When I see the large numbers of visa applicants waiting every day outside some Embassies and diplomatic representations in Kinshasa, I always wonder how many Congolese citizens would remain in the country if they could easily to get a visa to leave. You must be really motivated to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning in order to be at 5 at the Embassy, just to pick up a visa application form. The next inescapable stage is to queue up for hours, on the day when you actually file the application.
Last time I went to file a visa application, I had to stand outside the French Embassy for more than two hours, in a blazing sun, telling myself that this was perhaps a waste of time, there were chances that my visa application would be turned down, and I fully knew that the Embassy is not even required to justify a rejection. Up until the day before my departure, I didn’t know when the visa was going to be granted, or not granted. I received it on the morning of the very day when I was supposed to board the plane.
I’ll never forget the day when I heard a lady shout: “pasi eleki! Toteka kaka mboka yango, tokabola mbongo, moto na moto aluka esika ya kokende” which means: “too much suffering! Let’s sell this country, share the money and let every one find another place to go“. I admit that this lady was going a little too far, but with this kind of remark, one can justifiably wonder if the Congo wouldn’t lose its entire population if the visa barrier was lifted.
The 5 top embassies for visa application. Ranking criterion : the number of people I see standing in front of an embassy each time I am in the vicinity:
- China
- South Africa
- France
- Italy
- Belgium
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6 Comments
Happy New Year Cedric! Congratulation on your new formula, i like it very much. Also great job on making an English version, this will extend your audience. Keep up your good work and God Bless.
Wow! Great job, Cédric. Are you doing all these translations yourself?
Bravo
Great blog, great description of what is living in Kinshasa.
I am surprised with the ranking of the embassies for visa application. I mean, if 4 of them are expectable, I cannot say the same about China, especially if ranked in first place.
I am mozambican and China has been starting to have big implantation here, specially in the building industry, but the majority of mozambicans that leave the country still goes to South Africa.
If you are a mozambican, you just have to cross the border, most of the times ilegaly.
No need for visas if you have a common border almost without control [at least for the mozambican side], that’s the feeling.
Greetings from Mozambique.
Thumb up, Cedric I’m deeply proud of you and I mean it. You’re a kind
of people the Congo really needs for its development. fell free to contact me through my email.
Hi Cedric. Thanks for being real with the existing situation in your country. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a great nation. Only that leaders don’t see it. Several African countries wish the DRC could have been their home. I have visited Kinsasha via Kisangani and seen for myself the greatness and resourcefulness of your country. If you people would sell your country, divide the money and head out, then you’ll have nowhere to go to. Why? Because every country would be scrambling for your country! All that agriculturally productive land, mineral rich land of great Africa? In fact Congolese leaders must start thinking hard before poor African nations invades this beautiful country to utilize its resources.
Well, I’m not very sure that every person you saw at the Chinese embassy wanted to go ‘Chine’. It might be as well that they had come to to complain about one thing or another having happened over the weekend. you know that there are a few ‘garcon en blue’ right across the chinese embassay. Ask the guards near the embassay of the kinds of ‘visa’ requests they get and you rofl.