Congo: what, where, who?

Well, here I am blogging. It's not that I got tired of emailing the same stuff to different people: I'm desperately trying to learn everything I can about this place before I make a big boo-boo, cause a diplomatic incident or just look like an idiot - thus confirming the image of Americans as ignorant of everything outside their borders. My mission for these first few days is to cram for the big life-in-the-foreign-service exam. Well, sure, coulda-shoulda-woulda done that before leaving, but there was just too much going on. So, in the course of learning, my only tool being the Internet (none of our stuff has arrived yet), I've come across one website after another which I know I want to return to later, but I'm not allowed to save Favorites on this government-issued, taxpayer-owned computer (thanks, y'all!). Sure, I can list url's on a Word document. But then I might as well just create a BLOG. So I spent most of yesterday learning about blogs and blog hosts (the free ones, anyway) and decided that the Google version would probably be my best choice. I do all my searching on Google anyway. Too bad, Yahoo!! (no, I'm not using double exclamation points!!). So, first thing I'm looking for: a good map of the DRC. Here's the one most commonly used. For instance, on Wikipedia. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia07/congo_demrep_sm_2007.gif Good physical one with major cities and national parks: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/congodem.htm This one has a lot of the rivers and... roads? sure, they're marked as "minor" roads, but the truth is they just don't exist anymore: http://geology.com/world/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-satellite-image.shtml The same page has a satellite image, a bit marred by the border-line with other countries. Kinshasa is just below the big island in the river. Downstream of Kinshasa are terrific rapids, which one website, http://www.world-waterfalls.com/, lists as the largest (in volume of water) waterfalls in the world. In fact, the three top waterfalls on their list are in this country! (but they admit they are really rapids, stretching the definition of waterfall). It's the curse and the blessing of this river that its thousands of miles of navigable waters don't connect with the ocean. Curse for trade, blessing, perhaps, for the environment? Here's a map of the proposed provinces: http://www.insidejustice.com/law/images/articles/drc_provinces_2006_big.gif JACKPOT!!! This site has 12 maps! http://maps.nationmaster.com/country/cg/1 OK! Now I'm content. Ooo! and you can expand these! Hm. the maps are from 1997 and Congo was still Zaire. Still. Hm. Still don't see the towns where these people were born. Ok, knowing where their home province is will be enough for now. The people I'm researching are members of parliament (elected in 2006, first representative govt, ever) who will be my guests tomorrow. Cocktails i.h.o. Senator Russ Feingold, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, visiting Kinshasa and the towns of Goma and Bunia in the war-torn east of the country. Spent most of today helping my household staff get ready for a 12-person lunch and a reception, both tomorrow. So, what happened here, why are the roads so bad, the east so war-torn, the people so poor? Time to google for some history! This page has names, dates, events in table format: http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Congo-Kinshasa.html Just googling, before you even open any links, you get the idea: "history congo kinshasa": This period of conflict has been the bloodiest in history since World War II. ... "history war east congo kinshasa": Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the new regime in Kinshasa...The rebels take control of much of the east of DR Congo. ... 2002 April - Peace talks in South Africa: Kinshasa signs a power-sharing deal with ... The Impact of War and Atrocity on Civilian Populations: Basic ... Kinshasa. The project failed, giving rise to a new period of instability. ... The First African World War. The last conflict in Congo started in 1996. ...Congo-Kinshasa: New Democracy Must Build on Local Leaders .... Traditional authorities and even local war lords offered some order in the vacuum after ... Wikipedia has a good basic history for those who are interested. Okay, gotta get back to my representational preparations. That's all for now!