Central African Republic (CAR). See what "CAR" is in other dictionaries

The Central African Republic is located in Central Africa and is landlocked. It borders countries such as Sudan (in the northeast), South Sudan (in the east), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in the south), the Republic of the Congo (in the southwest), Cameroon (in the west) and Chad (in the north). The capital is the city of Bangui.

Central African Republic on the world map

The climatic and natural conditions of the country change from north to south. Only in the southwest remained tropical rainforests. To the northeast side, the forests are replaced by grasslands and savanna woodlands. The average annual rainfall in the north is approximately 1250 mm per year, most of which falls in the periods from July to September and from December to January. The average temperature is +27 °С. In the south, more than 1900 mm of precipitation falls annually, mainly from July to October. December and January are the driest months. Average annual temperature in this part of the country - + 25 ° С.
The republic occupies the territory of an undulating plateau with a height of 600-900 meters above sea level. The surface is shared by the basins of Lake Chad and the Congo River. Accordingly, the western and eastern parts are distinguished. The latter is characterized by a general slope towards the south, towards the Ubangi and Mbomu rivers. The main rivers of this region include the Mbari and Shinko.

CAR map in Russian

The main nature reserve of the country is Zemongo. This faunal reserve is located in the administrative region of Hout Mbomou, on the border with Sudan. The climate here is tropical, the territory is flat and arid, although it lies among the Goangoa and Vovodo rivers, and is also crossed by the Bita River. The fauna is represented by elephants, black rhinos, antelopes, cheetahs, lions, leopards, giraffes, hyenas, monkeys, porcupines, mongooses, ferrets and others.
Most of the sights are located in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui. In the center, on Republic Square, there is a monument unique for Africa - the Arc de Triomphe. Near the port are the Presidential Palace and the Marche Central Central Market. The most complete exposition about the culture of the pygmies, a collection of folk musical instruments and samples of African art are presented in National Museum Boganda. To the north-west of Bangui are the picturesque waterfalls of Buali.

by the most major city Republic is Bangui with a population of over 726 thousand people. About 20% of the total population of the country lives here. Other cities are much smaller. So, in the next largest city, Bimbo, there are less than 150 thousand inhabitants.
The CAR is divided into 14 prefectures, two economic prefectures (Sanga Mbaere and Nana Grebisi) and the capital Bangui. The largest prefectures include Mambere-Kadei, Lobae, Ombella-Mpoko, Huaka, Ouam and Ouam-Pende. Photo materials used from Wikimedia © Foto, Wikimedia Commons

Russian soldiers and mercenaries arrive in CAR April 26th, 2018

Interesting information just read. Of course, the article is colored certain emotions aimed at creating a certain effect, but this is not important. In such articles, it is not important general essence, but the details.

Here is what Rémy Ourdan writes:

In Bangui, they are talked about almost as much as about the rebels who are gathering in the provinces and threatening to attack the capital of the Central African Republic. They give rise to all sorts of conjectures and fantasies, and the extent of their influence raises serious questions.

We are talking about the Russians: the military, mercenaries, businessmen and shadow advisers.

The facts are well known to all. After the meeting in Sochi in October 2017 between President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow asked the UN Security Council for an exemption from the arms embargo in the Central African Republic in order to transfer military equipment to the government and launch a training program for local armed forces. In December, permission was received, and the IL-76 Russian army conducted its first flight to Bangui Airport on 26 January.

The agreement between the two countries implies the supply of grenade launchers, machine guns, machine guns and pistols, as well as training in handling these weapons for two battalions, that is, 1,300 people. The ceremony to mark the end of the training of the first group of 200 people took place on March 31 in the presence of President Touadéra. Takova official history. Only here it was accompanied by a number of surprises.

Bokassa "cannot rest in peace"

First of all, this concerns the provision of the Berengo Palace at the disposal of the envoys of Moscow. This abandoned building, 60 kilometers west of Bangui, was the home of Jean-Bedel Bokassa (in power from 1966 to 1979), who is buried on its property. This news sparked a heated debate between the government and the Bokassa family, who were not warned about the transformation of the palace and 40 hectares of land into a military camp.

