New Year's "Party" (2001)

In the morning, the ANR agent came to tell me there would be a plane at noon and to prepare to leave. Last Wednesday, he gave my things back, and I immediately sent them to the mission. Well, the priests and I were a little worried about my trip as there was no way to notify Kinshasa that I was coming. Nobody operated their radios on Sunday.

The plane arrived at 4:00 p.m., and we left for Kinshasa. We arrived in Kinshasa at 5:30, and my guard took me to the ANR office at the airport to arrange transportation to the prison. One hour after another hour went by, and no one showed up to take us. At about 11:00 p.m., the agent said we would have to sleep in the office. At midnight, we went out to the parking lot where the police and airport personnel celebrated New Year's Eve. We sat on empty beer crates. I bought my guard a beer, and I drank a Coke. At 1:00 a.m., we went to the office to sleep. I slept on a wooden bench, and the guard rested on a table.

There were hundreds of mosquitoes in the room as there was not any glass in the windows. Fortunately, I covered up with my rain poncho, so I didn't get too many bites. I was up early, and at 6:00 a.m., another agent arrived and took us to the ANR prison and office. The director wasn't there, so we sat outside under a shelter. At 10:00, the director still hadn't arrived, and none of my confreres knew where I was. I did not have anything to eat or drink since the New Year's "party."