Blood Gold in the Congo

by Peter Ralph

  “Ah, a smile. Now that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Maya teased.

  Joseph looked down on Lubumbashi and observed, “It’s a sprawling city.”

  “Nearly 2 million people, and it’s developing at a breakneck speed.”

  The plane taxied to a standstill. Joseph thanked the crew and asked the captain to be ready to go at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was a man with cropped blond hair, a jutting jaw, and a physique similar to Joseph’s. He held out his hand and said, “I’m Chuck Bennett, your pilot. It’s an honor to shake the hand of the greatest athlete on the planet. Would you mind writing a short note to my son, Andy, on the trip? He’s only seven, but he’d kill to have something written by you.”

  This guy’s in the services. Where did Costigan dig him up? I wonder if he’s a SEAL. “It’d be a pleasure, Chuck,” Joseph said, before introducing Maya.

  “This way, folks. The big bird’s humming and ready to go.”

  The helicopter was a Sikorsky and far larger than Joseph had expected. Sitting in the front seat was another man who had shaved black hair and was a little smaller than Chuck. “Who’s that?” Joseph shouted over the whine of the rotors.

  “Brett Kronk, my co-pilot. I’ll introduce you once we’re onboard. Come on, let’s go.”

  Joseph smirked. These guys are Marines or SEALS and the copter’s big enough to carry an arsenal. How did Jack Costigan arrange to fly them in, or are they based in Katanga?

  A few minutes later when they were at cruising altitude, Joseph asked, “Where are you guys based?”

  The two Americans looked at each other before Bennett said, “Lubumbashi?”

  “Who are you with?”

  “We freelance,” Bennett said.

  “Where’d you learn to fly?”

  “Hey,” Bennett said, handing Joseph a pen and pad. “I nearly forgot. Can you write that note?”

  “Sure.”

  Kronk spoke for the first time to ask, “What was it like knowing you had to take nearly a minute off your personal best in the fifteen hundred to win gold?”

  “Yeah,” Bennett chimed in, “but wasn’t it that enormous javelin throw that won you gold?”

  Every time Joseph asked them what they were doing in Lubumbashi, they changed the subject back to his sporting exploits. Bennett was friendly and gregarious, while Kronk was curt and to the point. Good cop, bad cop, Joseph thought.

  Maya looked down at the green canopy and said, “Isn’t it beautiful? Nature’s umbrella.”

  “Some of those trees are two hundred feet tall and have trunks nearly forty feet in diameter,” Bennett said.

  “I know,” Maya said. “I usually travel through the forest on the way to the village.”

  An hour later Joseph looked down on a small town with dirt roads, clay and thatched huts, some corrugated iron and brick houses, and a few concrete buildings. “I thought Kilwa would be larger,” he said.

  “It is.” Bennett grinned. “This is Pweto. We arranged to refuel here before leaving Lubumbashi. We’ll be at your village in half an hour and won’t need to stop on the way back.”

  The airstrip was around a mile long, and the copter touched down next to a corrugated iron building with a flat roof. A small tanker appeared from nowhere, and Kronk said, “Why don’t you stretch your legs?”

  The heat was oppressive, and tsetse flies buzzed around them. “I can’t believe we’ll be home in half an hour,” Maya said.

  “Home,” Joseph repeated wistfully. “It’s strange to think of the village as home after all the years I’ve spent in California, What do you think of the pilots?”

  “They seem to know what they’re doing. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason. I think they’ve finished refueling. Let’s go.”

  Twenty-five minutes later, Joseph said, “There’s a gold mine three miles to the east of the village. Please fly over it.”

  “New Dawn,” Bennett said. “Sure, no problem.”

  The helicopter swept over the mine and circled. “Go lower,” Joseph said. “Go as low as you can.”

  “Hold on,” Bennett said.

  “Jesus!” Joseph exclaimed.

  “What’s wrong?” Maya asked.

  “Look at the excavators and trucks. They’re not moving. No one’s working. It looks deserted.”

  “It’s Saturday,” Maya said.