The heirs of Bokassa said in a press release that "with confusion and surprise, they learned about the presence Russian soldiers ancestral lands in Berengo" and demanded that the military withdraw from the grave of the leader, who proclaimed himself "emperor" in 1976. His son Jean-Serge Bokassa, a former presidential candidate and interior minister, denounced the decision on Twitter: "Total surprise. (...) Our father rests there, and no longer in peace. "A government spokesman tried to settle disputes by stating that" Berengo belongs to state property. "Although the situation with Berengo was by no means the only reason for Jean-Serge Bokassa's disagreement with President, he recently decided to leave the government, and today he claims that "the appearance of Russians in the country" was "a key element" of his exit.

The second surprise was that the Russians did not sit in Berengo at all, but scattered like antelopes across the savannah. Although they try not to draw too much attention to themselves, white-skinned but non-French-speaking people with a military bearing (albeit without a uniform) are easy to spot in Bangui. For several weeks, they were seen in the presidential administration, in some ministries, with CAR soldiers under their care, with patrols on the streets, and even in Lebanese supermarkets on Boganda Avenue. Some of them were noticed even in the provinces.

Unlimited access to the President

From their presence and appearance capital residents concluded that, contrary to their initial assumption, the envoys of Moscow were not officers at all regular army. In terms of interventions abroad (for example, in Syria), Russia has completely "Americanized": in addition to five officers military intelligence, virtually all other Russians in the CAR work for two private companies, Seva Security Services and Lobae Limited.
Their first official appearance took place on 30 March at the Bangui football stadium on the occasion of the second anniversary of Touadéra's election. These fighters quickly pushed out the Rwandan soldiers of the UN mission in the CAR, who had previously provided security for the head of state. Those now stand in parking lots and at closed doors, while the Russians are directly under the president, and also have unlimited access to his schedule and environment. The administration confirms the appearance of "a detachment of Russian special forces to strengthen the security of the president" without further clarification.

A Russian "adviser" also turned out to be under the head of state. This "security director" coordinates the work of the bodyguards, according to a local source. A Western expert with connections in the country, in turn, considers him "a key mediator for contacts between the Central African Republic and Russia in the defense and economic spheres."

The fact is that in addition to the indulgences from the UN Security Council and military agreements, contracts for the exploration of minerals were also signed. The country has rich resources of diamonds, gold and uranium, but its potential is underutilized due to war and chaos. By the way, it was these deposits that became one of the reasons for the split of the country after the civil war between Christians and Muslims in 2013, as well as further internal squabbles among the rebels who seek to develop mines.

"They shamelessly bribe everyone"

“Russian activity in the region along the axis through Sudan and Angola worries the Americans,” the European diplomat admits. “As far as the Central African Republic is concerned, they are waiting for the reaction of France.” In Bangui, too, the question is whether the former colonial power will allow Moscow to establish itself in the center of Africa. "This is the choice of the Central African Republic," sighs the French diplomat.

Be that as it may, the European Union continues own program training of the Central African army. Washington, in turn, provided her with 12.7 million dollars for the purchase of American equipment and communications, as well as training with the participation of American officers.

If the goal of all these initiatives was to limit Russian influence, the only noticeable result looks simply paradoxical: in the brand new Fords that the Americans gave to the Central African soldiers, Russian special forces are now driving around under surprised but pleased looks. local residents. The fact is that after the departure of the French military, most of them do not believe that the UN forces will be able to protect them from the rebels.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced in February that Russian troops were sent to the CAR. The Central African Republic (CAR) will receive military-technical assistance from Russia free of charge, including that provided by Russian military and civilian specialists sent to this country. It is noted that the request of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was the reason for providing support to the African state. The mission was coordinated with the UN Security Council.

The Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in Africa and the whole world, a former French colony, even after gaining independence in 1960, still always remained the traditional zone of interests of Paris, a state following in the wake of French politics and previously had almost no ties with either the Soviet Union, neither with modern Russia. It was in the CAR for decades that France kept one of its largest military contingents abroad. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, the situation began to change radically.

Since about 2003-2004, a complicated ethnic-religious conflict between Christians and Muslims began in the CAR, which led to several coups, mass bloodshed, atrocities and the loss of control by the central government in Bangui for the most part territory of the state. In fact, the country is divided between various armed gangs, the main of which are the Christian group "Antibalaka" and the Islamist alliance "Seleka".

