jean pierre elonga mboyo - the unexpected homecoming a diasporan journey of hope against all odds

8/20/2019 Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo - The Unexpected Homecoming a Diasporan Journey of Hope Against All Odds

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ean Pierre Elonga Mboyo

T

HE

U

NEXPECTED

H

OMECOM ING


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Copyright © Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo (2015)

The right of Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo to be identified as author

of this wor has been asserted by hi! in a""ordan"e with se"tion

## and #$ of the Copyright% &esigns and Patents '"t 1$$

'll rights reser*ed +o part of this publi"ation !ay be

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wwwaustin!a"auley"o!

3irst Published (2015)

'ustin Ma"auley Publishers /td25 Canada 4uare

Canary harf

/ondon

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Printed and bound in 7reat .ritain


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'"nowledg!ents

My thans go to 8in"ent 'sa!bo! and +i"holas 9yugi for proof:reading and other useful suggestions


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Contents

The author;s personal state!ent< hy write a boo on !y

e=perien"es>1

Prologue

Chapter 1< 3ro! the &?C to the @A *ia @ganda

Chapter 2< 3ro! the @A ba" to the &?CB0

Chapter B< &ealing with the une=pe"ted in the &?C

Chapter < /ea*ing the &?C ba" to the @A10$

Epilogue11

Preparing for &?C12B


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The author’s personal statement:

Why write a book on my

experiences?

D'lthough !igration flows fro! poor to ri"h "ountries

gain the !ost attention% return flows of !igrants to

their "ountries of origin are substantial; (&ean ang1

200 p#15)hile the stories and the!es dis"ussed here will tou"h

on the 4uestion Dwhy return ho!e>;% this boo is !ore

about what happens on"e the de"ision to return ho!e

has been !ade% e*erything Ddee!ed; ne"essary has

been asse!bled and the sho" ordeal that awaited !e

a few days after - set foot on !y ho!eland (the

&e!o"rati" ?epubli" of Congo F &?C) .ut inretra"ing the Gourney% it dis"usses a *ariety of other

topi"s ranging fro! polyga!y% lea*ing Dho!e;%

studies% priesthood% !ulti"ulturalis!% war% po*erty%

i!!igration% "ulture sho"% fa!ily% tea"hing%

edu"ation% resignation% taing riss% hope% despair%

help% "ri!e% law to Gusti"e syste!

1 Dean Yang (2006). Why do Migrants return to poor countries?

Evidence fro !hi"ippine igrants# responses to e$change rates shoc%s&

in The Review of Economics and Statistics, ''& & 1*+,*.

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ere% - a! not "on"erned about basi" general fa"ts

about either the @nited Aingdo! as "o!pared to the

&?C There are so!e generally a""epted realities

about the different weather patterns% geographi"al and"ultural differen"es about these "ountries% for

e=a!ple% that !ay not need another boo -nstead% the

urge to share !y story and thoughts springs fro! the

"onte=tual uni4ueness of the e=perien"es that - hope

will shed so!e light into the state of !ind of

indi*iduals% "ertain se"tions of so"iety and *arious

stru"tures in AinshasaH&?C% @ganda and the @nited

Aingdo! E="ept for the 1I fi"tion part whi"h -

would let the reader deter!ine% the rest (I) is a real

story that is set in a parti"ular ti!e and spa"e and told%

ad!ittedly% fro! the author;s perspe"ti*e reser*ing the

right to all those who !ight feel !isrepresented to

gi*e their a""ounts as the e=perien"es re"ounted herewould ha*e affe"ted the! .ut% to respond to the great

tradition of storytelling% we owe it to all readers and

future generations to pro*ide a tra"e of reality in !y

ti!e and how reper"ussions to so!e of life;s diffi"ult

de"isions and "hoi"es were handled

'ny wor that is !eant to hopefully "ontribute to

the de*elop!ent of hu!anity !ust ai! to eradi"ate

suffering rather than add to what is already out there

This is why - intend to use pseudo na!es su"h as

Ca!ille 3abien .ayu (C3.)% .ill% .o% &an% 3elly%

3iston% onorable Patala (P)% Maboo Milai (MM)%

Paul% ?ingo% a!uel% tan% Ta% Tina or general ter!s

su"h as wife% "hildren% lawyers% to refer to people thatthe !ain "hara"ters here would ha*e hired or sought

