Anjan Sundaram?s Stringer, a good read for those who believe in humanity, is a graphic description of a norm-defying way of life in a country ravaged by incessant tribal wars, torn apart by the mining mafia and reduced to a wasteland in many parts

Aparajita Biswas

STRINGER: A Reporter?s Journey in the Congo

Anjan Sundaram

Hamish Hamilton

Rs.399

Pg 240

It?s a country endowed with some of the rarest minerals and metals others seek for development. It?s a country that first suffered brutalities under colonial rule and then plunged into civil war that hardly ever shows signs of ending? It?s the Democratic Republic of Congo, a land immortalised by Joseph Conrad who, in his book Heart of Darkness, spoke of the bane of colonialism, blatant racism and savagery that overshadows civilised behaviour in the quest for nature?s riches. And riches Congo does have in plentiful?from tantalum that goes into electronic devices as capacitors to huge reserves of cobalt, diamond, gold, copper, tin and more.

Congo was once Zaire, the same country featuring in the song In Zaire by Johnny Wakelin in praise of Mohammad Ali who won over George Foreman. Plunging into prolonged crisis after independence in 1960, it attracted a freelance journalist, or ?stringer?, and gave him more than a peek into its tormented soul. Anjan Sundaram, math graduate from Yale and prospective Goldman Sachs employee, chucked the beautiful world and set out to explore its underbelly, symbolised by Congo. What followed was Stringer, a graphic description of a norm-defying way of life in a country ravaged by incessant tribal wars, torn apart by the mining mafia and reduced to a wasteland in many parts.

As a beginner, Sundaram, the freelancer, must struggle to get a firm footing in the world of journalism. As an Associated Press reporter, he sees children abandoned by impoverished families, roaming the streets of Kinshasa in packs, unbound by rules, unchained from society?s norms, living a life steeped in violence, looting, substance abuse and more?yet strangely drawn together in their common misfortune. In between, we get nuggets of startling information, like Keith Hale of Time magazine revealing to the author that uranium for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs came from Congo and that the uranium mines aren?t dead yet.

Through Stringer, Sundaram bares the very soul of strife-ridden Congo, revealed to him during his stay in Kinshasa and travel within the country. This strife goes back in its origins to the Congo Free State under the rule of the Belgian monarch, Leopold II, who exploited the land and treated its natives brutally. Thereafter, Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960?only to plunge into civil war. With the provinces of Katanga and Kasai declaring independence, and mercenaries pouring in to protect private mining interests, the ensuing instability led to a takeover by an army colonel, Joseph Mobutu. His tenure, lasting 30 years, was marked by an abysmal human rights record, a declining economy and rampant corruption.

The sorrow of Congo multiplied when the civil war in neighbouring Rwanda spilled over into Congo and continued thereafter, caused as much by the greed for its resources as a struggle to control the land. The result was obvious?family after family was disrupted, poor mining conditions led to serious illnesses and disease, child labour reared its ugly head, and prostitution and rape were the order of the day. Stringer captures the agony in the very beginning with ?Death is widespread? children born here have the bleakest of futures. It is the most diseased, the most corrupt and the least habitable?? The author even laments the rejection of many of his stories and concludes that ?Death, as a rule, had the best chance of making the news?. But in Congo, death was not enough: I needed many deaths at once, or an extraordinary death.?

Yet Stringer is not a book lamenting strife in Congo. It is a tribute to a civil war-ravaged people, including brave Kinshasa residents, who still find time to gather after dark and celebrate life. A people seeking a resurge of vitality to experience an ?almost pure pleasure and excitement? thanks to ?the music and meat grills (that) would go all night?.

The blare of saxophones would accompany dancers as the city got up to ?live a second life?. The book ends on a positive note?the ceasefire, the radios playing lively music, the fishermen out on the lagoon in their canoes, mothers searching for food for their children, husbands out looking for money? all this ?despite the raging chaos in the country?.

Stringer is a good read for those who believe in humanity. It reveals a side of civilisation that takes citizens to the lowest levels of degradation and deprivation, yet brings forth a surprising resilience and hunger to exist with dignity and pride.

Aparajita Biswas is a professor and director of the Centre for African Studies, University of Mumbai