Journalists from the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), citing the French newspaper Libération, write that militants of all groups are engaged in ethnic cleansing, as well as racketeering and extortion on the roads, which are destroying the mining industry, which is already breathing its last breath, this very rich in diamonds, gold, uranium and other minerals of the country. in the CAR in last years UN peacekeeping forces from several African states were present, as well as, since 2013, the seventh French military mission. However, in 2016, the French soldiers, who were repeatedly accused of various crimes, primarily of mass rape, were withdrawn from the Central African Republic - after which there was actually no one to fight against numerous armed rebels. Before the appearance of the Russians here - both in official uniform and without it.

After the incident with Russian journalists in the Central African Republic, many were interested in what kind of country it was. It is now known that when examining the bodies of journalists killed in the Central African Republic (CAR), no signs of torture were found, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

According to her, local doctors found only gunshot wounds. On Tuesday, the bodies of Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguev and Kirill Radchenko were found in the Central African Republic. All three worked there from Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Investigation Management Center (TsUR) and filmed documentaries in the republic. They last contacted on Sunday.

Sergei Myatyugin, after studying the images, told RIA Novosti that signs of torture were visible on the bodies of the dead. But on August 2, it turned out that when examining the bodies of journalists killed in the Central African Republic (CAR), no signs of torture were found, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Now let's move on to the question: What kind of country is the Central African Republic, CAR?

As you know, the Central African Republic is considered one of the "hot spots" of the world. After the proclamation of the CAR independent republic endless anti-government coups and demonstrations began in the state.

The Central African Republic (CAR) (French: Republique Centrafricaine [ʀepyˈblik sɑ̃trʀafrʀiˈkɛn], sango Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka), sometimes simply Central Africa, is a landlocked state in Central Africa. It borders on the northeast with Sudan, on the east with South Sudan, in the south - with Democratic Republic Congo, in the southwest - with the Republic of the Congo, in the west - with Cameroon, in the north - with Chad. One of the most sparsely populated countries in Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world.

The climate and vegetation change from north to south. Only in the southwest are dense tropical rainforests preserved; towards the northeast, the forests along the river valleys give way to savanna woodlands and grasslands. In the north, the average annual rainfall is 1250 mm per year, they fall mainly from July to September, and also in December-January. The average annual temperature is +27 °С, and in the south - +25 °С. The average annual rainfall exceeds 1900 mm; the wet season lasts from July to October; December and January are dry months.

The first military coup took place in 1966. Then the president of the country was Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who became famous for his unlimited dictatorship, extravagance, cruelty and was even accused of cannibalism. Parliament was dissolved and the constitution repealed.

During his reign, experts note the decline of the economy in the country, associated with the catastrophic extent of corruption. Bokassa renamed the Central African Republic into the Central African Empire, and proclaimed himself emperor. The coronation ceremony cost $25 million.

In 1979, anti-government demonstrations began in the country, clashes between the people and the police. The population was not happy with the current economic situation.

In September of the same year, French paratroopers overthrew Bokassa, after which the country was headed by David Dako, who previously headed the Central African Republic and was the first president of the republic. Under him, the republic was restored.

However, two years later, Dacko was removed in a bloodless coup. Unrest begins again in the country, followed by a series of coups.

In 2013 after another military coup, Michel Dzhotodia proclaimed himself president of the Central African Republic, announcing after some time the formation of an interim government. And a year later he resigned.

...

The Western press in a hysterical tone describes the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), which is "captured by Russian mercenaries." Apparently, Russian specialists really arrived in this country. Why were they invited there, what exactly are they doing there, and what significance does this have for both the CAR and Russia?

Russian landing

Outwardly, everything looks like this. In October 2017 President CAR Faustin-Archange Touadéra arrived in Sochi for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. At it, according to official reports, he asked Russia to apply to the UN with a request to temporarily lift restrictions on the supply of weapons and equipment to the CAR. Informally, President Touadéra asked Russia for weapons for three local battalions, that is, about 1.5 thousand fighters with light armored vehicles. The answer was positive.

A month later, the UN agreed to partially lift Moscow's arms embargo on the Central African Republic, and on January 26 this year, the first Il-76 landed at Bangui airport. Already on March 31, President Touadéra solemnly hosted the parade of the first company (200 people) of the Central African army, dressed in Russian camouflage and with Russian weapons. Commanded this unit suspiciously white people.

