malnutrition and there is a very basic nursing station equipped only with running water, a surgical table and a scale. Despite the evident poverty and violence people were friendly and welcoming.
My second little trip into the field was still within the borders of Bukavu but in a neighbourhood where not many foreigners venture. This is because this is the area refer to as "chaud" (or hot) because it's crowded and there is a lot of poverty and other things going on. On this visit we went to see children who are part of local peace clubs play a soccer game for peace. These clubs are run by the peacebuilding organization with the broader focus on development. At the beginning of each game the organization explains to the children that they're being brought together to support peace and they're invited to play together. Notably there was only one girl on one of the teams. Although it was good to see the project I was a bit overwhelmed by the large group of children who crowded around me but couldn't speak French. I tried my usual fist bump tactic which elicited smiles but didn't disperse the crowd. Again, there was noticeable malnutrition and struggle.
Expats
The expat community is notably different from the people living in Kampala. It is significantly smaller and there are weekly events that a large number of people go to so it's easy to meet people. There seem to be two age groups here. People between the ages of 25-35 who are here performing project management functions at local and international NGOs and an older group with more senior positions in international NGOs. Everyone is friendly and evidently pretty tough. It's also interesting to see the differences between organizations and how they treat their staff. While some must be accompanied at all times others are left more or less to their own devices. It's also interesting to watch the interactions between UN, International NGO and local NGO workers, the local NGO workers tending to be the most "hardcore" of the group.
Everything is "Fine"
The mantra that I keep hearing from my international and local contacts is that everything is "fine" in Bukavu. There are political tensions, and my friends at the justice organization fear assassination attempts but everything is fine because the war is not currently knocking at their door. Expats exhibit that they feel nervous about going into the field and even places around Kadutu but everything is fine because they are not in any immediate danger. And indeed, everything is fine but it is interesting to take note of how subjective the use of the term "fine" can really be.
That's all for now.
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