Looking for Hope Amidst Congo’s Day of Profound Sadness

Today, Saturday, July 16th, I have never seen so many coffins in one day in my life. There were big coffins and yes – little coffins; some were carried in cars as part of long processions of the high and the powerful and some carried on foot by humble peasants. For once, on this day, these two disparate groups shared a common affliction – grief.

I cannot confirm my speculation that the multiplicity of funeral processions I came across today were mostly linked to the July 8th plane crash in which 85 of 112 passengers lost their lives. But even if it is not, why is death so pervasive in Africa?

Today, I also attended the funeral of a colleague, Jacques Katuala recently returned to DRC after a long absence from this, his homeland. Jacques who had worked 17 years for the African Capacity-building Foundation before coming here to support efforts to improve the effectiveness of health-related organizations, worked tirelessly for the betterment of this continent. His and the lives of 84 others were tragically cut short by a crash that represents all that is wrong with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The hall in which we gathered to celebrate Jacques’ rich and varied life which ended much too soon at age 62 was filled with alternating spurts of shock, grief and intense love and affection. The funeral program went off like clockwork and without a hitch, suggesting, sadly, that because of the alarming frequency of funerals, no one does them better.

My fear is that well-run funerals are an indication of how inured Congolese have become to the frequency of premature death. Every week at work we hear of a colleague who has lost a relative, a brother, an uncle, a father, a daughter and sometimes, the employees themselves. Even today, just as I was leaving Jacques’ funeral, a colleague who also attended informed me that the father of another colleague had died that morning. That same colleague had lost her father-in-law two weeks before.

What a sad day. What a sad place. But I’m not sure which is sadder – death or the numbness to it. Obviously to everyone who had lost Jacques, the death was real and immediate, but why would death taken in the aggregate yield inertia among the living rather than activism?

At least one organization, ASHADO has called on the government to fundamentally transform the transport sector’s bureaucracy and regulatory structure which has presided over numerous aviation and nautical disasters just in the 3 short years I’ve been here alone.

Premature death for avoidable reasons should be seen as unacceptable especially when one considers that in Congo it is likely that corruption and mismanagement is the cause of most avoidable disasters. While there are numerous theories about what form of corruption led to this particular disaster, chances are the cause is not limited to one. All public employees are poorly paid (if paid at all) due to siphoning off of salaries by government, profits are prioritized over safety and the “non-enforcement” of safety regulations can be easily bought.

Every sector has its brand of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence. Some examples include:

Education – Teachers demand either money or sex for good grades
Health – Fake drugs lead to avoidable death or persistent health problems
Energy – In a land that has the hydro-electric capacity to power all of Europe, vast swaths of the country are without power most of the time since the international companies capable of harnessing hydro-power and converting it to electricity are reluctant to invest in a country notorious for excessive taxation and extortion of multi-nationals
Security – Traffic police demand payment from drivers since they don’t get paid. Drivers pay fines directly to the police but also bribe police to ignore traffic infractions

So not surprisingly, in a sector where the level of safety standards has life or death consequences, lives are lost excessively and in the absence of outrage, life goes on. It seems that Congo’s leaders have bought into their former colonizers’ belief that an African’s life is worth nothing!

The need to place a greater value on an African life is at the very heart of Africa’s renewal. As I have said so often, who will respect an African if they are seen not to respect each other?

Dear Jacques, may you and those who perished with you rest in eternal peace and may your death at least, bring all in this country closer to the level of outrage at such senseless and unnecessary loss of life to stimulate a shift on the part of the powerful and influential from an orientation around unbridled greed and selfishness towards public service and national pride.