11:15 Sitting in the airport, waiting to see if they will give me a seat. Here are the stories: 1. CAA airlines Kinshasa keeps computer records, but CAA Goma doesn’t. So although I purchased a round trip ticket and was #2 on Kinshasa’s list for departure today, Goma never saw/heard of me and booked the plane full from this side. So I have to buy (back) a seat from someone willing to “give up” their place for me.
2. President Kabila brought 3000 military and hundreds of politicians here for the 30 June celebrations, agricultural fair and government business. Now they are ready to return to Kinshasa, so he has requisitioned all planes this week for his people. Pastor Busombo, from ECC Kinshasa, has been here for a couple weeks and is returning on this same flight. He is chummy with an airport official and he may be able to help out . . . especially if I can “share” my baggage allowance with him so he can take back the beans and meat he bought here. Fidèle says he spent the whole night calling people, including the president of ECC, to find help in pressuring CAA to let me go. He says he negotiated for hours on Monday, yesterday and earlier this morning. I will assume he is exaggerating to a certain extent. Now he has come back from talking again with his CAA contact, and thinks it’s a go. He says it’s best to know someone at CAA and keep calling them after you make your reservation: call first to tell them about your reservation, then call every day to remind them. I’ll see what Bossuet has to say about that.
There are not nearly as many street vendors here as in Kinshasa. And people have to keep plastic sheets over their wares because of the dust. Many people cover their noses; motorcycle taxi drivers wear all manner of face gear to deal with the dust, from ski masks to gas masks to super duper helmets.Here’s what it’s hard to find at Goma: mouchoirs (Kleenex packets). Amazing. In Kinshasa they are everywhere. Fidèle had to go searching and spent 500 FC for a package -- Rose tissues, my favorite, they smell good so came in very handy, in the dreadful restroom at the airport, for filtering odors rather than dust. Even though I think F sent someone to clean up a stall when I said I needed to “soothe myself.” Payment: 500 FC to the restroom lady, 500 FC to the airport Papa who guided me to the so-called restroom, waited and guided me back to Fidèle. I love being able to provide employment for so many people just by needing to blow my nose and pee.
Now Fidèle has gone to get the three bags of baskets which he is sending to Milenge to sell for the widows. So he must be pretty sure I’m going.
Final deal: Fidèle’s brother needs a driver’s license which Bossuet can get him in Kinshasa. F gave the $50 his brother gave him for the license to the CAA contact who got me a seat, and now I will give $50 to Bossuet for the license when I get back to Kinshasa. Win-win-win . . . I think. I gave Fidèle $20 to thank him for all the shenanigans, which brings the final account to what we discussed (earlier in the car) would be “enough” for the person giving up their seat. Simple, straightforward, uncomplicated; so satisfying.
Fidèle guided me at last through immigration and got me into the departure area. Then we realized we hadn’t paid the airport tax so I stood with the guard who pretended not to believe that I didn’t have razor blades or knives in my bag, while F dashed off to pay the tax. Finally I had been guided through all the hundreds of “hands” that were needed to get me onto the plane. I sat in the midst of incredible noise and bustle, eating my little lunch -- last remnants of my Bukavu stache – and watching alertly for the call to board. I was not going to be sure I’d made it until the plane took off. At the first sign to board, I joined the crush (usually I wait) and shoved with the best of them to get out the door and onto the plane.
And thus home.
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