Copyright Dicho Disashi 2006
THE CANNIBALS
WAYA WAYA
Copyright Dicho Disashi 2006
NOTE:
1) THE CAPITAL CITY CALLED MATONGA OR KABINDA SHOULD BE CALL BOMA. BOMA WAS THE CAPITAL OF CONGO AND CENTRAL AFRICA FROM THE 1400'S TO EARLY 1900'S.
2) THE VILLAGE CALLED MUZUNGU SHOULD BE CALL KABINDE. IT WAS A POPULAR NAME.The cannibal village of Jean, Muzungu must be Kabinde. Kabinda do exist. There are two Kabinda. North west cost of Congo. It is a territory named Cabinda. The other Kabinda is a village in region of Kasai and it was a land of cannibal tribe in real life.Then in South Africa there is a village called Kabinde. So I preffer Kabinde with "e" at the end not "a" at the end
3) AID WORKERS SHOULD BE CALLED PORTERS. IT HOW THEY WERE CALLED.
4) THE ARMY MUST BE CALLED PUBLIC ARMY ESPECIALLY IN CHAPTER: CONFESSION. PUBLIC FORCE WAS THE REAL NAME OF THE ARMY.
5)LET USE THE NAME BALOMBI MEANING ADVISER, SPECIAL ADVISOR, DIGNITARY OR TRADITIONAL SECRETARY. Mulumbi is singular and Balombi in plurial.
SOME POSSIBLE NAMES TO BE USED FOR TRIBES, PERSONS, VILLAGES OR SURNAMES...: Buta, Upoto, Akula, Kasi, Isangala, Mbanza, Mwepu, Mosengo, Lembi, Maniema, Huru, Kasereka, Dubeni, Matshora, Moto, Kindu, Kimbala, Matama, Awilo, Kaniama, Wetu, Imana, Piti Piti, Gusumbo, Kimbaseke, Maheshi. Dikasa,Lisala, Kabalo
Notes: Simon's part is at the end of the projects talking about the treatment in the North. And the main character Jean is in the South of the country.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE: DREAMS
CHAPTER ONE: NEW WORLD
CHAPTER TWO:JUDGEMENT
CHAPTER TREE: DEATH PENALTY
(CHAPTER FOUR: WHO IS THIS MAN?)
CHAPTER (FIVE): THE WEEPING'S TREES, See Simon's part at the end of the project:
CHAPTER (SIX): ESTABLISHMENT
CHAPTER (SEVEN): WAR
(CHAPTER EIGHT: LEOPOLD AGAINST THE WORLD, see Simon's part)
CHAPTER (NINE): RUSH HOURS
(CHAPTER TEN: THE AFRICAN'S ART, Simon's part)
CHAPTER (ELEVEN): MARRIAGES
CHAPTER TWELVE: CELEBRATION
CHAPTER (THIRTEEN): NEW GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER (FOURTEEN): TRAPS
CHAPTER ( FIFTEEN): WAYA WAYA:NO DIRECTION
CHAPTER (SIXTEEN): LION'S RACE.
(CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE WOMEN'S STRUGGLE, Simon's part)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: COUP D'ETAT
CHAPTER (NINETEEN): NOWHERE TO RUN
(CHAPTER TWENTY: THE BIG KILLER, Simon's part)
CHAPTER (TWENTY ONE): THE TREASURE
CHAPTER (TWENTY TWO): CONFESSION
(CHAPTER TWENTY TREE: CANNIBALISM AS AN WEAPON, Simon's part)
(CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: END OF AN ERA, Simon's part)
PROLOGUE: DREAM
PROLOGUE: DREAM
Brussels , 1899.
In the falling of the sun, in the marketplace of Brussels , many people rushed to buy their foods and other necessities. Everyone rushed because the sellers were getting ready to close down their stands, so the customers at this late hour grabbed often without looking just to have something they needed to buy.
Into this rushing hour came a young man, Jean Van Dorn, who walked slowly, letting others push past and around him. His mind was on dreaming thoughts, many miles away.
He had a dream that upset him the entire day. Even his mother wasn't able to interpret the dream. By the advice of his mother he went to see a renowned fortune teller who had a stand just outside the busy place. Philippe, a German, was more than fortune teller, more than a man who interpret dreams. He was also known as the healer of the heart in trouble, wise man and a motivator.
Jean had a strange dream and his mother told him that dreams were the destiny and forecast of the future. He feared his future. He was a lad who looked for trouble because he didn�t like school, and though he thought he could be a good person, allowed others to lead him around. And he had a temper. Just last week he had beaten another boy up and he feared the boy would tell the police who he was. He told his mother he was afraid, and then the dream came.
The fortune teller, an aging man with gray and disappearing hair, was about to close his stand after a long tiring day, when he saw a young man coming to him. Unusual, because most of the usual customer were older people of status, and with the money to pay for his services. Yet, this lad could be the son of one of them, so he waited.
Philippe waited as the boy stopped in front of his little shop but said nothing. �Bonjour, can I help you?"
Jean barely whispered in embarrassment. "I cannot sleep if I don't find peace."
"Peace? I can help if you have bad dreams at night, but you must pay the fee.�
The young boy had two franc with him, which he put in the basket Philippe indicated.
Philippe stopped packing his working tools, and took a closer look at Jean, who could use that money for better clothes or to put some fat on his bones. His eyes had the sunken shallow look of malnutrition, too.
He took the money out of the basket and handed it back. "I don't need money from you."
Jean looked sadly at the money in his hand. "But I cannot find peace." He turned to walk away but couldn�t move. "I had a very disturbing dream. My mother and neighbors couldn't help me to interpret my dream."
"What time is it?"
"The sun has just gone down."
"It is time to close the shop." Philippe shrugged at the boy�s helpless expression. I would have to pay extra rent if I stay longer. And people would start to expect it of me, and I would end up with no private life at all.�
As Jean watched, unable to stop him, unable to walk away, Philippe continued to close up his shop. He packed up his tools�the cards, the bowl where water and tea leaves and the stick that his client stirred made interesting designs, the crystals. He closed the curtain over his door, and Jean was shut outside, so he could not continue watching the shop being closed in front of him. He knew he should have come earlier, but time often made little difference in his life. Now it seemed to him, time was running out and there was no one who could help him.
