Kinshasa map is at:
http://www.1uptravel.com/worldmaps/d...f-congo13.html
(Kinshasa locator at:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia03...emrep_sm03.gif).
The Kinshasa map is a huge image, and you may have to set your monitor
to its highest resolulution and STILL do some major scrolling to find
your way around town.

I'm presuming that the single road to the airport is Boulevarde
Lumumba and that the road from Kintambo to the school is the (rue) dl
l'Ecole.

Good to hear from you, Myron, and I'll be worrying about you 'til you
advise us that things have settled down and you are OK.


-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
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Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================== ====================

"riverman" wrote in message ...
"riverman" wrote in message
...

Right now, the crowd is outside the wall in front of my building, chanting
and banging on the gate. There are whistles blowing and a lot of noise.
Its
pretty scary. I'm going to go gather stuff and wait for this to blow over.

More later
--myron


Well, this sure is an adrenaline rush. The crowds are marching past the
campus about every 10-15 minutes now, headed towards Kintambo. At this
moment, a small crowd is banging on the metal gate about 50 feet from me,
yelling anti-Bush slogans. I'll be goddammed if I'm gonna take a rock in the
head for HIM! But worse yet, it seems that reason for the uprising is doing
that 'morph' thing that can become very dangerous. First, they are angry
that the UN let the rebels take Bukavu. Then they are angry at all UN folks,
then they are angry at any UN, USAID, NGOs etc. Then they are just angry. I
sure don't want to see it spread to being angry at schoolteachers!

For a frame of reference, here is a description of Kinshasa and the lay of
the land, and where the mob scene is:
The town is elongated in an E-W direction, at the far eastern edge is the
airport and an industrial zone connected to town by a single road. The UN
compound is about 2 miles west (towards town) along that road, then another
3-4 miles and you are in the outskirts of town. That entire stretch (airport
to town) is a bustling mass of humanity, with sidewalk stalls, dilapidated
shantytowns, torn-up roads and spaces crammed with people. On any given day,
there are millions of people 'milling about' there.
Once you reach the center of town, the roads spread out into a large grid of
urban sprawl. The urban zone is about 3 miles E-W and 5 miles N-S. There are
two main roads that run across it, E-W; the southern one is '30th June', and
one block north is 'Avenue de Justice'.
Then another single road continues west for 5-6 miles to reach the western
nexxus, called Kintambo. Another mass of hundreds of thousands of folks
live/work/survive there. Then another 2 miles west and you reach the campus
compound. So we are on the opposite side of town from the airport, the UN
compound, and most of the ugly rioting.

However, it appears that even Kintambo is caught up in the frenzy today. My
gardener came in and said it was too dangerous for me to go off campus, or
even to be seen walking around campus, so he went into Kintambo and got some
phone credit cards for me. When he returned, he said to keep my head down.
I've just packed my emergency evacuation bag with passport, cash (not enough
freaking cash!!!), change of clothes, etc. The word just came to me (about
10 seconds ago) that, if the mobs breach the campus gate, to go to the
assembly hall at school where we will barricade ourselves in and await an
evacuation. Hopefully this is all academic preparation, but at least there's
a plan.

More later
--myron