But the main surprise awaited everyone on March 30 at the main football stadium in the country's capital, Bangui, during the celebration of the second anniversary of Tuadera's election as president. Some armed people of Slavic appearance appeared at the celebration as the personal bodyguard of President Touadéra. Prior to this, Rwandan soldiers from the remnants of the collective peacekeeping force were supposed to provide public security in Bangui at mass events. White guards on this moment almost completely control the administration of the President of the Central African Republic, have unlimited access to the schedule of his movement and to key figures from President Touadéra's entourage, to the president's garage and armored vehicles.

Official administration of President Touadéra acknowledges the fact that from now on there is a "detachment of Russian special forces to strengthen the security of the president." A new position has appeared in the presidential administration: a “security director” from among Russian officers is formally “responsible for the work of a group of bodyguards.” The French press believes that the same officer is also "a key intermediary for contacts between the Central African Republic and Russia in the defense and economic spheres."

In just a few weeks, Russian people - often without military uniform, but with a distinct military bearing - have become a noticeable part of the life of the capital of the Central African Republic.

They are no longer visible only in the presidential palace and around it, but in key ministries, from the Ministry of Defense, to military units with soldiers, in street patrols, and even in Lebanese shops on the central Boganda Avenue. The French press uses the figurative expression "they scattered like antelopes across the country", since Russians were already seen in the provinces. At the same time, the fact that the Russians have seized the staff of Fords, which were previously provided by the Pentagon to the Central African Republic, and shamelessly drive them around the streets of Bangui, causes particular irritation. The 15.5 million dollars allocated by the Pentagon for the needs of the CAR army ended up in the hands of the Russians.

It is believed that the official staff of Russian military advisers consists of only five regular officers, and all the rest are employees of private military companies (PMCs). The French press claims that these are employees of the Sewa Supreme organizations (registered in India and engaged in detective and security services) and Lobaye Ltd (the place of registration is unknown, but Lobaye is a protected region in the Congo), but does not provide any evidence. These allegations set off a whole series of speculative publications about "Wagner mercenaries in Africa", accusations against the same characters from President Putin's entourage and the standard set of lamentations about the "hand of Moscow".

The French sigh, shrug and nod at Washington. “The Russians are waiting for America's reaction. In addition, they use methods that we do not use,” says one unnamed French diplomat in the CAR. "They shamelessly bribe anyone who opens doors for them." Here, who would speak. France in the Central African Republic historically lived only on bribes- and they were given and taken in both directions.

Origins of the crisis

The situation in the Central African Republic a few years ago could not be deciphered for a simple white person. It was a territory of chaos with shades of genocide on religious grounds.

The religious and ethnic situation in the country is extremely confused.. Of the autochthonous population on the territory of the Central African Republic, only the Sara tribe remained (no more than 10% of the population), all other tribes are newcomers to one degree or another.

The fact is that back in the 18th century, a caravan route to the Middle East passed through the modern CAR, along which ivory and slaves, and gradually the Arab slave hunters simply devastated this land. The local Ubangi tribes eventually completely disappeared under the pressure of aggressive refugees, and from the west and south, tribes from the territory of modern Nigeria, Congo and Cameroon began to come to the depopulated lands, which now make up up to 90% of the country's population. But in pure form conflict between tribes, as in Rwanda, has never been observed in the CAR. There was a common enemy - Arab slave traders and Islamized tribes from Darfur and Chad, who were also exclusively engaged in slave trading and robbery.

In the second half of the 19th century, the territory of modern The Central African Republic became the very place where the waves of colonization of three empires at once collided head-on: the British coming from the southeast, French, moving ahead through the jungle from the west, and German, which accidentally fell under this batch, expanding its influence in Tanzania. Things almost came to a direct Anglo-French war, but in the course of peace negotiations, the territory of the present CAR was, as it were, divided between the main world empires. The borders of what we now call the Central African Republic were drawn according to the principle “whoever gets up first gets the slippers.” The specificity of the population - both religious and ethnic - was not taken into account. Formally, the lands of Central Africa remained with France.

cannibal emperor

After the independence of the Central African Republic from France proclaimed in 1960 (“the year of Africa”), chaos became systemic phenomenon. He was brought to the apotheosis by Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the president of the Central African Republic from 1966 (seized power as a result of a military coup) to 1976, when he proclaimed himself emperor and ruled in this capacity for another three years. basis foreign policy Bokassy was blackmail. He threatened almost everyone he dealt with: France, the Soviet Union, China, Romania, Yugoslavia, he bribed French politicians, and when they began to make claims, he threatened to take away concessions. The source of personal enrichment and bribes to the French was the looting of diamond placers. At the same time, one must understand that the CAR is now one of poorest countries peace, since all the explored deposits of diamonds, uranium and rare earth metals are either not used at all, or controlled by no one knows who.