Finally Philippe stepped out with a small bag and saw the boy just standing there, still looking lost and helpless. �I will take you to my home for dinner. We can talk. If you help, and are a good cleaner, I will not charge you.�
Philippe lived alone, in a small, but well decorated home of crafts he made himself in his spare time. Jean could see with the crafts was also some imported German furniture, some carpeting from India , and crystals, probably Austrian but maybe from different places, too. And England �s lace on his curtains. A very interesting d�cor, and Philippe laughed as Jean looked around. �Helps me get in touch with all the different parts of myself.�
Jean also saw a photograph of a woman and felt it was his wife, but didn�t ask. That might be too painful for him, and Jean wanted him to help with his pain.
After a good dinner of soup and bread, Jean started cleaning, waiting for Philippe to start asking him questions. He didn�t know how to begin talking himself. Talking could be so difficult for him, as was thinking, and learning. Getting in trouble he found not hard at all.
Philippe, while Jean cleaned from their supper, changed into his sleeping clothes, and made them some coffee. �Now, you have things to tell me.�
�My dream. It is still in my head.�
�Good. Then begin.�
"I dreamed, that many people, of which I was one, but the shortest one, were in the Pyramid with strange people. I think they were Egyptians. I was in the front seat with a king. There was a beautiful woman who served us with delicious food. While eating I look at the pyramid entrance door and saw a dog guarding the pyramid that was eating too. When I look at the dog's food, I thought it looked like a dead dog it was eating. I wanted to kick the dog, but I couldn�t, because this was not my home. The king held a crystal shining stone on his table." Jean stopped.
Philippe looked at him curiously. �Is that all?�
�I woke up afraid.�
�And you don�t know why?�
Jean only shook his head.
The old man kept quiet for a long time. After the silence, Philippe pushed his chair next to the worrying boy and took his right hand. "My boy, you know that dreams foretell our destiny. This dream is no different.�
�So my mother tells me. I fear my destiny is prison.�
This startled Philippe. �Why say you this?� After Jean told him his trouble, he shook his head. �I can see you are a good lad. Prison is perhaps part of your future, but not your destiny. This dream says otherwise.� Philippe took Jean�s hand and studied the lines on his palm. �I see your life line very long but cut by two big lines." Philippe took a deep breath. �Because of what you told me, this means your life will be briefly halted�this is probably prison. We must pay for our mistakes, son. But you will emerge a better person. Your life continues on, gets a little wider near the end. But it is not a very long life. I think, because it widens, it will be a very good life. You will grow strong, brave and smart."
�But the dream?�
Philippe gave Jean a look that told him no more interruptions. "Death is also a way of life. We all advance to our last days. Life is a perpetual fight. We all fight for survival since we were born. We struggle to breathe in our early days and every day after we struggle to maintain that life. No human is different in this."
Jean devoted his new-found attention to the man he felt could heal him and help him sleep. Going to prison would not be his destiny, after all.
�The pyramid is a house like any house made from the stones or bricks. The pyramid in your dream may have looked like those in Egypt but symbolically, Pyramid may mean any house situated in any country that is foreign to you."
Jean nodded. This would explain why he would dream about the shape of the pyramids he read about in school. �But is it significant that Pyramids are in Egypt which is known as the earliest civilized nation still in existence today?�
Philippe gave him the look that told him to be quiet. �As I said, Pyramid means a house in a foreign country when it appears in the dream. So your destiny is not prison but a far away place, a foreign world. This means someplace outside of Europe . This means also outside of America , which is also not foreign enough because of the Europeans who settled there. But you seem also worry about being the shortest man in the crowd."
"Yes, I do." Jean quickly responded. That part bothered him because he was not the shortest person in his gang. He used to fear, growing up, that he�d never be tall but that did not concern his waking days anymore.
The old man drank his coffee for short time in silence. "Short is not half. And big is not double. Short and big men are made the same. They have two hands and a one heart each. There is nothing bad about being the shortest man in the community or of being the tallest man in the community."
�What does it mean, then? That I cannot reach my goals?�
"Short may mean the youngest man or the most underprivileged. It means a man who does not have the equal opportunity of others. It also means, depending on the dream, a man who is unlike others, as in a different background. It also means a foreigner."
Jean nodded, feeling his fears draining away. This man was worth more than the two franc he wouldn�t accept as payment.
Philippe took Jean�s left hand again. "I see the fortune line long too, but broken like the life line. Broken differently, see, here toward the end?� Philippe studied it a moment, and put it down again. �You will get wealth, lose it, and get it again. But it will not be the same wealth. Fortune is not just money or riches. But so many people forget this. Your fear line is troublesome, as it seems, in your hand,� but Philippe did not show Jean this line. �To cut into the fortune line. You will get easy money at first but the beginning of the fortune line is attacked by a fear line in your hand."
�I must learn not to give in to my fears.�
"If you beat fear in your decision making you will become king of all you see. Fear will conquer your opportunities."
�Is there a good way to fight fear?� Jean knew he was afraid of school, afraid of learning, afraid of working, because he was afraid to fail. And that was why he got into trouble. And that was why, he suddenly realized, he had such a bad temper.
�Don't call yourself a loser. Remember that going before or leaving early doesn't mean arriving in time."
Jean always felt that he has lost when he hears that other people do well. He was too young to get a real job but gets jealous to see others work so easily, and doing well.
"We only fail when we give up. Don't fear of trying and never give up trying. Your dream says that you understand the ways of foreign countries and you will do well wherever you go, if you are not afraid.
The old man remembered everything the young man told him. It was his job. Each word Philippe heard had a meaning, so he continued with the interpretation of dream. This was like work to him, like what he did all day long, but this young boy, he felt, would be a great man someday and he can help. So Philippe took Jean�s hand again.
�You saw the king with a big crystal stones." Jean had envied the stones in his dream. Philippe explained, " Crystal mean expensive, or plenty, or success. This is the most worrisome part of the dream."
�How can success be worrisome?�
"The jealousy of it in someone else means you may be pushed into doing something you should not do to get it. You understand foreign ways but you want to kick the dog. You see?"
Jean shook his head, but waited, afraid to hear more about the dog.
�You say you saw a beautiful woman. If you want to be happy, don't follow only the physical appearance of the woman. But because you see her beauty in a dream does not mean you are seeing physical appearance. Dreams are deeper than that. It is good, though, to interpret it this way, that you look only on the surface of things, as a warning. Dreams are destiny and often warnings. If you love a woman because of her beauty, the day she loses her beauty by accident or by getting older you will be tempted to look for another woman because what you followed has vanished."
Jean wasn't that interested in girls but he listened patiently.