  “Mines never stop, not even on Christmas Day,” Joseph replied. “There’s something wrong. Chuck, fly over those huts. I want to see if there’s any sign of life.”

  Maya pointed. “There’s a small group of men.”

  CHAPTER 16

  ..................

  TEN MEN WERE STANDING IN a circle surrounding a man who was speaking and gesticulating. They seemed to be enjoying what he was saying, and smiles filled their drawn faces. Without exception, they were skinny and dressed in rags and sandals. Three of them were carrying spears, and the others were armed with rifles.

  “Go lower,” Joseph said.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” Bennett said, “but I don’t want to get too close to those rifles. One lucky shot to our fuel tanks, and we’re history.”

  “They’re not worried about us,” Joseph said. “They’re not even looking up. They’re too busy listening to that guy in the middle. Go lower.”

  Bennett took the copter down to a hundred feet. The men looked up, worry written across their faces, but they didn’t raise their rifles. Joseph noticed Kronk caressing an M16 that appeared to have materialized from nowhere. Suddenly Maya screamed, “It’s Yannick! It’s Yannick!”

  “Which one?” Joseph asked.

  “In the middle. The one doing the talking.”

  The hunched-over man was nothing but a bag of bones and looked about forty. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course,” Maya said, opening a window and shouting down to Yannick.

  “He can’t hear you, Miss,” Bennett said.

  “Put it down,” Joseph said.

  Bennett looked worried and glanced over at Kronk, who shook his head.

  “Jesus,” Joseph yelled, pointing to a yard that housed approximately fifty vehicles – four-wheel drives, trucks, trailers, excavators, and graders. “Put it down over there. We’ll walk back.”

  Bennett landed about four hundred yards from the men. Maya leaped out through the dust and started to run. Joseph easily caught up to her and grasped her elbow. “It’s too hot to run. Yannick’s not going anywhere.”

  “I’m so excited. I haven’t seen him for nearly a year. He’s going to be so surprised and when he sees you …” Maya stopped. “I’m lost for words. I don’t know what he’ll do when he sees you.”

  Joseph glanced back at the helicopter. The two Americans were following close behind. Both were carrying M16s.

  When they were eighty yards from the men, Maya shouted, “Yannick, Yannick,” and he broke from the group and jogged toward her.

  They embraced, and Yannick asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “Can’t you see who I have with me?” she replied.

  Joseph looked at the tall, gaunt man with the pockmarked face carrying three spears and couldn’t see a trace of the Yannick he’d once known.

  “Boss,” he said, “you came back. I would’ve never recognized you if I hadn’t seen your picture in the newspapers. I wondered whether you would visit.”

  “Hello, Yannick,” Joseph said, extending his hand. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “God, you are massive. It’s easy to see you don’t live in Katanga.”

  “Yannick, why isn’t the mine working? Where is everyone?” Joseph asked.

  “Last week the company installed X-ray machines to detect workers stealing gold. Everyone has to pass through them at the end of their shifts. Yesterday a young boy was found with a small nugget inside his stomach. They were all set to remove it with a knife when the workers revolted. They would’ve killed him. We took their guns,” Yannick said, n
odding at the men holding rifles behind him. “We told them they had nothing to fear, but we were officially on strike. Despite this, they still ran. We want more money, better safety, improved conditions, and the X-ray machines removed.”

  Joseph frowned. “But where are the workers?”

  “They went back to their villages,” Yannick said, wiping his bloodshot eyes. “They’ll return when they’re needed.”

  “Are you the only workers still at the mine?” Maya asked, glancing at the small group.

  “No, another eighty are spread around the mine. Some are underground, others are guarding equipment, but most are enjoying themselves in air-conditioned huts.”

  “Did you hurt the guards or wreck any equipment?” Joseph asked. “Was there any violence?”

  “No,” Yannick replied, “all we did was take their rifles. We had to, or they would’ve turned them on us. Life is cheap here. It’s a peaceful strike.”

  Joseph looked back at the helicopter. There was no sign of the Americans. “Is there a toilet I can use?” he asked.

