A good husband is one who has a bike.

South Kivu is the site of horrible massacres, mass rapes and marauding armed groups. Every few kilometres a memorial marks the site of a mass grave of victims. Here in the territory of Fizi, in the month of June and only in one village, 120 women were raped. Rape is a weapon of war here. In all of the Congo, I am told there are 45 rapes every hour. But people are returning despite all the violence. Returning to destroyed homes and fields, they are trying to put their lives back together. The area is spectacularly beautiful, but also holds many mineral resources, the reason so many different groups are fighting.

Two very eligible bachelors?

There aren't many roads, no railway to speak of and many goods are transported on the backs of women. So if you are a man with a bicycle, you are very popular. They use bicycles to transport everything. Most bicycles are imported from China or India. Anyone want to open up a factory here to build local bikes? Could be a profitable market and you could create many a happy home!


An interesting story to follow-up on: In this traditionally christian country, I notice a few mosques. Talking to a group of children, one tells me his name is Aboubakar, a name I would expect in Mali, but not here in the Congo. I asked an aid worker here about the presence of islam. He tells me it is ever since the UN soldiers arrived. Most soldiers are from Pakistan. "They have their official mission and a secret mission," he tells me. "They give 100 dollars to someone who agrees to convert to islam."