"Beauty is like a flower, it grows old and dries up. The flower grows, and at some point dies. The woman shines on the outside in her growing stage, and then when she reaches her peak the beauty disappear. She shines in her teens and young adulthood, then the shining face disappears. It is the same with men, but is more apparent in women."
Jean applied what Philippe said to his mother, who seemed still beautiful to him but he heard what others said, that she was not so pretty now as when she was young. He accepted that beauty is like a flower.
"You will see beautiful women but you will learn to look for who they are inside, whether the dream tells you this or not." Philippe stood and opened his door, inviting Jean to leave.
Jean went to the door but had not had all of the dream explained. The worst, he felt, was yet to come. " Philippe what about the dog eating a dead dog?"
The old man laughed and shook his head. �I think you can figure that one out now. It means that wherever you go in a foreign country you must accept their differences. If you were to kick the dog, what would happen?�
Jean thought a moment. �It could bite me.�
�Now you know.� Philippe pushed the young boy of his house and shut the door. He grimaced with the words he could not tell the boy. �Just do not go to Africa .�
PART SEMI EDITED
CHAPTER ONE NEW WORLD : AFRICA
Africa in 1906 was a period and era in place popular in Europe as many of businesses, churches, companies, countries and individuals are finding the opportunities to invest and expansion their activities. Many parts of the continent were not exploited. The Belgium government decided to free criminals overcrowded in prison, and send them, to avoid more crime in the cities, to open land in Africa far from their families and community. This they also considered a way to punish them while giving them an opportunity to make a living.
The Belgian King, Leopold Deux, met with these people getting ready to sail to Africa to give them policies on how to cope with the situation in Africa and again their assignments. "I am sending you in this nonexploited land, land that�s still unclaimed by other nations, to stake the claim for our country. You will be far from your families and friends, entering a world of great opportunities. Go there, use the Bible to get the indigenous trust�you must build trust. Building is a process as change too is a process. You will meet many challenges In Africa. Many haven�t seen the white skin so there will be many reactions. But you will be treated and respected as gods because of your technological superiority. Many still live in ancient era. They don�t have clothes, shoes. Go there and teach them the Bible. Not the 10 commandments. You will waste your time they know already that killing and stealing are bad. Teach them that the poor will go to paradise. That rich will go into hell. By getting their trust, exploit their rich mineral and land for your native country." And the King did not even pause to recognize the contrast of his words. "To you prisoners, we have forgiven you a second chance and give you a life time opportunity to restart you a better life. Please don�t abuse your power. Those who do will be send back to rejoin your prison friends for life. I expect you to honor your country. It won�t be easy living there. You will be exposed to many dangerous diseases such as malaria carried by mosquitoes, also typhoid and cholera. But we have put in your disposition enough medicine to face the diseases. We put also in your disposition some snake vaccines. You will also meet dangerous animals such the famous declared king of jungle, lion, and others. But we have in your disposition guns and ammunitions. You will meet also some indigenous tribes who will try to fight you. In the expedition we also have some soldiers who will help you. They are based in the main port and will send more in some main bases in the interior. The main reason I am sending you now is because there is actually a short winter in Africa, which makes it easier to travel. You will meet at the main port and other localities your compatriots and more of the fast growing Belgium administration. You have to respect the authorities there. They will be monitoring you, you will report the progress. You will refer to them as the Belgium Embassy. They represent Belgium in central Africa. They will be able to assist you."
The trip was so long also starting with the ship. The ship was full of equipment for buildings, houses, some foods, including sweets; clothes, communication equipment, not forgetting guns and bibles. Each group had targeted different parts of the land. They had a map that was traced by some experts.
The young Jean, one of those released from prison for the trip, saw another young Belgium citizen in the ship. He had all the desire to chat with a man of his generation. He didn�t see too many men of his young years, only 20, in a ship going to Africa. Many were more than 30, most prisoners and jobless people of Europe, all the same in looking for new opportunity in exploiting the new World.
Jean was the first to approach this man that had him curious. He looked sad by the read of his face. Jean instead felt great excitement, anticipating new freedom after his release from prison. �Are you sad, man?�
The man, with beard unshaven for perhaps two days, paused before turning to Jean. �Not really, I am in a mix of feeling: sad for leaving my country and my loved ones and happy to meet new opportunity that you will never meet anywhere but here.�
�What do you mean by opportunity?�
�Those things that fate brings to you, if you are alert enough to be ready. You must be aware of those opportunities. It is why we have to leave our land.�
�I don�t understand opportunity. I am one of the prisoners released before completing our sentence in jail. I am so excited prison can make you mad. You have a very short space and all the moves are watched and controlled in jail. I don't care about what we will meet but at least I am enjoying life again.�
�Well, anyone can follow fortune in Africa. That�s what I�m doing. All my neighbors who went to Africa have bought many houses in Europe. I had met many of them, they are praising Africa. They said that you will pick up diamond, gold, cotton, coffee for free in Africa because the continent is very rich and many peoples do not know the value of minerals and other plants. This is what I mean by opportunity.�
�The king also said that there are many diseases.� Jean stared out across the ocean. The waves were calm, but still he felt queasy. After being locked up, he could not feel his legs beneath him. He heard about ocean sickness but had never been sick in his life.
�You will find diseases in every country around the world. It is not at an alarming rate yet, just a challenge that we will meet. We are lucky and we don't have to fear diseases because the government has supplied us with medicines.�
�And the natives, will they not eat us?�
�Cannibals? Not anymore, friend. You are thinking of a century or more ago. We are coming after the priests. Even if priests had not been there yet, these are no longer the dark ages.�
But Jean saw that his face remained sad, even though his words sounded sure. �I pray that we reach our destination sooner than one month. I want to be treated like a king too instead of being treated like a servant in jail. I want to fly by myself and make a lot of money.� Jean leaned over the rail, feeling even lower than a servant at the moment.
�It is possible because we are on the right track. We will collect money with very less effort. They treat European like gods, I think you heard when the king mentioned that in the news.�
�The king never lies. I respect him because after God is the king.�
�I don't trust only the king. The truth is that all the people who come from Africa are rich. You will have to work for many years to buy a house here. But those who are going in Africa do not talk about years but talk about months - that�s all it takes to be rich.�
�Ho, there is a very big difference between months and years.� Jean found he was actually feeling better. �The choice is quiet clear, we have to choose what is fast, better and realistic. In Africa we will be treated like princes, we will pick up diamond and we will make money fast and get out quick.�
�What is your name? We have been chatting without introducing ourselves. I�m Simon.�
�Jean.� They shook and Jean was surprised how cool his hand was for a young man. �Nice to meet you.�
Cold hands but a very big smile, Simon had. �You know, we should stick together, help each other, like a family.�
�Of course.� Jean thought this a bit forward, but being a former prisoner, he wasn�t about to reject any form of friendliness.
