2007.01.17: January 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Congo Kinshasa: Safety: Evacuation: Blogs - Congo Kinshasa: Personal Web Site: Congo Kinshasa RPCV Gozu writes: I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle of Zaire 1991 when Emergency Evac orders came down
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Congo - Kinshasa (Zaire):
Peace Corps Congo Kinshasa :
Peace Corps Congo Kinshasa: New Stories:
2007.01.17: January 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Congo Kinshasa: Safety: Evacuation: Blogs - Congo Kinshasa: Personal Web Site: Congo Kinshasa RPCV Gozu writes: I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle of Zaire 1991 when Emergency Evac orders came down
Congo Kinshasa RPCV Gozu writes: I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle of Zaire 1991 when Emergency Evac orders came down
I drove my motorcycle across the bush in a thunderstorm and rallied at a point of origin (the thunderstorm was hell). We drove into Mbuji-Mayi and the volunteers buried equipment and vacated the house to a Diamond Merchants house protected by British Mercs. We listened over the radio as our friends in Kasai Oriental were grenaded and volunteers and merchants hog tied by the Zaire Military. Contact was lost and then regained (we met them in the Congo. They were allright..sort of.) The city emptied out overnight. We knew something was about to happen. After a sleepless night word came in that a Hercules C-130 piloted by Marines and Belgian paratroopers was coming. We drove into the airport (tarmac with bamboo poles). Zairians got mad we were leaving and began to stone us, while saying, "Please don't go." They have strong throws. I can see how you could get stoned to death.
Congo Kinshasa RPCV Gozu writes: I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle of Zaire 1991 when Emergency Evac orders came down
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Thanks to the Miitary an unreported event repost
Current mood: awake
Category: Writing and Poetry
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle of Zaire 1991, in the village of Munyenge. I was doing fisheries management in a 70-KL radius. I was given a motorcycle and two barrels of gas to last me for 8 months. I spoke French, Tshiluba, Bena Budia, Ciluba, some Swahili.
I was basically a mutt. There were so many tribes in the area and I was posted out there in the middle of nowhere. Some Africans would run away when they saw me. My friends were all Zairian. I would play cards; eat bugs, fu-fu, manioc, and really anything that wasn't human.
My days were spent visiting fishponds and training Zairians in how to dig ponds and raise tilapia (it was a successful project. The only one I've seen.) Nights were spent talking, dancing, or drinking with Zairians and listening to the BBC. Sometimes I would walk up the villages and see what was up. This was always big news. They had a meeting and determined I was not a cannibal. I really don't know how that rumor got started.
One day the country blew up. Mobutu lost control of his military and they went berserk. I was in my hut listening to frantic diplomats on the BBC, but I thought to myself. I'm way out in the bush. There are riots all the time. So what? I'll run the roadblocks and pretend I am ignorant (this is accomplished by gunning the motorcycle, waving in a friendly manner to the Zaire military roadblock, as they chase you blowing whistles or waving guns. They never shoot..No bullets. Usually.)
The villagers then came up and told me I could hide in the trees with them. I knew it was trouble. What the hell do I do?
Emergency Evac orders came down. Regional Reps drove all the way to my site for a pullout. Told me I had an hour to get ready and leave. They were nervous. The city was very quite..Empty.
I drove my motorcycle across the bush in a thunderstorm and rallied at a point of origin (the thunderstorm was hell). We drove into Mbuji-Mayi and the volunteers buried equipment and vacated the house to a Diamond Merchants house protected by British Mercs.
We listened over the radio as our friends in Kasai Oriental were grenaded and volunteers and merchants hog tied by the Zaire Military. Contact was lost and then regained (we met them in the Congo. They were allright..sort of.)
The city emptied out overnight. We knew something was about to happen. After a sleepless night word came in that a Hercules C-130 piloted by Marines and Belgian paratroopers was coming.
We drove into the airport (tarmac with bamboo poles). Zairians got mad we were leaving and began to stone us, while saying, "Please don't go." They have strong throws. I can see how you could get stoned to death.
I guess the diamond merchants had paid off the local Zaire military commander. His small unit charged the crowd, clicked off the safeties and said, "the next stone thrown, we mow you all down." They rammed a firetruck into the crowd. More stuff happened. It was confusing at this point.
Finally we saw the plane. It landed fast and the Belgian paratroopers stormed out faster than hell and secured the landing strip. They moved really fast with massive weapons.
They said "American Volunteers first." Yeeehaaa! Marines were in the plane piloting it.
On the bumpy ride back we tried talking to the 18 year old paratroopers in French. They told us, "We speak English, we hate speaking French." That was new to me. I guess they prefer to speak English and Frankish or something like that?
When we left...the city blew up. Paratroopers told me it was like a bomb went off.
So I basically owe my life to the logistical support, planning, and coordination of our military. I always ran into marines and military overseas, who were busy saving people's asses and risking their lives. Most of it goes unnoticed or unreported.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2007; Peace Corps Congo Kinshasa; Directory of Congo Kinshasa RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Congo Kinshasa RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Blogs - Congo Kinshasa
When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
 | Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps
Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
 | He served with honor
One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
 | Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance
The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
 | The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again
The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
 | PCOL readership increases 100%
Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
 | History of the Peace Corps
PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Personal Web Site
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Congo Kinshasa; Safety; Evacuation; Blogs - Congo Kinshasa
PCOL35977
92