In Paris, the “Bokassa diamond case” led to the fall of the president Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, who, for the sake of the uranium concessions needed by France to develop its own nuclear weapons, fraternized with Bokassa, called him "friend" and "brother", went to the Central African Republic to hunt elephants. It turned out that the French president was aware not only of Bokassa's typical African love for luxury (the shoes in which he was "crowned" were recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive in the world), but also of other details of the life of the president-emperor.

After Bokassa's visit to Moscow in 1970, where he also extorted aid from the USSR in exchange for concessions, he really liked Russian cuisine and asked for a Russian cook to be sent to him. But this poor fellow, finding in the refrigerator presidential palace human meat was able to escape to soviet embassy. Later, at a trial in Bangui in 1986, Bokassa claimed that he kept parts of the human body in refrigerators in the Berengo palace not for the purpose of cannibalism, but for ritual purposes. They believed him and officially dropped the charge of cannibalism. Although the fate of several dozen oppositionists and some of his 19 wives, including Europeans, remained unclear.

Born into a Catholic family (he was even predicted to be a priest), Bokassa, with the aim of all that political blackmail of France (but already under President Mitterrand), invited Muammar Gaddafi to the CAR, promising to give him uranium mines, and defiantly converted to Islam, becoming Salahaddin. It was the last and major mistake. At wounds in the hands of Gaddafi - France could no longer endure this. The formal reason for the overthrow of Bokassa was, however, not this, but the murder of about 100 schoolchildren who protested against the introduction of too expensive, but compulsory school uniforms. Operation Barracuda has begun. The Foreign Legion, commandos from Gabon and the French 1st Airborne Division landed in Bangui when the newly converted Salahaddin Bokassa was visiting a friend of Muammar in Libya. In Paris, they called it "the last colonial expedition of France." Wrong.

By the way, for the next ten years, Bokassa lived comfortably in the Adincourt castle near Paris that he owned. In 2011, after his death in Bangui from a heart attack, the castle was sold at auction for more than 900 thousand euros.

Modern alignment

The first thing that General Francois Bozize did when he became president in 2010 was to rehabilitate Bokassa and "restore him in all rights." “He built the country, and we destroyed everything he built,” Bozize said. Bozize was born in Gabon and from the Gbaya tribe. But he, as a member of the Bokassa clan, had no chance of staying in power for a long time, especially since he relied only on foreign bayonets. In general, foreign military varying degrees competencies have been the main force of life in the Central African Republic for twenty years.

And in 2012, a certain Seleka alliance (“union” in the Sango language), made up exclusively of Muslims, invades the country from the north. With the support of the armies of Chad and Sudan (both deny) and with the direct financing of Saudi Arabia, in a few weeks he took over the entire country. Séléka leader becomes president Michelle Djotodia. Formally, by religion, he is a Muslim. But he studied in the USSR in the purely Russian city of Orel at an accounting and credit technical school, and then at the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University. He is married to a Russian, they have a daughter, in total spent in the USSR over 10 years and upon his return to the CAR, he worked in the tax service, and then in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a gentle person and during all the endless civil wars and outbreaks of violence he participated in organizations whose names always contained the words "unity", "peace", "consent". But the Seleka formally headed by him turned out to be a collection of jihadists and bandits who, after capturing the capital, unleashed sadistic terror against the Christian population in it.

In response, the Christians began to form a militia, and the civil war took on a religious character. 15% of Muslims have successfully killed 75% of Christians (another 10% are pygmies and jungle dwellers who believe in the spirits of trees and leopards) with full support Saudi Arabia and the complete helplessness of the French military contingent. Convinced of his inability to govern a country that fell into bloody chaos, Michel Dzhotodiya chartered a plane and flew to Chad.