�Did you leave a big family?�
�I left some cousins but the only immediate family is my mother. I love her a lot, she is always there for me, in good and bad circumstances.� I will never love someone more than my mother, even my own wife, but Jean thought this last part to himself, not knowing Simon good enough yet to be a brother.
�Yes, it is good to hear that but I have to say that I care also about my two young brothers. I want to sleep in the bushes with mosquitoes to make money so my brothers can afford to go to the universities to be doctors or lawyers. I was not intelligent for this study. I have to be honest that school was not meant for me. I will do anything for family.�
***
The first day in the ship was a learning process from many citizens from Europe, all who were talking about Africa. The ship ran by coal, driving at a speed of almost 40 kilometers per hour in the big sea. Turn after turn everybody was involved in operating the big machine. A man who was a member of the equipage came across Jean and Simon. He has been in Africa many times and was one of the members who could give them the clear image of the continent, they quickly learned, a reliable source of information. His name was Peidro.
Peidro wore the usual blue mechanic clothes. �Young men, what are you doing in this ship?�
Jean responded to him, quite innocently. �We are going to Africa.� He learned in prison never give more information than they asked for.
�I know that you are going to Africa, that�s where this ship is headed. What are you going to do in Africa?� Peidro had a slight Italian accent, blending well with his romantic Latin features.
Jean wondered why Simon, usually so talkative, wasn�t talking. �I am going to work.�
�There is much work to be had there. Every work in Africa brings money, the priests and missionaries in Africa makes money behind the Bible. The Africa evangelism is different to Europe evangelism. In Europe you need to be qualified to talk to people and related to the little money the Christians offer. In Africa you don't need to be qualified to bless indigenous, you have to use your personal courage. You won't rely on offering because many don't know money there. Their wealthy is measured on number of sheep and livestock. They also call a man rich by looking at number of children and wives the man has. You will find some people with fifteen wives and half a hundred children. So the man who goes to work for God has to have some kind of business there. There are rich too, the man who use to be miner in Europe will be an engineer in Africa with many miners workers on his charge. The one who is servant in Europe will be king or prince in many areas of the large continent. The one who used to be mad in the street of London or Paris eating the dustbin's food will be respected like a genius in Africa. So tell me, in which sector will you be working in?�
When Jean stumbled for words, Simon responded, �I will be a missionary. I really enjoy working with the Bible. In my spare time I can do some diamond business.�
�You won't find diamond everywhere. I am sure that you have that picture in your mind?� Piedro quirked his smile at this, as though hiding a grim secret.
�No, I know that, diamonds are not all over Africa. I will try to find a specific place for those minerals. I have a map with me.� Simon too felt secrets were good in their time and place. But Jean wondered if mentioning the map to Peidro was such a good idea.
But Peidro seemed to put no value on Simon�s plans. �Sounds like you�re ready to make plenty of money. All the sectors brings money, many are making money in plantations too. They make more money than in the mineral sectors. Everything you will touch will turn into gold. The large continent is not yet exploited, the geologist busy locating the mineral areas in Africa. The few areas located in our actual map represent a small part of the rich continent. Every year the map changes and the geologists discover many more rich lands.
�How big is the continent?�
�Bigger than Europe and Belgium. It is difficult to tell you the exact physical makeup of that land.�
�How many times have you been in Africa?� Simon warmed up to Piedro. Jean began to feel a little jealous.
�I work in the ship, I have been there many times. I have been doing many trips. I can say that I have been in that land more than twenty times in five years.�
�Do you make money?� Simon led them for a casual walk through the ship�s belly, and feigned interest in the workings. Jean could tell what caught his attention, but wasn�t sure why.
�Of course! I wouldn't leave my wife and my son to suffer in this sea if I didn�t. I make plenty of money. I buy from the big port Boma that you will see different products that I sell in Europe.�
�Tell us how long it will take us to reach Africa?�
�Africa is big and we are going to the central part of the continent. It will take us twenty eight to thirty days.� Piedro stopped to brush some dust off one of the big piping works.
�That is quite long.�
�You don't have to worry because this sacrifice will change your life forever. You won't find any beggars there or homeless people. You will be sleeping in the governmental location, you will eat and throw food away every day. There are no jobless men there. You will find plenty of work, you will never carry a box on your shoulders. Africans will carry boxers for you for a very small price. You will have bodyguards and servants too. Don't think about this long trip but think about what you will get. There are many opportunities for everyone there. You will have to take this chance. I am telling you that in ten years time many Europeans will travel to that continent and the opportunities will diminish. You will see in the big port Boma very few opportunities because thousands and thousands of Europeans have taken all the jobs there. You will have to enter the interior of the continent. Boma is becoming a modern city. You will see and find all Europeans product and construction there. Five years ago when I landed in Boma, Boma was a very small city in development.�
Simon hesitated, taking this all in. �Why don't you settle in Africa instead of traveling in the dangerous sea?�
Piedro chuckled. �Man, I love the sea. I would rather die in the big water than in hospital. I love water, man. It will be impossible to swim a thousand kilometers if the ship is going down but the bottom line is that I enjoy what I am doing.�
Then Piedro, as if in sudden realization, turned to Jean. �Tell me what is your project?�
�I am not sure of what I will be doing yet, I don't like diamonds, gold and minerals. I may go into the plantation business. I am not a good talker to spend many hours preaching. I will be purely a business man. I will respect the king�s instructions when talking about God and Jesus to people.�
�Young man, you won't get the trust of indigenous if you don't talk about God and the Bible. What the king has told you to do is the right formula of success in a new land. It is the key to success. The formula had been found after many years of experience in the new land. It is not an alternative but what one must do to live in Africa. Remember that many indigenous in the central South of Africa are cannibals. They may eat you in a second.� And he snapped his fingers in Jean�s face, making the young man blink.
�How will talking of God and Jesus save us? We have guns, that they will respect.�
�Yes, guns may help you for few times but it is always difficult to kill thousand warriors. Anyway, from Boma they will give you local porters (aidworkers) to accompany you in the interior. They will be your servants, bodyguards and translators at the same time.
