blood river

Just started another book last night... (why do I always read more when I’m putting off doing my actual work?!). But I got sucked in! It’s called Blood River – about a journalist who decided to follow the Congo River in the same way that explorer Stanley did decades before. It’s fascinating reading. Definitely brushing up my African history which should be better than it is...

He captures the sense of adventure, the risk, the hassles and the people he meets along the way while trying to understand the complexity of the region’s painful history and current conflicts. Anyway, I haven’t finished it yet. It’s kind of depressing in many ways, for obvious reasons. It’s places like DRC that I think the world forgets about, like we’ve heard it all before. 1200 people die every day?! The author does a good job of trying to explain the link between colonialism and the present day conflicts/economics which I’m finding helpful and his descriptions definitely draw you in.

I wonder, though, if people from DRC read the book would they agree with his thoughts on it? As someone who grew up in Africa (albeit a much calmer part) I still get annoyed when people make sweeping generalisations about how things are and why unless they’ve actually lived there for a while... Even though I know the situation in DRC is pretty grim, does this kind of book just perpetuate the myth of Africa as the heart of darkness?