Saturday, 31 July

House near Lubero.

I woke up late today – just in time to read my book before lunch. I am reading ‘The Secret Sharer’ by Joseph Conrad – the author of Heart of Darkness. I met several people who are studying at the monastery. The people I spoke to were either studying theology or agriculture. There is also a school at the monastery for children.
In the afternoon I was collected from the monastery by Colonel Igor – a serious Ukrainian soldier who works in Lubero as a Military Observer (usually called MILOBS) with the UN. He took me as far as a farm where I bought some local cheese. The farm is run by a Congolese-American family. I spent some time here talking about the political situation. People here are worried that the UN is leaving the town – the military force has already been reduced to half. I walked for several kilometres into the town centre and to the UN office, where I met the local head of office. The walk was nice and I spoke to several locals and took a few photographs. I had a quiet evening reading, eating and typing up my journal…