�How well you know the cannibalism?�
�I have landed many times in Africa. I have heard many stories, many Europeans who went alone in the central southern part of the land were eaten. Now they don't let them go alone in that part of the land. The guns help too. They don't eat only foreigners like European, they eat also Africans who can not talk their languages. All are enemies, and enemies are eaten.�
�It is scary. Why do they do that? Don�t they have enough food?�
�Don't worry, our government is doing all to protect its citizens. Man, we have been talking for hours. Let�s go to work before the captain of the ship comes. Help me carry the coal from the storeroom to the engine room.�
They all went into the storeroom, a very dark room with plenty of black dust. The initial color of the room was indistinguishable underneath the black dust. They stocked many tons of coal for the return trip. Each hour they had to pour tons of coal into the burning engine to keep it heated.
The ship was home to more than tree hundred males and twenty women. There were forty members of the equipage; they used passengers to help them in the heavy work. The women passengers helped the chief to cook and serve. The ship had more than twenty warehouse rooms, most of them plenty and full of equipment material.
Jean told Simon while caring the heavy coal, �These are heavy.�
�Yes, they look light from the eyes but very deceptive, no?�
�All those are coal for the ship?� Jean asked Piedro.
�Of course, the ship has to return with another stock of coal.�
�I never thought that the ship was using coal.�
Simon nodded. �I thought that the ship engine works with water.�
Jean laughed. �You wish! Clean energy isn�t here yet, friend.� He turned to Piedro. �Certainly is challenging to carry this much coal every day in the ship.�
�The ship workers are used to it and like this job. As that man said, they make some business too.� (??)(buying some local good and sells on their arrival to Europe)
�The trip is enjoyable until it comes time to work.�
�I will never complain because we won't do it everyday and it is useless to stay in a ship for one month without exercising your body. You will have to do something in your spare hours, such as caring for those coals.�
Jean knew he couldn�t argue with that. And Piedro was in very good shape. He found himself panting with exhaustion after the first couple hauls, but knew he wasn�t the type to just sit around topside and do nothing.
They slept in a big room where more than hundred boatmates slept, their bunks nearly touching each other. The noise made it hard to sleep during the day. Some talked and many drank but the ship�s captain made sure that everyone stopped the noise at around ten p.m. There were four big rooms in the ship and a small one were women slept. The few small and privilege rooms were reserved to high personalities and the ship captain and his assistants.
(Add scene with the men meeting women.)
Simon had an interesting thought. �Jean, this life reminds me of boarding school.�
�I have never been in boarding school.�
�We didn't have beer but the supervisor was monitoring us to make sure that before ten we all went to bed.�
�Sounds like jail. There was no beer there either! There were many things we couldn't do.�
�Life is not restricted here, except by the sea. We are in a very small piece of land flowing on the big water. This punishment is for a very short time.�
�I haven't enjoyed my freedom yet. I will enjoy it in a very different atmosphere with different people.�
***
Jean, so anxious to enjoy his new freedom from jail, learned he would have to enjoy it in another land far from his family and friends. This was the condition for his freedom, which he took with only a partial gladness. For this, Jean knew, was another kind of punishment given to some prisoners.
They reached Africa at the biggest port called Boma. Both Jean and Simon found they knew a few people, friends and colleagues, already established there. Now the main task was to enter in the big land, 80 times the size of Belgium.
At the time they were one of twelve ships arriving with more than two thousands prisoners and one thousand ordinary citizens. Jean's ship was the fourth one to reach the destination. An average of two ships arrived and left the port every day.
The first days Jean spent trying to absorb the new surroundings, and missing his old ones, not the prison but the life he used to have, his old friends, family and things he hoped to do when he was free. He regretted and sometimes found himself even wishing to be back in jail where at least his mother could visit him. He missed her, and didn�t even know how to contact her to tell her he was okay. He was all she had.
The local Europeans boss gave them two weeks to stay in the port to try to acclimated and learn some techniques before going in the interior of the Land. They got two weeks and no more, the work facing them enormous - that of conquering the land before other nations get there. England took the most of the southern part of the continent already as well as some in the east and west. Portugal took some lands in the South too. France also took one west central part and one in the North. Italy took some part of the Northeast, and Germany had laid some claim as well.
The fight in Central Africa was between the fast coming France first, and England and Portugal in second position. The first to come, the first to served. The European nations were not disputing for land, they had only one rule: first come first serve is the rule of life in Africa.
The second part of the trip was the most challenging: exploring new places were there is no road, only trails for single walking through heavy growth, where maybe a bicycle could get through. In the port many local people were exposed to the coming civilization, being sent to school, but not enough yet had the cars to see the need to build the roads. There were churches, too, and so the cars would not be far behind. Already they had begun a road from the town out toward a settlement that had potential to become another town. They had a medical clinic and other facilities, like a local phone service.
Many indigenous were working for the colonists in exchange of materials: clothes, mirrors, furniture. They were learning the use of Belgium money. The local Africans were escorting colonists to different parts of the interior too, helping to translate French into local languages, carrying materials�and so because they needed places to rest, the settlements were starting to grow. Those places had Europeans who have established themselves.
In Boma Simon went to the missionary facilities while Jean went in the governmental facilities under the command of an ex Belgium soldier. The commandant, Bardo Bingham, always wearing military clothes, was in charge of sending them to the newest part of the land and to give them some instructions.
