It can happen anywhere

I have been thinking about a situation that occurred here during the holidays and wondering if I should blog about it....and then I thought that since all countries have similar issues and Bryan and I had a similar situation in the USA several years ago.....it is ok to write about and does give another facet of life here........

While we were living in Azusa, California, I came home from work one day and there were two policemen outside our apartment with their guns in their hands.  I was startled and said...."I live here" pointing to the door right in front of them.  They told me to go inside and stay there.  They would not talk to me about what the problem was that brought them there and so I went inside and Bryan was home.  There was no shooting....but some running outside and we stayed inside until the police said they were leaving......

So, several years later and now in Soyo......Bryan was up checking the time for football games to be on the TV......the games are played during the afternoons in the USA which is the early morning here.  All of a sudden he heard a commotion outside our home.  He looked out the window and saw two trucks in the street.  One had workers in it and the other had armed military men and then went into the home across the street from us and took 4 people out of the house and put them in the truck.  Then both trucks drove away.  This all happened quickly and efficiently.

The next day there was no movement in the house across from us.  The doors and shutters were closed.  The second day there was a door at the side of the house open in the evening but then closed again and no one visible.  Four days after the incident the front door was open again and the large number of people that have lived there off and on for the past 2 years were back....children and all.

We have no idea what occurred that brought the military.  We are living on a tributary of the Congo River and there are many people from Congo who come to Soyo for business.....they bring most of the fresh vegetables....and there are times when they are all sent back to Congo for some time.  Don't know if this was one of those sweeps or not.  But what I do know is that this type of incident can occur anywhere and without frequent recurrences that would raise anxiety and therefore makes for a good story to share......