ad*i"e fro! @nless they "hoose not to% - !ention real

na!es when paying tribute to friends su"h as 8in"ent

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'sa!bo!% Charles and 'ngela 9ula% Jeanette de

u,a% Maria il*a ?osa% 'ntoinette% +i"holas and

Charity 9yugi% 3ran"is% enry% 'nguo and Chia .ass

- will also use real na!es to refer to geographi"al pla"es and institutions Pseudo na!ing does not apply

to !ain "hara"ters su"h as !eH- (Jean Pierre Elonga

Mboyo)% 9s"ar Aapongo Aabata (9AA)% Jean Claude

Aabata (JCA)% 9s"ar Aabata .alodGi (9A.)% .ibi

Aabata% Mado Aabata% ThrKse Aabata% Teddy% Aoo%

an,aL

hat you and the ne=t generation will do ne=t as a

result of learning about these "hara"ters and what they

did is a !atter of personal "hoi"e owe*er% the

detailed des"riptions% situations% twists and turns%

refle"tions and responses to dile!!as e!bedded in

this parti"ular story "ould be the taling point of

diasporan "o!!unities% business !en and wo!en%lawyers and ser*e as a "ase study for students at law

uni*ersities and to anyone new to the Congolese way

of doing business and handling of the une=pe"ted

e*ents that - witnessed The intention to share !y

e=perien"es !ay be "onstrued as !y atte!pt to

*indi"ate !y a"tions but - bet there will be !o!ents

when as a reader you !ight thin D- "ould ha*e done

things differently here; -t is that sort of engage!ent

that this publi"ation hopes to a"hie*e and in the

pro"ess !ae us streetwise% so to spea

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Prologue

D'lthough !igration flows fro! poor to ri"h "ountries

gain the !ost attention% return flows of !igrants to

their "ountries of origin are substantial; (&ean ang

200 p#15)

Elonga and Theo (South African) discuss the

quoteTheo< if% that;s the "ase then it;s great news

Elonga< why>

Theo< our 'fri"an leaders repeatedly "all on the

diapora to return

Elonga< but why>

Theo< to "ontribute to the de*elop!ent as it noto""urred to you that 'fri"a is the future not Europe>

-;! sure on"e they are in their !otherlands% they

wouldn;t want to lea*e again

Elonga< Eh, except that some do actually leave,

find out why!

Elonga and Mark (British) discuss the quote Mark < is that true>

Elonga< it see!s to be% a""ording to &ean


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Mark < that;s brilliant then%

Elonga< - wonder what happens to the! on"e they

return ho!e

Mark < -t wouldn;t bother !e !ateN !any of us

would be grateful to swap a boat ride a"ross the

Mediterranean and a dar "onfined spa"e at the ba"

of a lorry into here for a hero;s wel"o!e aboard

.oeing ##Lwhate*er /oo% they are out and that;s

what !atters

Elonga< Eh, except that some do actually comeback, find out why!

3ast:forward &ean;s assertion to the su!!er of

201 and there - was set to return to the &e!o"rati"

?epubli" of Congo (&?C) F rounding off a three year

stay in @ganda and a subse4uent 15 e*entful years inthe @nited Aingdo! - was going ba" to where it all

began

My DR oots" 3orget the Heart of Darkness of

Joseph Conrad (1$) where the title of the no*el

portrays a generation that is *ery !u"h "on"ernedabout the dual distin"tion between the !ore *ersus the

less "i*ilised or hu!an -n a world now threatened by

e="essi*e greenhouse e!issions and global war!ing%

this real life story begins rather fro! an oasis of *ast

forest reser*es whi"h are ho!e to so!e rare spe"ies

su"h as .onobos% ri*ers with huge *arieties of a4uati"

"reatures% and people straddling between the urge to preser*e their "ultural heritage and a burning desire

for !odernisation and better li*ing "onditions e are

in no other pla"e than the territory of &Golu% within the

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distri"t of Tshuapa in the +orth estern pro*in"e of

