While it is starting to seem like every time I arrive in a new country, something dramatic happens, I am going with the notion that dramatic things are always happening, I'm just not always in the periphery.
There were the elections in Congo, the mutiny in Cote d'Ivoire, the kidnapping alert in Mali and now here, the recent tension, violence and killings in South Africa which have had major effects in Nigeria and Congo (RDC is popping up wherever I go- there always seems to be some kind of connection.)
Attacks in South Africa inspired reprisals, business closures and embassy shutdowns. An overview of events found here outlines some of the major responses, including an offer by Air Peace to fly Nigerians living in South Africa back home, if they wish. Surely this is a much more complicated issue and Nigerians speak about their decisions here. As is becoming typical of our times, social media has done much to inflame the issue, with wide sharing of mis-identified video clips or photos. Protests in Nigeria and Congo have been linked to more damage, injuries and death.
While taking attendance in class the other day, I queried about a student, only to be told he'd flown back to South Africa. His dad worked for MTN and with the embassy shutting down, getting out of country was the safe decision. His classmates took a light hearted tone, suggesting he'd gone off to hiding, and implying he'd return eventually. As if they'd gone through this, or something similar, before- which they likely have. Other classes were also abuzz with news, often citing the viral videos with misinformation. I took some small time to suggest deeper investigation before believing everything you see, all the while wondering why 10-year-olds had access to news about people being burned alive. The conversations among international school students never ceases to surprise and amaze.
In other quiet news, the border between Benin and Nigeria has been closed- with my carefully packed and much missed baggage on the other side. Apparently there are concerns about rice smuggling, which is a term I'd never heard of before arriving here.
And if all of that weren't enough of a convoluted connection, the Nigerian embassy in Congo suffered some bad media play when Congolese officials were videoed throwing out furniture and other belongings. Officials from both countries have reported they've resolved the situation, which occurred over a misunderstanding about paperwork.
My own attempts to get back to Kinshasa are currently being thwarted by an inability to contact the embassy here. None of the numbers for the office in Abuja work, and email is silent. Luckily, if you're Lost in Lagos, there's Nothing to Do.
