2023-04-19 01:20:30
The journalist Xavier Aldekoa has traveled the Congo River, from its source to its mouth, a journey over 4,700 kilometers that runs through the heart of Africa. “It was a childhood dream, I have always wanted to navigate it without even knowing if it was possible”, he indicates and explains this obsession by the aura of mystery that surrounds it. “It’s an example of the wild and mysterious.”
Aldekoa will recount his experience at the Bidebarrieta Library in Bilbao, as part of an act that will begin at 7:00 p.m. and which is part of the current series of meetings of the EL CORREO Culture Classroom. The talk has the support of the Peninsula publishing house and the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation.
Reality and fiction are mixed in the story carried out by this Catalan journalist of Basque origin. ‘Quijote in the Congo’, recently published, includes that journey. “I didn’t want to embark on an adventure, but to tell a story about a region, listen to its inhabitants and speak, through them, about their customs, culture and economy.” Time seems to fade in that purpose. “They take you many centuries away when it comes to slavery and violence.”
The river and the jungle are living beings, especially during the first two thousand kilometers of navigation, rich in events of all kinds. «Tradition and legends are part of the daily life of their peoples and nature overwhelms you».
chain of abuse
Although the choice of ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad, a novel set in the region, seems more appropriate, the author brought a copy of ‘Don Quixote’ to liven up his stay. “I have found more light than darkness,” he argues. «Conrad’s book is wonderful, but it is the son of his time and he wanted to denounce the atrocities committed by the Belgian King Leopold II. I needed a thick work, on paper, because electricity is not always available, and, furthermore, I remembered it because my father used to explain some of his chapters to me ».
Corruption, rebel gangs and violence proliferate on the riverbanks. «There are many Congos, in some misrule prevails, but there are exceptional places like the city of Kisangani, which is a cultural focus; or Kinshasha, a metropolis that is growing disproportionately ».
Misery is also another key to understanding the journey. “Many people get up with the sole idea of surviving,” he points out and alludes to the looting suffered. “There are many links in the chain of abuse, from plantations to the exploitation of rubber, ivory or copper, and currently the coltan for mobile phones and the cobalt that car batteries require.”
Failure fluttered in Aldekoa’s head. “I had the feeling that I was wrong in the face of the many physical and other level obstacles,” he confesses. «The generosity of the natives encouraged me. I was surprised not to find rancor in places so beaten down by the Arabs, Europeans and Chinese. I would not have reacted so well if they had done the same to me ».
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