He called the new colonists, Jean was one, and gave them some instructions. �I am not a good talker, a man of action, you could call me. I am the commandant in chief of this land. I have the obligation to look after you and you have the obligation to look after the indigenous. Since your arrival you have seen how your previous colonists have done in Boma. In my twenty years here I have witnessed many changes in this city. It was made of bushes, trees and animals but now Boma is a city where we have everything we have in Europe. I don't even care to live in Europe anymore because I have made this land my home. I want you to go and do the same in the interior. This town, Boma, was started by a priest who came to preach evangelism. Africans here are not called indigenous because they have accepted our civilization. The Africans here are at your disposition to help you to infiltrate into the interior, to find others to accept this civilization we offer. They will help you to translate French into local dialects. There are thousand of dialects here but many are similar to each other. You will have to sleep in the bushes with local people, accept their lives before trying to change theirs. Once you are established you will enjoy the fruit of your sacrifices. Now I must get serious. You will not all succeed. This is hard work. It took years to see Boma from a small village to a town. You are superior to them because of your technology, remember that, and use it where you can. Scare them into submission if you must. I am not here to change anything the King has already told you. I am here to help the implementation of his policies. In Africa we live by Belgium rules. Every piece of land you will settle is automatically Belgium's land. You will pay taxes of all your enterprises, you won't escape tax here. We will send monitors to come and evaluate the progress of your work. We are still training many Africans to join us in the army. We will seal the frontiers with our military personnel soon. Live with indigenous like their boss, exploit all the minerals and plantations in exchange for clothes. Send all that you collect here and we will evaluate all the production and collect the governmental taxes. Use your mind and the local blinded Africans will work for you in exchange for peanuts. The government have identify some villages to make them towns and help to implement the Belgium's policies. Take advantage of all you see. Perhaps I don�t need to tell you that. I saw many successful business men who came with two clothes but now own more than hundred properties in Europe. The aid workers who will accompany you will help you in your work, remember that they are civilized, they will be your supervisor of your work and plantations. You are all brothers and sisters, well, more brothers than sisters. We must increase our efforts to bring more women in. You have to assist each other. The government will assist you too. I beg you please don't forget to make reports of all you�re doing so we get a clear picture of your activities. You are in Africa under the guidance of Belgium which took the initiative to offer these opportunities to his citizens. The King is very concerned himself with Africa, as though already it belongs to him. Behave yourself and work hard for the development of this continent, and our land too. Belgium does not have diamonds, gold and many valuables. Africa is our mineral land. Good luck in all your activities and may God be with you in all your enterprises. You are free in your business ventures, except in human traffic. Slavery is over. Good luck.�
Once he finished the speech to a very quiet crowd, he assigned the aid workers to the colonists who had were ready to head out into the interior. Fifty colonists left Boma with about some hundred eighty aid workers, local citizens of Boma. Each colonist had to make a verbal presentation project of thirty seconds to the commandant, and from this the commandant decided how many aid workers he need.
After more than thirty peoples made their project's speech in the commandant's office, it was finally Jean�s turn.
�Hello commandant. My name is Jean Turken.�
�Hello. Have a seat.�
Jean fidgeted, wondering why he came. �Yes, I haven't figured out a clear project to work in.�
�You must be a former prisoner then. All Belgian citizens have a clear project.�
Jean bowed meekly. �You are right, my general.�
�This is a last chance that the government has given you. Once you are caught in another crime you will be send back for life in the jail cell. You are in Africa but the government's eye is on you. You will be sent in the central south part of the land.� He picked up a pencil and made note of his decisions. �I give you two aid workers. There are your advisors, bodyguards and translators. They will help you in your projects, the government will pay them for one year before you get your activities settled.� He gave Jean a piercing stare. �Remember, taxes are the government priority. In that part of the land you will find cotton and coffee growing like wild plants. You will mobilize villagers to collect it.� He took one of many bag stored at the corner of the office. �This is a bag of clothes. Give one cloth for one ton of cotton. The aid workers will help you. The first thing to do when you find a village to settle in, try to get the heart of the village's chief first. Once you have the heart of the chief, you have the heart of the village. Use the Bible like� cocaine to weaken even the stoutest villager. I am giving you three guns for your protection. Be careful, there are tribes that still eat humans.� He chuckled. �Like ship meat mixed with local spices and salt.�
Jean felt very fortunate to get out of the general�s office with his life intact. He still laughed over the cannibal�s taste in food when Jean was beyond his office door. When he walked out into the street he saw that the natives held signs to identify themselves to their new �boss.� Jean walked among them, reading signs, until he found Kinwa and Mpuwa. He gave them each one of the guns he was issued before he left the building and had a short shooting course outside the village square with the two men.
Jean was estonished to klearn that some of the Africans porters or aid workers were even from far as Zanzinbar, some from the far west part of the continents and some were local people from Boma and surrending villages. Boma shown already a sign of civilization and many people were quick catching the western civilization.
Boma was discoved century ago, since the 1400's hundred. It was under a popular African kingdom called "Kongo".
***
The following day Jean took Kinwa and Mpuwa with him to get the map and some of his belongings. The two villagers carried only a little food and water. They left Boma at 9 a.m. after filling their mouths with as much food as they could swallow. After a walk of many miles, they slept in one of the locations established by others colonists along their way. This was a lonely and difficult trip, crossing rivers and many dark forests. The only sounds they heard were birds and wild animals, like a cougar at one point, and hyenas at another. Jean gratefully allowed Mpuwa and Kinwa take turns guiding the way. He had little experience reading maps or talking with the colonists that he had to meet. Most of the colonists had their villagers cutting trees and digging roads in some parts of the land. Settlements were springing up like isolated mushrooms, and it seemed in each another colonist had established himself like a local king.
Jean had been advised to establish himself in the interior south section were people were more kind. All the indigenous had good and bad sides. The people from south of actual Congo were cannibals but very obedient; in the North, they were not cannibal but loved to fight. Fighting was great sport to them, and hobby red blood a favorite award. Even between themselves they end up fighting, killing or maiming each other in the process - almost like practice for the sport of fighting others.
Every African in that area called themselves brothers and sisters, even though they might have different mothers. This expression of brotherhood gentled them to more cooperative interaction.
***
Jean grew more weary with every passing hour. For a young man, without exercise of a goodly nature, can get out of shape in no time. Kinwa and Mpuwa often grew impatient waiting for him. They were accustomed to walking many miles without getting tired. Jean felt his load was light, only a very light bag and his gun, but was the most tired in the hot atmosphere of the continent. To himself he wondered, I could have stayed alone in jail instead of coming in this forest�I don't know what my mother is doing right now while I walk alone in this hell�
After another fifteen miles on his feet without stopping, his legs nearly gave out. �Please, let rest.�
Kinwa, the older of the two, turned to him, having let Mpuwa go on ahead. �Boss, are you tired just now?�
Jean shook his head. And these were interpreters? �I just can�t get my legs to work anymore.�
�Come on, boss, you are a man and man do not die from fatigue. If really you follow the caprices of the body we will never reach our destination.�
Jean was amazed that without any qualification or experience, the newcomers were already bosses of the indigenous and Africans.
�You go on without me. I�m not used to this. Give me a week or a month. I�ll outrun you.�
Jean sat on the side of the road. �Please give me some water.�
As Mpuwa and Kinwa watched him rest and drink, they chatted with each other in the language they knew he wouldn�t understand.