  “In the big boss’s office.” Yannick nodded toward the largest hut. “There won’t be anyone in there. Everyone’s scared he’ll find out and take revenge when he returns.”

  Boucher’s office, Joseph thought as he walked over and let himself in. A metal desk sat in the center of it with a fabric high-backed chair behind it and half a dozen plastic chairs in front of it. There were a few papers and a computer on the desk. Joseph opened a door behind the fabric chair, and there was a tiled bathroom adjoining another room that housed a double bed.

  When he returned to the office, he noticed that the thermostat on the wall read seventy degrees. Marc Boucher certainly worked and lived in comparative comfort. Joseph scanned a few invoices on the desk for equipment parts and was about to leave when his hand brushed the keyboard and the screen sprang to life. He obviously didn’t think to turn it off before fleeing, Joseph noted. He took the USB from around his neck and plugged it into the tower. A few minutes later he joined the others. “We’re going to the village now, Yannick. I need to talk to you. Will you come with us?”

  Yannick looked dubiously at the helicopter. “I don’t know. I’m needed here.”

  “Oh, come on,” Maya wheedled, grabbing his hand.

  They were halfway back when the rotors started spinning, blowing up a cloud of yellow dust. Yannick looked uncomfortable, and Maya said, “Don’t be concerned. I’d never been in one before today. You’ll be amazed by the views.”

  Five minutes later, the helicopter landed on the outskirts of the village. “Will you want to go back to the mine?” Bennett asked.

  “I don’t know,” Joseph replied. “Probably not.”

  “We’ll put the chopper in the shade of the forest then.”

  “What are you going to do while you’re waiting?” Joseph asked.

  “Don’t concern yourself,” Kronk said. “We’ll be here when you need us.”

  “I can’t wait to see my brother and sister,” Maya said. “What are you two going to do?”

  “Is our old meeting place still standing?” Joseph asked.

  “It hasn’t changed since you left. It’s been dying for twenty years but refuses to succumb,” Yannick said. “I can only give you a few hours. I have to get back to the mine. When Mr. Boucher and the others come back, I need to be there to handle the negotiations.”

  CHAPTER 17

  ..................

  JOSEPH AND YANNICK TREKKED ACROSS the grass toward the jungle in silence. There was none of the old banter. They were like strangers, and Joseph sensed he might never again truly know the frail man walking beside him. Maya was different. She had been educated and had seen the world. Yannick had never known anything except the village and the gold mine.

  Time had stood still for the baobab tree. Joseph patted its trunk and said, “It looks like it’ll be dead in six months, just like it did when we were boys.”

  “After you left, Maya and I never set foot in it. Then Maya was taken, and it just became a sad memory,” Yannick said.

  “I’m going to check the entrance,” Joseph said, walking around the trunk. “Ah, the foliage is much heavier, but it’s still the same.”

  Yannick was squatting in front of the baobab and asked, “What do you want to know?”

  “Maya told me you witnessed the soldiers murder my mother and little Safi. Tell me what you saw.”

  Yannick’s legs started shaking, and he got to his feet. “It was horrible. That pig Zamenka killed them both, and I watched like the coward I am.”

  “You’re not a coward, Yannick. What could you have done? Sacrifice your life to achieve nothing? That would’ve been stupid.”

  “You would’ve attacked them.”

  “Zamenka was about to murder my mother and sister. Of course I would’ve attacked him, and you know what would’ve happened? They would’ve killed me. Would I have saved them? No! Don’t beat yourself up. Tell me what happened, and don’t spare me. Maya said it was soldiers. Were there more than Zamenka? I want to hear everything.”

  For the next hour, Yannick related everything he had seen. Joseph listened, distant and impassive. “Zamenka raped Safi. It was brutal. I can still hear her screams. She was still fighting when he slashed her throat. I said ‘soldiers’ to Maya because I couldn’t talk. They raped every young girl and boy in the village. What are you going to do, Joseph?”

  “I don’t know,” Joseph lied. “Tell me what happened to your parents.”

  “The soldiers attacked the village six months earlier, but your family got away that time. I hid, and my parents got butchered. You said you’d have attacked because it was your mother and your sister. I froze. I couldn’t move.” Yannick looked haunted and hung his head in shame.

  Joseph reached out and rested his hand on Yannick’s shoulder. “I know what I said I’d do, but it doesn’t mean I would have. I wasn’t here. I didn’t experience the terror. You did. You can’t fight guns with spears. Maya told me that Anatole fled with my brothers and sisters to Tanzania. Have you heard anything about them?”

  “They never made it across Lake Tanganyika. I was told that Anatole made a raft, but the lake is over forty miles wide. They never stood a chance.”

  “All gone,” Joseph muttered. “All gone.”

  A tear trickled down Yannick’s cheek. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back to the mine.”

  “Do you know who owns it? Have there ever been any visitors who looked like they might be owners?”

  “No. It’s run by a Canadian, Marc Boucher, and an Afrikaner, Gert Botha. Most of the supervisors are Afrikaners. Other than the army, and police, there are never any visitors.”

  “Yes, I know about Boucher and Botha.”

  “There’s a death every week. Sometimes more. There are no safety procedures underground. Workers die in cave-ins, from blasting, from exhaustion and malnutrition. Then there are those murdered for malingering or stealing gold. It’s hell on earth.”

  “Why do you still work there?”

  Yannick shrugged fatalistically. “The rivers and streams are polluted with cyanide and heavy metals. Nothing survived. There are no fish, birds, or animals. The foliage on the banks is dead, and when the tailings dam overflowed, it destroyed thousands of acres of fertile land. The little we make from the mine is all that keeps us alive.”

  Joseph clenched his fists, anger rising with every new revelation. “The gold mine was meant to bring prosperity, but it has brought nothing but hardship and death.”

  “I’m sorry, Joseph. I have to get back. I’ll come to the village tonight. We can talk some more then.”

  Deep in their own thoughts they got up and walked in silence to the edge of the forest, when the peace was broken by a sharp clattering in the distance. “What’s that?” Joseph asked, as his cellphone rang.

  “Machine guns,” Yannick said, his face stricken with fear. “Oh God, it’s coming from the mine.”

  “Yes,”
Joseph shouted, putting his cellphone in speaker mode.

  “It’s Chuck Bennett. We’re above the mine. Four choppers carrying about thirty troops just landed. They’re randomly killing workers. We’ve been getting reports that rebels have taken over the mine. Where are you?”

  “On the edge of the forest.”

  “Take refuge there. These bastards are killing everything that moves. Some of them are starting to get into the trucks. They’ll be at the village in less than ten minutes. Get in the forest and hide. We’ll get to you when we can.”

  Joseph could hear the sound of machine gun fire in the background and then Kronk screaming, “Christ, they’ve got two SAMs, and they’re aiming one at us. Take it down, Chuck, take it down behind those trees.” The words stopped, and sounds of chaos took their place.

  “Hello? Hello?” Joseph shouted, before losing the the connection. He put his cellphone on vibrate before turning to Yannick. “Go back to our hideout, and make sure we can still access it. I’m going to get Maya.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Yannick replied.

  “No, you’ll never keep up with me. You’ll be more valuable in the forest. Now go!” Joseph shouted, arms pumping as he sprinted toward the village.

  The first villagers were already racing to the safety of the forest, but there was no sign of Maya. Sweat dripped into Joseph’s eyes, and he ran with an urgency he’d never experienced before. The sound of shells exploding and machine guns filled the air. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and blindly took photos of the chaos, carnage, and destruction without focusing. The village was in mayhem, and panic-stricken villagers tried to gather their families before making for the forest. Some were foolishly taking their belongings, while others were helping their elderly parents. Joseph ran around the huts searching desperately for Maya, and then he saw her distinctive green blouse.

  “Maya! Maya! Come quickly, we must go.”

  She was disoriented and in shock. “I-I can’t find Grace and Roland. I can’t leave without them.”

  A hut fifty yards away was hit by a shell and disintegrated. Joseph grasped Maya’s hand and shouted, “If they’re not here, they’ve already gone. Come on. There is no time to waste.”