A Congolese Escapade

A Congolese Escapade

                                     - Supratik Roy

I have a proclivity towards travelling and adventure and these are the major rationales that motivated me to pursue Geology as a career. So, when my institute issued a notice about some mining company based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, inviting students for a fully-funded internship in their country, I could not resist the crave of visiting Africa. My voyage began on the 8th of June, 2019. This was going to be my first overseas trip and not in the comforts of some luxurious country. It was going to be in the place where human civilization began, where there are people still detached from the comforts of city life, where there are wild animals still in their natural habitat.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country in the central part of the African continent. Despite having an unimaginable natural resource wealth, the country is fighting with poverty and diseases. A despondent colonial history, slavery, civil wars and systematic corruption have crippled the nation to the core of its spirit. However, things are slowly changing for the country and the new generation of educated and passionate Congolese will help them achieve their pipe dream.

A typical African landscape on the banks of the Congo river.

Geology is one of those professions which takes you to the rarest parts of the planet. I was posted deep inside the Congo Rainforest, near a small village named Mikengele. It was a typical African village with some shanty huts and lively people. The Congo River flows close to this village, acting as the source of water and a major source of food for the people in this area. The nearest hospital that could provide an anti-venom was hundreds of kilometres away and the road conditions only made it worse. 

The mining company had set foot here looking for cassiterite (Sn-ore), which is abundant in this country, along with many other conflict minerals like, cobalt, tungsten, coltan (columbite-tantalite), etc., which are responsible for Congo’s “resource curse”. As a Geologist, I was expected to help the company in the exploration planning and mapping of the concession area. The job was rather difficult because of several reasons including thick vegetation cover, venomous snakes, limited outcrops and language barrier. There were some Indian employees in the camp who taught me the life hacks of working in the forest and made my life easier in this otherwise hostile environment.

Measuring the attitude of a quartz vein exposed in a sampling pit.

The area was a part of the Mesoproterozoic Kibara belt. The major rock type was schist, regularly intruded by quartz veins that were present in two sets, regionally. These quartz veins were the primary source of cassiterite. Schist was overlain by a thick cover of alluvial and eluvial deposits, which hosted the secondary source of cassiterite. Pitting, logging and sampling at regularly spaced intervals, running along and across the strike of the bedding was a part of my daily routine, along with hiking around the area for mapping and identifying the structural controls. The other primary source of cassiterite was a pegmatite belt on the other side of the Congo river. I was accompanied by a professor from my institute for a few days. He taught me the tricks of the trade during his stay and was by far, the best companion to have on such a trip.

Most of the days I was accompanied by a fellow Congolese Geologist for fieldwork. He was an experienced Geologist and could speak English. The other days when a local Swahili speaking helper was my guide, the language barrier made things extremely difficult, often ending with us laughing out loud at each other's failed attempts of communication. This forced me to learn some Swahili words like kuiya (come here), chunga (wait), pole-pole (slow), dar-dar (fast), etc., that I used to construct basic sentences. This often led to miscommunication and thus dumb-charades remained the most credible mode.

A lump of cassiterite extracted from the pegmatite belt.

The day, when we visited the pegmatite belt on the other side of the Congo River, was thrilling. The Congo River is infamous for the large population of dwarf crocodiles. The dwarfism, however, does not make them any less menacing. We had to cross the river on a piece of wood, carved from the centre, that barely qualifies as a canoe. We were strictly instructed to sit in a certain posture and not move the entire time. Watching crocodiles circling the boat would have been cinematic, but the knowledge of their presence was equally petrifying. It is a custom in these places to meet and greet the village head when you enter their territory for the first time. The village head was an old woman who was happy to host us and after a few minutes of Jumbo and Jumbo-Sana, we were allowed to proceed for work. Bike ride along the foot-trails in the forest to hiking up and down the steep hills of the Kibara, it was one of the most adventurous days of my visit.

One of the most challenging aspects of working in the rainforest is malaria. I was assured that I will catch malaria and was supposed to be calm about it as they had high doses of medicines and injections that could cure the disease without major complications. All the workers in the camp had suffered from malaria within few days of their arrival. As a matter of fact, the person who drove me from the headquarters to the camp site had got malaria on the very next day. I was extra cautious about this situation and overused mosquito repellent creams throughout my stay. At the end when it was time for me to leave, my colleagues were surprised that I had not experienced the African malaria during the entire month long stay in one of the most infamous regions. However, it was finally time to report my work at the headquarters and set sail back to India.

Locales crossing the Congo river on the so-called canoe.

My visit to the poorest rich country of the world taught me a lot of lessons. With all the flaws, DRC is special in itself. It made me feel privileged to have the comforts that I enjoy back at my place. It also made me realise that wealth is not the only element required to lead a happy life. The people of Mikengele are poor, barely have a house and fight for food every day. Yet they love their music, enjoy their leisure, live as a community and dance to their own drum beats. It has changed my vision and perspective about life in more than one ways that will help me find happiness in desperate times. From the corrupt officials at the airport to the beautiful landscapes at the banks of the Congo river, I will cherish my visit to Congo throughout my life.

PS: I was diagnosed with malaria (Plasmodium falsiparum, that I carried from Congo) 10 days after my return to India and had to spend 6 days in the hospital.

** I am extremely thankful to the entire host of well-wishers who made this trip possible and a memorable one. I did not take names in this blog to avoid any sort of misunderstanding. If you are reading this, I want you to know that I really appreciate the support and care that you extended towards me during this trip.