"Angariya comment uyu muntu eko na kuria eko na kuwiya"
"(I have the impression that we won't reach our destination),� Kinwa said to his brother. They continued their conversation in their native language.
�Why?� Mpuwa found the white man intriguing.
�The man is weaker than our sisters.�
�No man, all the colonists are the same. They cannot walk, they never been in forest before. It is a normal phenomenon but I am sure by our third day of walking the man will grow into his feet.�
�Look, if we were alone, we could have been very far.�
�If we were alone,� Mpuwa said with a laugh. �We would not be here with this new job and education. We have to follow his instructions. We will get paid by the Belgium's government and will make more money by living with him. We don't have any choice, what is good is that the man is young, younger than us. We might even become good friends and brothers with him.�
�I like him because we are all young.�
�Maybe I can get him on his feet now.� Mpuwa walked up to Jean and put a hand down to him. �Boss, you are a man, not a girl with weaknesses. If we stay in one spot too long the wild animals come. They eat the weak ones. Come on now.�
Jean sprang to his feet, honestly feeling better. �Let�s go, I pray that we find a suitable land around.�
�We will get there. Only another hundred miles.�
�Hundred?� He nearly sat again.
�Of course, but we will rest twice on our way.�
�Twice?� This is truly a punishment.
�The walk will be over, but then we will enjoy the fruit of our sacrifices for many years. All the colonists who are well settled and balanced struggled more than we do now.�
Jean liked their enthusiasm. He could almost feel it moving through the air into his heart. His legs no longer felt a part of him as he followed Kinwa and Mpuwa down the road.
After one more hour of walking, they saw from afar some kind of smoke.
Mpuwa said, �Boss, we have a good news for you.�
�Please call me Jean. Boss is too heavy and unfamiliar for me .I am not so comfortable with that name. If you cannot call me Jean, please call me friend.�
�Sorry, Jean. I have good news. Do you see the smoke over there?�
�Yes, I can see.�
�It is a villager's sign, we are approaching a place where we can rest and find new direction.�
�How far away is it, do you think?�
�Some few minutes.�
When the man heard some few minutes he started walking faster. But the smoke never seemed to get any closer.
Jean complained. �We have been seeing the smoke for more than an hour!�
�Don't worry! It doesn�t get farther away!� Kinwa laughed and Mpuwa joined him. They nudged Jean but he failed to translate the humor.
�Those few minutes you are talking about seems to be eternal. Is this another failure to communicate? A day to me is an hour to you?�
�Don't worry boss, sorry I forgot, my friend, we will reach the village now. We are in a very good area were there are no lions to perturb our journey, so no worry.�
�I wasn�t�� but Jean realized he was worried about animals too, if they didn�t get somewhere before dark.
Finally Jean heard some shouts and some singing he felt were coming from a village. �Thank you, Lord, that we have reached the first destination. I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time.� Still they continued to follow the road without end. �I don't understand, first we saw the smoke, then we are heard voices, why we don't see the village?�
�We are in the locality already, it is a question of a few more steps,� Kinwa pointed ahead, to nothing Jean could see.
�I don't trust your words anymore. You talk of minutes that turn into hours. I hope you never talk of days.�
�We know what minutes mean to you. We are educated. We have been to school for few years and we know the difference between minutes and hours.�
�Why we don't see the village?�
�Because. This is Africa. You must rid yourself of European mind. We will no longer talk of time, because it confuses you.�
The worst for Jean happened as they walked. Darkness. He was in Africa, walking, in darkness. He could hear coyotes, or hyenas. Sometimes he didn�t know the difference. �It is near midnight! I�m going to have to sit again!�
Kimwa and Mpuwa each took one of his arms and dragged him through the bushes. Jean could smell the smoke and then he saw the people, several of them, dancing around the fire. The village!
�Finally�sleep.�
�You see? Just minutes.� Kinwa said, and laughed.
Finally Jean got the humor. Time really was relative, after all. �Well, I hope I get used to walking soon. You enjoy walking while me, I hate walking. I�ll probably hate it even when I�m used to it.�
Kinwa couldn�t understand this. �You will get used to it, you just feel angry, a normal reaction to fatigue. We walked many miles before in our life and the few miles we are walking today meant nothing to us. You will get use to it.�
�It will take me years to walk like you do.�
�Not years - only three days.�
�Ohho! Your three days may mean three years.�
�Three day is always three day. Tomorrow, after tomorrow and the following days.�
***
The first local man they saw was a hunter. On top of his shoulder he carried a Springbok. He interrupted their conversation by greeting them - �Hello!�
Jean, startled, looked around. �Oh, hello.�
�You are welcome in our land.
�Well, thank you, I�m glad for that.�
Kinwa and Mpuwa stepped forward. �We are your brothers from another mother from the big port Boma.�
�How are our brothers and sisters in Boma?�
�Most are fine. Some are not so fine. We are looking for the colonist�s house. We have his brother who is with us.�
�Go straight and you will see a big building with foreign materials next to the King�s first wife house.�
Jean paid less attention to what they said than he paid to the man himself, wearing only traditional shorts with a dead animal on top of his shoulder. He had no gun but had a traditional tribal spear in his hand. The animal could weigh some forty kilograms but he carried it with ease.
When they passed the man on Jean paid his attention again to his surroundings. On their way they could see lots of signs of civilization: by the few glances he got he knew that these people have already seen a white man before. Jean felt surprised but not shocked. Local people here were wore modern clothes and signs of new construction lay about in the street. They saw the house of the king�s first wife built fresh with modern materials. The modern materials were gift of the colonists for allowing them to establish themselves in the area. The colonists had to pay habitation taxes to the village's chiefs and to other traditional kings some kind of tribute as well. Everybody had to pay something as individuals to the local government as well.
Jean turned to Kinwa and Mpuwa. �I heard we�d find people walking nude here?�
Kinwa blushed but Mpuwa had no trouble answering. �Yes, we will find them but little bit farther to the center. This is the farthest point we will see natives exposed to civilization.�
�Do these villagers eat humans for food?�
�Not here. This tribe does not eat humans. Once they did and not just colonists but all humans in Africa who do not talk their language. They were considered enemies to all but their own people. With the arrival of the Bible people are fast learning to farm and raise cattle and respect human life.� Kinwa stopped to clear their path of some large pieces of wood left behind from a building project. The town was not dirty or polluted, just very filled with building projects.
