Whether the Democratic Republic of Congo should properly be described, even today, as a country is open to question. Most readers probably regard the DRC as a land of exotic disease, extreme poverty, political chaos, massacres, rape and drug-crazed child soldiers. But in an area roughly the size of Western Europe, where there is no national road or rail system, there are many levels of daily reality. And if you say ‘war’ in the streets of Kinshasa, the capital city, the people are quite likely to hear ‘beer’ and expect the latest news of a different battle.

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