which african river crosses the equator twice?
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which african river crosses the equator twice
Which African River Crosses the Equator Two Times?
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In Chaotic Zaire, River Is a Lifeline to the World
Thirty-six years of chaotic independence have hardly made Zaire synonymous with institutional dependability. But early each morning, as if it is the exception out to prove the rule, the riverboat Matadi fires up its engines for a day of travel back and forth across the milewide waterway that separates this country from Congo.
The ride across the Congo River is at once a visit to Zaire’s fading functional past and a compact lesson in the political economy of the continent.
Once upon a time, river travel in Zaire offered
classy alternative to the bustle of trains, the speed of airplanes and the punishing grind of traversing the vast country by highway. But now, with the roads and rails swallowed up by the bush for lack of maintenance, and air travel as perilous as it is chronically late, Zaire’s seemingly endless rivers are virtually all that is left.
which african river crosses the equator twice telenor
Brazzaville, Congo’s capital, was once capital of France’s central African empire; Kinshasa, under the name of Leopoldville.
was the administrative center for Belgium’s huge holdings in this part of the continent. In fact, between the two, the river has always been the only way to go.
”The distance across is too great for a bridge and too short for an airplane
said Bemba Boka, skipper of the Matadi. ”That leaves us.” The broad, low-slung vessel’s arrival in its berth, surrounded by long-ago-junked river boats.
produces a crush of merchants and travelers who unfailingly jostle one another to get aboard, even though the next boat is never more than a half-hour away.
While France has worked hard at holding sway in its former African possessions, Belgium and all things Belgian have been dissipating fast in Zaire.
Adding to the chaos is the country‘s uncertain future under the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, who after 31 years in power is sick with cancer and facing a rebellion in the east.
On the Matadi and the handful of other rusty barges
that travel between the capitals, one sign of this reversal of fortune is the increased number of handicapped traders, who ride back and forth all day shepherding junky three-wheeled scooters outfitted with large cargo bins.
For the disabled, the $15 river crossing fare is cut in half; Zairian merchants seized on this years ago, hiring the handicapped in order to move goods as cheaply as possible.
From Zaire to Congo flow fresh produce and raw materials — everything from fresh vegetables to plywood. From Congo to Zaire flow foreign-made goods bought with Brazzaville’s French-backed currency, which unlike Zaire’s money has purchasing power.
For at least a decade
most of the energy of Zaire’s politicians seems to have gone into cynical politics and official thievery. But the people somehow retain a surprisingly strong entrepreneurial spirit.
Among the country’s central African neighbors, all sparsely populated, respect for Zairian drive is evident in the wariness displayed toward Zairian visitors.
A case in point is Gabon
a neighbor on the far side of Congo. Antoine Iyela, a porter who has worked for 12 years in Kinshasa’s bustling river port, said the Gabonese ”have oil, tropical wood and uranium in abundance,” but ”do everything they can to stop Zairians from coming there.”
”I can’t understand how you can have poor people in countries like that where so few people live,” Mr. Iyela added. ”Give a Zairian a visa for one year, and he will be rich.”
In years past, it was politics more than economics that drove people one way or the other across the river.
Both Congo and Zaire were heavily policed dictatorships
The countries eyed each so other warily across the river that they couldn’t even agree on its name.
(each preferred its own). The crossing, heavily guarded, became the scene of remarkable episodes of treachery.
In 1968, Mr. Mobutu sent his Foreign Minister to Brazzaville to lure one of his most persistent opponents, Pierre Mulele, home from exile.
When Mr. Mulele, who had led one of the best-planned of the decade’s many uprisings, arrived in Kinshasa aboard the presidential yacht sent to fetch him, he was arrested and tortured to death.
Nine years later, Congo’s President, Marien Ngouabi, was killed by an assassination squad that is widely believed to have been sent from Kinshasa.
In 1968
Mobutu sent his Foreign Minister to Brazzaville to lure one of his most persistent opponents, Pierre Mulele, home from exile.
When Mr. Mulele, who had led one of the best-planned of the decade’s many uprisings, arrived in Kinshasa aboard the presidential yacht sent to fetch him, he was arrested and tortured to death.
Nine years later, Congo’s President, Marien Ngouabi, was killed by an assassination squad that is widely believed to have been sent from Kinshasa.
Today, all that remains of this era of intrigue is the scrupulous passport checks on both sides. But like so many elements of official life in Zaire, there is a swindle involved.
Even though AIDS is e
ndemic in Zaire
and a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus last year drew the world‘s attention, the latest border trick is to ask foreign travelers for evidence of a cholera vaccination — or a bribe instead.
Most doctors agree that the vaccination is virtually useless, and in any case, few Zairians have received them.
