I have been watching the late Anthony Bourdain’s series, Parts Unknown, during my one-hour cardio sessions on the exercise bike every day. I am very particular when it comes to this part of my workout, preferring not to follow live or digital classes, but rather, to ride along to something entertaining on Netflix. It is for this reason that I ended up watching The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit, but this series is by far the best. I’ve started from the very beginning, at Season 1, which first aired in 2013, and includes Myanmar, Colombia and Libya—episodes which were interesting, fascinating, heartwarming, at times gruesome, but always enlightening.
The episode about the Congo, though, was poignantly heartbreaking. There was the back history of Leopold II of Belgium and his pillaging of the land of ivory and rubber using forced labour from the native people to harvest and process the rubber. The hands of men, women, and children were amputated when the quota of rubber was not met and millions of the Congolese people died. P had actually been telling me about this last week, coincidentally, but seeing the actual photographs of those with hands missing was awful. Then there were the scenes of the people who live there now waiting, waiting and hoping for someone to come and help them, waiting for things to get better.
This episode aired seven years ago, so for peace of mind, I had to find out if anyone was helping the people of the Congo. Although the Democratic Republic of Congo is widely considered to be the richest country in the world with regards to natural resources (untapped deposits of raw minerals are estimated to be worth more than $24 trillion), the second-largest country in Africa is also the second-poorest country in the world. So what is being done to help? Between conflict, poverty, malnutrition and frequent disease outbreaks (such as ebola), humanitarian needs in the DRC are among the highest in the world. For this reason, the 2021 UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for the DRC requires more than €1.5 billion to meet the needs of vulnerable people. This year, the EU has allocated over €59 million for humanitarian actions, including funding for famine and food security, as well as helping people affected by violence and displacement, malnutrition and epidemics. The World Bank and other organisations and governments are also helping. You can donate here.
This week’s links include a bird’s-eye view of Giza’s Ancient Egyptian Pyramids; and school lunches from around the world; puffed sleeve sweaters and pile slippers and much, much more.
xo,
{p.s.} past weekend links
A few lovely links :
* The 15 friendliest cities in Europe
* For November days: this Cosy Coat & and this Wicker Handbag
* Photo Series Documents School Lunches Around the World
* Fridays at the office: this pretty Puffed Sleeve Sweater & these Blue Jeans
* A Spinach Mint Mango Smoothie To Keep Things Balanced
* Autumn Trend: this Coat & these Slippers
* Bird’s-Eye View of Giza’s Ancient Egyptian Pyramids
* Perfect Pairs: this Soft Sweater & these White Baroque & Soufflé Pearl Earrings
& of course, a few things you may have missed …
