TRANSCRIPT OF SEJOJO'S WALK

Name: Sejojo
Location mapped: Baraka, Democratic Republic of Congo
Location walked: Plymouth
Date: 6 February 2004

So we are walking we've just come up from my home which is Wetherspoon. Home is best having pints isn't it. Should the Pavillion be the army officer's house? Who use to own a monkey there. Yeah I remember he used to give it some food all the time there outside a here and we are playing with it. The only thing I remember is it was very very… how you say, it was fierce, really angry monkey. Even if you want to touch it, it just hit you harder. Before reaching to the officer's house, my uncle's house used to be before that. The roundabout is here and this left here its the gendarmerie. This is Albert Casanova Ballard [swimming pool]…opportunity for a better life. His aim was to promote talent and ability Encourage culture and train youth to be better citizens. Hm they [gendermerie] do train people for good citizenship. It used to be a long walk from the traffic lights heading to president Mbutu's statue. It's going to be a full size of president Mbutu standing holding his magical, how do you call it, stick. Take this as a landmark. Crescent Cars. Yeah, wow Mbutu used to drive Mercedes, Peugeros, not Peugeros, the Cherokees. There is one I can see it--M581AHG. Wow, that was his, heh remember he had a red Jeep like that. And at that time it was in 19.. in the 80's and no one did have one and they said that Mbutu ordered it specially for himself. So, I know he must have spent a lot by that time.

The Mosque and the market is here. Oh, the Crescent. The market used to sell goat meats, cows, and they used to have even slaughter house, not slaughter, but you could see how they were killing the cows outside. Fish, vegetables, and also food like cassava, cassava leaves. My mom used to have a stall here where she was selling most of here fish stuff here. So the mosque is Crescent No. 1. And this is the Walrus. The Walrus.

In my home country they don't, we don't have traffic lights, so let's just cross. So shall we take the Social Security as my primary school. Yeah, all boys. Ecole Primer Bwise Elelo. I even bring some people here for their interview for getting their national security numbers and getting their benefits. I am mainly their interpreter at times. So this is a very important place. Wow, this is good there is knowledge there where my school is. I learned a lot from here. Social Security. Knowledge. Cause I know a lot from people there. This is a nice thing. I better come here again.

So we are turning left. The West Hoe Seafront. Can you take us to the sea. The memories, really really memories. The Duke of Duke of Edinburgh… Cornwall. It was from here exactly that I learned how to do certain drama and performing in front of people and so that was… oh, this is the place. The Duke of Cornwall Hotel. We had a meeting here for those who are willing to start up business, who had certain business ideas. So I came here and since I am now selling most of the African food stuff. I have a shop now in Embankment Road. Where am I going to have my church and stadium? St Andrew's Primary School. When I used to finish my courses and whenever we used to have any matches in there and I was selling some packets of cigarettes in there, sweets and nuts and all that so you hold it like you go in the cinema. That why I used to go there mainly, but as I was interested in sports I would go there and watch football and enjoy myself too. We can take the whole the whole building as the stadium. I remember we used to have even certain performances in there, drummers and all this cultural drum players. People would go there to see them playing and dancing, cultural dances and all that.

So where is my mainly women area, we say "wima". It's the college, girl's college. I remember the building used to open and white, even though I wasn't allowed to go in. It was restricted.

Hmm, I can see the sea. I'm going to fish now. We used to have this kind of talapia family. And those small, small fish how do you call them but we call them in my home country Lega, Lega which is, they are very small and once you fish them you just dry them at the sea cause we have the sea sands there so we just put them. The sand is really really hot. Once you put them, say from 9 o'clock the sun is there until five in the afternoon. You will definately you know have some of the fish getting dry. So, that's what we used to do.

Yes, I've reached home now. The other side as I said if its during the night you will see Burundi, Bujumbura, the other country. With all the lights showing that there's life going on there. So it shows that it's a country that was getting developed you know with all the modern infrastructure facilities. At that time it wasn't easy because politically and with all the geographical problems we had with the Burundi it wasn't easy for the Zaireans, by that time as we were called, the Congolese, to move, to go into Burundi. We were in wars during that time in the 80's. So it wasn't really easy for us to travel going there. So we are only stuck there. But some used to go there. For those that had the means and the possibility of doing that. The time that I left my village was in 1987. I'm wiling to go back and as it is I'll be going back if all goes well. Because it's a country that needs development, that needs you know changes. So, I'd be very willing to go back and see my country again once more. What I'd like to take back is, because since I've been living here and it's now like living into comparison. You are trying to see what are people doing here and what are people doing there. And like going on to the internet and website, to see what the country is doing now. I'd like to take back what is not there and what I have gained so far from here and what I wanted to gain by the time when I was back home.

It is Baraka, that is the place. It is a very very nice area really, very beautiful. And with the fishing that exists there, it's a very very good thing to boost up the economy in that area. But due to wars and tribal conflicts, so, no one wants to see how things can be, can be improved. And that's what I'd like to see some times.

I'm a Bantu, I'm a Bantu from the Bantu tribe. The Bantu which means a human.