E4uateur in the &e!o"rati" ?epubli" of Congo (&?C)

where - was born and raised

&Golu stands at about 1000 ! away fro! the&?C;s "apital Ainshasa and there are no dire"t roads

lining the! .oats% transporting people and their

goods fro! Ainshasa to the nearest ports (.efori%

.oende% Mo!pono% or /isala)% tae at least a !onth to

get there -f you didn;t want that% the only way in and

out was by plane to Mbandaa% .asanusu or .oendewhi"h respe"ti*ely stand at about 00% 50 and 20

! away fro! &Golu &Golu itself has an airstrip that

would only tae so!e "hattered s!all planes

#amily< My !other is a trained !idwife and one

of the wi*es to !y polyga!ous dad who after

spending se*eral years as a pri!ary s"hool head

!o*ed on to an ad!inistrati*e role still in edu"ation but outside a s"hool setting - a! one of the $ "hildren

fro! !y !u! and !ore than a do,en fro! !y dad

.oth% and so!eti!es three of !y (step) !others

li*ed under the sa!e roof This !ay ha*e had

so!ething to do with affordability proble!s as -

wouldn;t i!agine the lies of President Ja"ob Ou!a of outh 'fri"a eeping his four wi*es under the sa!e

roof My !others had their rows but "ould ha*e so!e

inti!ate "on*ersations and laughs that "an only be

liened to the fa!ous phrase in '!eri"an politi"s< Da

tea! of ri*als;

Polyga!y is not pre*alent here but it does happen

-t has been said that the wealthy and powerful !en

that gi*e up polyga!ous pra"ti"es% do so in e="hange

for *otes fro! the poorer !en 9thers re"on a

wo!an a"tually "hooses to enter into a polyga!ous


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arrange!ent if she thins the !an has enough dosh to

loo after her ere% the idea of ha*ing !ore than one

wife (polyga!y) !ay ha*e so!ething to do with !ale

an=iety !anage!enthen growing up% we used to repeat a refrain of a

song lost in !y !e!ory ang in /ongando% whi"h is

!y !other tongue% it used to go lie this< Dboli omoko

nsole’onjemba, bali basaso nsole’alikambo’ !eaning

Dyou !arry one wife and you s!ell ba"helorhood but

!arry three and you s!ell trouble; 9n a personalle*el% of the !ore per!anent of !y !others% !y

biologi"al !u! re!ains "uddly and soft spoen My

step !other was !ore of a dis"iplinarian .oth

4ualities were needed in our household Though !y

!u! and dad wored% we didn;t depend on their

salaries for food 9ur far!s; produ"e% fishing and

hunting e=ploits pro*ided us with our daily bread ewould sit around the fire% listening to traditional

stories while waiting for our e*ening !eal

There were good pri!ary and se"ondary s"hools to

go to but beyond that the nearest uni*ersity was about

B00 ! away Things are slightly different now with

the "reation in &Golu in 200B% of a higher edu"ationinstitute for rural de*elop!ent (-&? &Golu in short)

by a lo"al intelle"tual turned politian 'lbert /oasola

/otana - "o!pleted !y pri!ary and se"ondary s"hool

studies within &Golu before !o*ing outside the area in

.aringa for a two year "ourse in English and

pirituality as part of the progra!!e set up by the

Mill ill Missionaries for their "andidates to the!issionary priesthood

Mill ill Missionaries are a Catholi" organisation

!ade up of priests% brothers and lay !e!bers set up in

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1$ by Cardinal erbert 8aughan who also built

est!inster Cathedral in "entral /ondon They wor

all o*er the world in"luding the &?C in the &io"ese of

.asanusu whi"h has &Golu as one of its deaneriesith dwindling nu!bers of re"ruits in the west% Mill

ill so"iety turned to young 'fri"ans to eep its wor

ali*e and this is how !y teenage interest with their

!issionary way of life shaped what - would do ne=t -

spent two years fro! 1 to 1 in the "entre

(CE3'H.aringa) that they set up within the &io"ese

(.asanusu) before !o*ing on to the ne=t stage

outside the &?C

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Chapter 1:

From the DRC to the UK via

Uganda

$iesthood< My !issionary drea! too !e to

JinGaH@ganda where - spent a full three years ('ugust

1 till May 1) without a holiday ho!e in

between - was still in !y early twenties then and theCongo war (that is still "lai!ing its *i"ti!s up to now)

had Gust broen out soon after !y departure The war

began as a Goint @gandan and ?wandan ba"ed

rebellion led by /aurent Aabila to oust an ailing

di"tator (Mobutu) who;d been in power for B2 years

9n"e in power (in 2001)% the self:de"lared president /aurent Aabila fell out with his ba"ers who

in turn sponsored other ar!ed groups to allegedly rid

Eastern Congo of renegade 1 ?wandan geno"ide

fighters To the Congolese% this se"ond in*asion and

"ontinued support to different ar!ed groups were Gust

a prete=t for ?wanda and @ganda to sli"e off or

balanise Congo and lay their hands on its !inerals-n that !le that drew up to 10 'fri"an "ountries

('ngola% Chad% /ibya% +a!ibia% oudan and

Oi!babwe for the &?C go*ern!ent side and ?wanda%


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@ganda and .urundi for the rebel sides) !y fa!ily

!e!bers% in &Golu% had to so!eti!es tae to the forest

for days and wees to flee fro! the different

ad*an"ing andHor retreating (rebel or go*ern!ent)troops pending that length of ti!e away fro! !y

fa!ily was understandably agonising

/u"ily for !e% the intelle"tual sti!ulation deri*ed

fro! studying philosophy was as therapeuti" as the

war!th of li*ing in a wel"o!ing en*iron!ent that

@ganda was in those days - a! grateful to the lies of 'ssou!pta and se*eral fa!ilies in Mbio% AoonGeru

and others a"ross @ganda - a! parti"ularly indebted

to the hospitality of the 9ulas who turned their ho!e

into !yHour ho!e away fro! ho!e Charles and

'ngela 9ula who we si!ply "alled daddy and

!u!!y li*ed with their "hildren at about B !iles

away fro! the se!inary house in JinGaH@ganda Chia.ass and 'nguo Justin both fro! Ca!eroon were two

and a year respe"ti*ely ahead of us and both *isited

the 9ulas as their fa!ily friends in"e - was "lose to

!y Ca!eroonian friends in our year% we got

introdu"ed to the! and this is how a Congolese

!anaged to snea into this "ir"le of pure hu!anity%

friendship and lo*e

-n those days% !ost people in @gandan towns used

bi"y"les to get around There were people who would

pro*ide a bi"y"le ride for !oney and it was "alled

D.odaboda; !eaning Dboarder to boarder; (a pra"ti"e

that originated fro! taing people fro! the Aenyan

border to the @gandan border) e were gi*en one bi"y"le ea"h to get us around espe"ially during

weeends when we had to *isit the "o!!unity as part

of our !issionary wor hen that wor was o*er we

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would turn up at the 9ulas% usually unannoun"ed%

and e=pe"t to be fed and watered 's well as the !ain

house% they had built a boys; 4uarter whi"h be"a!e

our dor!itory at Christ!as% Easter and other holidayse would e*en organise e="ursions to his ho!e

*illage whi"h !eant organising transport to and

through for 10Q of us o!e would argue that hu!an

relations are defined by personal interests but - fail to

see what the 9ulas would ha*e gained fro! us

There are drea!s whi"h are only hopes within arealisti" world that we li*e in .ut there are drea!s

that are uni!aginable be"ause one;s surrounding does

not lend itself to the realisation of su"h drea!s and yet

they still happen to you /i*ing and growing up in

&Golu it was beyond !y drea!s% as it were% to study

with a !i= of 'fri"ans fro! different "ountries in the

sa!e institution .ut that;s Gust what happened There- was% in @ganda% intera"ting with the people that

would later be"o!e !y best friends fro! Ca!eroun%

Aenya% @ganda% Oa!bia% and Tan,ania et"

- !ay not ha*e enGoyed "onsulting !y English:

3ren"h di"tionary !ore than 100 ti!es a day to eep

up with le"tures and so"ial life% but in hindsight% this!onotonous pra"ti"e in the "onte=t of learning a

language has its benefits that - now all too well

.esides !astering /ongando and /ingala whi"h are

both !y !other tongues and 3ren"h whi"h is the

&?C;s s"hool and offi"ial language% - now had to

learn B additional languages -t was so tough that e*en

an old friend - re"onne"t with through so"ial networ had to re!ind !e about asing our D'fri"an

Philosophy; le"turer a daft 4uestion su"h as Dwhat

does a deity !ean>; - was paranoid that - e*en fell out

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with !y Aenyan friend who happened to s!ile while -

was speaing and - thought D!y English !ust be so

poor to !ae this guy laugh at !e; -n spite of those

!o!ents and !any !ore% with hard wor - ha*e had!ore doors open than shut to !e with !y broen

/uganda% not so perfe"t wahili and now fluent

English

%ondon< 9ne window of opportunity that opened up

to !e was "o!ing to England in 'ugust 1 to studyTheology in the "onte=t of fulfilling !y !issionary

drea! The "ultural sho" though when landing at

eathrow airport had the uni!aginable effe"t of

shutting this opportunity down and boarding the ne=t

plane ba" to Ainshasa% where full:on isses were the

e="lusi*e business of the bedroo! .ut - was where -

was and /ondon was going to be !y new ho!e 'sti!e !o*ed on% England offered !e !ore than a

repulsi*e hany:pany that one !ight en"ounter at the

beginning of the autu!n season at one of the world;s

busiest airports (eathrow) The sense of duty% the

generosity of friends% and the understandable logi" in

the syste! that lay down the rules of the ga!e for all%that "an be asso"iated with life in the @A% were

en*iable and attra"ti*e

The @gandan e=perien"e had been beyond !y

drea!s but li*ing in +orth est /ondon was surreal

ere - was studying not only with fellow 'fri"ans but

with "andidates fro! *arious "ontinents - had

graduated fro! using bi"y"les in @ganda to ha*ing 1or 2 students; "ars They "ared so !u"h for you that

they would e*en show you how to use a hoo*er The

winged Mill ill Missionaries head4uarter at a ti!e

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was a listed building and it was so huge that it% at

ti!es% felt lonely /onely but safe% shielding you fro!

the hustle and bustle and "o!ple= transport syste! out

there that !ade !e not *enture out on !y own for atleast 2 !onths Two years down the line and !y shot

at !issionary life didn;t wor out - de"ided for

legiti!ate reasons that - was going to do so!ething

else instead - "o!pleted the Theology "y"le

ne*ertheless and wondered what to do thereafter

- opted for a "areer in edu"ation after being presented with so!e ideas su"h as !arriage andHor

applying for asylu! status This was 2002 and the war

that has dire"tly and indire"tly "lai!ed the li*es of

!ore than !illion people was still raging in &?C

Just on death toll alone and !illion is a "onser*ati*e

figure% the &?C "ould be said to ha*e endured at least

#0 de*astating Ebola outbreas si!ilar to the201H15 est 'fri"an one in the last 1$ years

- "ould go on a rant about the !oral s"ar it has left

on the leadership at all le*els (national and

international) but besides the li*es that ha*e already

been lost a"ross the "ountry% we "an !ention the !any

wo!en and underage girls that "ontinue to fall *i"ti!sof se=ual atta"s in Eastern Congo The rape of an 1$

!onth old girl and fa!ily !e!bers being for"ed to

sleep with their relati*es before they are gang raped by

ar!ed !en are dreadful stories and do"tors su"h as

&enis Muwege who re"ently was awarded the

European parlia!ent top hu!an rights pri,e for

treating raped wo!en "annot be thaned enough Theinternal as well as e=ternal hu!an displa"e!ent

resulting fro! su"h instability "annot be

underesti!ated -t was a no brainer then that !y friend

1B


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would ad*ise !e to lodge in an asylu! appli"ation

with the ho!e offi"e

Te!pting though it was% it wouldn;t only ha*e

been an insult to genuine people who% in fear of perse"ution in their "ountries of origin see refuge in

their host "ountries% but - also had trouble lying

despite possible "oa"hing sessions 'nd - a! not

taling about little white lies Possible years of

un"ertainty were not things - felt "o!fortable with -

wanted to wor hard e*en though tea"hing was theonly *iable "ard on the table This is not to suggest

that all asylu! seeers lie and that they don;t wor

hard

#om piesthood to teaching< The fa"t that - ended

up in edu"ation !ight ha*e so!ething to do with the

fa!ily genes -t is a fa!ily lo*e affair sin"e !y father

and other fa!ily !e!bers% in &?C% are tea"hers .ut

in !y new English "onte=t% it was the !ost pra"ti"al

thing to do - was a foreign student paying fees at an

international rate and - needed a less "ostly strategy

that would get !e into the world of e!ploy!ent in the

shortest ti!e possible Though a few sponsorshipappli"ations were refused on the grounds that - didn;t

!eet the residen"y "riteria% the R$%$5 one year fee

worth of tea"her training at heffield alla!

@ni*ersity (@) and the liely prospe"t of obtaining

a wor per!it and gradually getting into a situation

where - didn;t need one were !ore attra"ti*e than a

!ore "ostly (e"ono!i"s or other purely a"ade!i")!aster;s degree progra!!e

?aising the R$%$5 still wasn;t easy /et;s peddle

ba" a little before starting with @ - had spent two

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years studying fullti!e with Mill ill Missionaries

'nd whene*er - wasn;t studying% - was *isiting an

-8H'-& "entre around Ca!den Town and youth

"entre in t 'lbans as part of the !issionary wor that had brought !e to /ondon -n the third year% -

de"ided to part "o!pany with Mill ill and dit"hed

the idea of priesthood all together ith that "a!e the

"onse4uen"e of finding !y own a""o!!odation and

taing "are of !yself - had to "o!plete the Theology

degree as well as find so!e wor that would enable

!e to sa*e enough !oney for !y tea"her training

progra!!e at @ in the following year upport

wor was what did it for !e There was the "onstraint

of not e="eeding 20 hours of wor a wee as per !y

student *isa rules but in support wor% there are flat

rate sleepo*ers at the "lient;s house whi"h ept your

hours low but in"reased your in"o!e so!ehow - hada 4uiet and war! pla"e where - "ould get !y

assign!ents done on"e the "lient was in bed

The "hange of "areer fro! priesthood to edu"ation

re4uired !aing a geographi"al !o*e fro! /ondon to

outh orshire to reside in &on"aster and study with

@ My Ca!eroonian friend 8in"ent 'sa!bo! had

been li*ing there and the reputable hospitality of

+orthen England were enough to "on*in"e !e to

bra*e the hostile +orthen winters that are asso"iated

with this part of the "ountry - still re!e!ber !y

friend Maria il*a ?o,a dri*ing !e fro! /ondon up

to &on"aster on 22nd 'ugust 2002

ow this parti"ular stage in !y life unfolded% andthe for!idable so"ial and finan"ial help of friends lie

Jeanette de ou,a% Maria il*a ?osa% 8in"ent

'sa!bo! and 'ntoinette% deser*e spe"ial !ention -

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re!e!ber spending two wees at !y friend;s

(8in"ent 'sa!bo! and his wife Mispa) house before

finding so!e below standard a""o!!odation for

!yself - had enough !oney for !y fees o% !yo*erdraft of R1500 and an additional R1500 that !y

friends Jeanette de ou,a and Maria il*a ?osa had

gi*en !e was the budget - had for rent% transport% bills

and food for the entire year The hardship of ha*ing to

wae up with the "oat - wore to go to wor the

pre*ious day to eep war!% !ay not be so!ething -

wish on !yself% !y "hildren or anybody for that

!atter but the sills and instin"t of sur*i*al is

so!ething - wanted to hang onto fore*er

&uring this ti!e and in the years that followed -

had to get used to the +orthern a""ent% the loneliness%

the friendship% and e*erything that a foreign born

trainee:tea"her had to deal with - also had to learn theropes of tea"hing and build !y tea"hing "areer in one

of the !ost depri*ed se"ondary s"hools in outh

orshire - re!e!ber !y friends would wait for a

funny story of what would ha*e gone on in !y

"lassroo! - also brought ho!e great !e!ories of the

!ost fantasti" students doing what they do best<

learning esitation and early "areer years; doubt ga*e

way to "onfiden"e and - soon began to feel

"o!fortable as a tea"her

-t is offi"ial that it wasn;t lo*e at first sight

between !e and tea"hing -t was a !atter of

"on*enien"e% "ir"u!stan"es and not a passion that -

ha*e "arried with !e sin"e being a "hild -t wasn;t in!y blood% so!eone !ight say -t was !arriage for the

wrong reasons a*e we not heard that before in our

politi"al tal about Dbogus !arriages;% D.ritish:ness;%

jean pierre elonga mboyo - the unexpected homecoming a diasporan journey of hope against all odds

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