Brash hustlers, sinister colonels, resilient refugees, and intrepid radio hosts: meet the future of Congo

Brash hustlers, sinister colonels, resilient refugees, and intrepid radio hosts: Meet the future of Congo

While poring over dusty photographs of colonial Congo, Ben Rawlence stumbled upon the image of a lost city – a glistening metropolis fuelled by tin and European capital. Today, that city, Manono, lies inside the ‘Triangle of Death’, an area rarely reached by outsiders since war broke out in Congo more than a decade ago. Rawlence, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, set out to gather news of Manono – and of Congo’s uneasy peace.

Rather than taking the direct flight suggested by aid workers and mercenaries, he travels by foot, bike, and boat, taking his time to meet the people who are making a new life in one of the world’s most dangerous places. We meet Colonel Ibrahim, a guerrilla turned army officer; Benjamin, the kindly father of the most terrifying Mai Mai warlord; the Lebanese cousins Mohammed & Mohammed, young tin traders making their fortune; and the talk-show host Mama Christine, who dispenses counsel and courage in equal measure. Along the way, Rawlence hears the real stories of Congo, during and after the war, and finds beacons of hope for the future.

"Lucid, laconic, and elegantly written.”