Mpuwa watched, not offering to help. �The local people had to pay a portion of their farm�s products to the village chief. The colonists had to give modern materials to the chief too. The relationship between the chief and colon0ists is excellent.�
They were welcomed warmly by the colonist who was living with his European family, a wife and three children, two girls and a boy. Their names were Sam and Molly, Carin, Celene and Carl. The children went to their rooms to do their studies after being introduced. They had to learn at home because there was no school that could teach what they needed to learn here. Sam was to be Jean�s adviser for a few days, to help him with the next part of the journey. Sam and Molly�s house was equipped with modern furniture from Europe. His house definitely looked out of place in Africa.
They sat down with coffee and some donuts. Jean ate one and listened to Sam talk about his life here without much interest. Finally Sam stopped talking and so Jean figured it was his turn.
Jean put the donut down he had reached for. �I have the impression that you are well known in the area and well respected?�
�Actually, as far as power goes, after the traditional king it is me. The king respects me more than any body else.�
�How long have you been here?�
�Three years longer than my family. I had to establish myself first, as someone who could help people improve their lives here. I�d say it�s been eleven years now.�
�How did do you manage to � to convince them you could help?�
�Young brother, it was very difficult. I went first to the north part of the country, part of a group of fifty colonists. The government sent us to exploit gold. We met a strange tribe who wouldn�t allow us to establish there. At first we had the impression that they loved us. But after few months their local King become unhappy no matter what we gave him and mobilized his warriors to attack us. We fought for some four hours. We were superior with modern guns. We killed many villagers and lost two people on our side. The chief in our camp didn�t want to listen to us when we told him to take us back to Boma. He said no, they will never come back and we will establish ourselves by force in that part of land. Just when we were sure they were gone forever the warriors came back. We felt safe in those three weeks so they caught us by surprise. I do not know how many, but very many. This fight was much more intense, and we kept running out of places to hide because it seemed they were everywhere. We ran short on ammunition and thought maybe it was all over, when they finally went away. We lost seven people in our group, including two women and the chief of the group who had persuaded us to stay. So we then returned to Boma. And then we went to the central part of the land to exploit cacao. We lived there for some three months in a group of 70 Belgians. The local king was good to us but his villagers were � I�ll just say undisciplined. We needed some 300 local villagers to help us with the cocoa but they couldn�t obey to our instructions and we ended up not producing. We couldn�t get established there. In my return to Boma again, this time I decide now to change sectors. So I came to the South to grow cotton. I have some 50 villagers working for me and we are only one of four colonists in this area. The others Belgians live deep inside the village. The village is getting bigger all the time; we�re up to some five thousand habitants. We have some mineral resource too, some copper and other unknown mineral. Our government may send some 200 colonists at the end of this year and more materials to start the mineral exploitation. And this means employment for more than one thousand local people. All the men in this village and surrounding villages may get jobs. This place in the next ten years it will turn into a city.
Jean nodded. �That is exciting for them. Tell me what the reaction of local people was when they saw you?�
�Different reactions. We don�t go into those areas where they never saw white men. Sometime they may kill you or even eat you. Some tribes here still eat foreigners. Not exactly here but few miles away. If they don�t know you they may eat you. Skin color doesn�t even matter, white, black, if you don�t talk their dialects you may find yourself in a cooked pot. We took from Boma some Africans like you took two servants. They protected us, did all the talking, just in case. You need bodyguards too.� Sam pointed at Jean�s two aid workers or porters. �How many dialects they talk? Alone with a gun you cannot control all villages.�
Jean shivered, but tried to hide it. �Did you known some people from our country who were eaten here?�
�I know four people who have been eaten. They went into the deep South. We are in the South but they ended deep in the South without any aid workers. We don't know exactly how it happen because they had guns. It�s why the government makes sure that every colonist must have some aid workers who also have guns. In Boma we don't need porters because people are civilized and there is a strong Belgium's community numbered in thousands now.
�You are not scared that you may end up in a pot or one of your family members or your colleagues may end up in a pot?
Sam laughed and sat back as Molly poured them more coffee. �Impossible.�
�Why?�
�I am not a foreigner anymore. Those practices are dying here thanks to our missionaries and priests we brought here to this village. We actually have almost 40 Belgians here without counting their families. The four colonists that I mentioned before work in the plantation. The rest are into religion and social activities. We have primary schools and sometime in the next two years we will have secondary schools.� Sam reached over and grabbed Molly�s hand. They exchanged smiles. �At least our youngest will be able to benefit from that. All the teachers are from Europe but we�re hoping to train some natives soon. We have a hospital with two Belgians doctors and four female nurses from our land here. People are changing with civilization. In the North they don�t eat people but they are warriors. In the South people don�t fight well but they will jump strangers when their back is turned. They are not real trusting of strangers. In every land and every people you will meet challenges. I think you were prepared by our superiors in Belgium and Boma?�
Jean felt his throat closing, just when he reached for another donut. Suddenly the donuts looked like pieces of human anatomy. He just nodded. Behind him Kinwa and Mpuwa exchanged glances. Kinwa almost spoke out but Mpuwa stopped him.
�Boma existed now for almost five centuries, before even Belgium decided to grab this land as his colony. Only in recent years did colonists come in to rebuild Boma, but it was discovered long time ago. The advantage of Boma his that it is a port and a reliable entrance to central Africa.�
Jean cleared his throat. �How much you pay your workers?�
�Almost nothing, that�s the beauty of the system! I pay them peanuts, they don�t know the use of money. They needed clothes, you have already known that they wore almost nothing before colonists came. But in two years� time the local people will come to know the use of money. This is why people in Europe are coming to catch this opportunity at this time. The government sponsors us for the first year and when you get established you will take care of your servants. One year is more than enough to get established here.
�Where do you send your products?�
�I send it to Asia and Europe, especially in England where I can make a lot of profits. I send workers with the product at Boma and then from there I sell to other businessmen from Asia and Europe.�
Jean remembered to have seen the Boma's port. It was even bigger than many European port. It was a center of many things. Jean saw all sort of products covered at the port. They were covered to prevent the rain to destroy most of products. He was wondering were all those products were from? This was just a confirmation that many colonist his established especially in the north and were sending they products to Boma.
One question burned in Jean�s mind all day. �Do you enjoy this place?�
�Look yourself. I have a big house here and I will build another house in Boma. I bought a big house for my parents and my wife�s parent in Europe. I bought a big house for myself too in Belgium and many things that I didn't mention before I caught this opportunity. I used to be jobless in Europe.�
