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Award of Excellence
Per-Anders PetterssonGetty Images
"A CHIMPANZE BEING WASHED"
Crew members wash Dola, a chimpanzee, that they
bought for US$ 25, while waiting for their boat to leave the Kisangani port
for the capital Kinshasa on March 4, 2006 in Kisangani, in Congo, DRC. Dola
died a few days later from an unknown disease. Many animals are taken to
Kinshasa and sold as pets or for the meat. The Congo River is a lifeline for
millions of people, who depend on it for transport and trade. The journey
from Kisangani to Kinshasa is about 1750 kilometers, and it takes from 3-7
weeks on the river, depending on the boat. During the Mobuto era, big boats
run by the state company ONATRA dominated the traffic on the river. These
boats had cabins and restaurants etc. All the boats are now private and are
mainly barges that transport goods. The crews sell tickets to passengers who
travel in very bad conditions, mixing passengers with animals, goods and only
about two toilets for five hundred passengers. The conditions on the boats
often resemble conditions in a refugee camp. Congo is planning to hold
general elections by July 2006, the first democratic elections in forty
years.
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