In November 2013, Paris again recalled its "historic responsibility". Operation Sangaris began (such a butterfly), but already in December the French suffered their first losses. The then President François Hollande personally arrived in Bangui, but did not help. Clashes between Christians and Muslims only grew. The French tried to make their protege president - a woman, the mayor of Bangui, Catherine Samba-Penza, who only urged the French to bring in more troops, went to G7 summits in colorful national clothes, asked for humanitarian aid and promised to go to war against Christians. The number of casualties grew. In May 2014, that is, with a delay of at least three years from the beginning of a new round of the civil war, a unit of Estonian troops consisting of 45 people arrived in the CAR. Did not help.

And in February 2016, the former rector of the local university, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, won a decisive victory in the elections. The French slowly began to roll up and fly to Gabon and Mali. Estonians somehow dissolved themselves. The situation is not exactly stabilized, it somehow quieted down and hid.

And then the Russians showed up.

Remote control

So far, there is no information about who controlled the existing diamond mines and the uranium mine. This usually happens fairly quickly and bloodlessly. Another thing is that physical control over deposits and fields does not mean a legal transfer of ownership. President Touadera has not yet announced anything on this topic and is unlikely to be in the near future. For him, the effectiveness of the actions of the invited contingent in protecting the borders, destroying the very fact of the threat from Muslim troops and the final restoration of security throughout the country is important. And if the French were not able to cope with this, then why not the Russians try.

Many tend to see this as the prerequisites for some new “battle for Africa”, in which, in contrast to the “proxy wars” cold war, not only purely armed methods will be used, but also political technologies. Even specific names of people allegedly responsible for this are called. It is argued that only people with “African experience” are used in the project, that is, a priori over forty years old and with knowledge of local languages and realities. We do not claim that this is possible. But one can certainly agree that Africa will definitely become another “competitive zone”. Only more distant from us than the post-Soviet space or the Balkans.

On the world map Map

Another dictator threw off the president, so the country is restless. There are no tourists at all. The new president hired French soldiers to train his army of village ignoramuses. Therefore, the streets are full of very confident look French soldiers, but without shoulder straps - these are military instructors of the new regime. At the same time, the airport is guarded by French soldiers in uniform, who were officially employed. They receive several times less mercenaries.

Yet another dictator has ousted the president, so the country is in turmoil. There isn't a single tourist to be seen. The new president has recruited French soldiers to train his army of illiterate villagers, which is why there are so many French soldiers without insignia confidently strutting around everywhere—they’re the new regime’s military instructors. meanwhile, the airport is guarded by French soldiers in uniform who were hired officially. They get paid a fraction of what the mercenaries do.

Already on approaching the capital, it is clear that a permanent mess reigns in the country. Fields cannot line up evenly.

You can already see that the country is a permanent mess as you fly in. They can't even line the fields straight.

Yes, there are fields. Here in the countryside there is not even the concept of streets - houses among the trees stand at random, connected by paths.

Never mind the fields—rural areas lack even the concept of streets. Houses are haphazardly scattered among the trees, connected only by pathways.

The French of their former colony left a legacy of language and baguettes.

The former French colony inherited its colonizers' language and baguettes.

Eggs are also high stacks.

Eggs are also carried in tall stacks.

Car number.

A license plate.

Taxi doors are decorated with some numbers that identify the car, but do not match the car number.

Taxi doors are decorated with some sort of number that identifies the car, but differs from the number on the plates.

Taxis are for city slickers. Normal Central Africans drive 20 people in one car.

The taxis are for big city high-rollers. Normal Central Africans carpool with 20 other people.

The most interesting detail in the culture is a special way of tying firewood onto a cart. There is still no money for a car and gasoline, but there is a lot to load. It turns out such a banana.

The most interesting cultural detail is the locals’ special method of tying wood onto a cart. A lot of wood needs to be transported, but no one has the money for a car or gas. The solution is this banana-like bundle.

It is convenient to roll such a structure, holding it by one end, which is what all the villagers do when they carry firewood to the market.

The bundle can be rolled fairly easily by pushing it from one end, which is precisely what all the villagers do to get their firewood to the market.

Pygmies live here, people of small stature. Their houses are built by women. For cigarettes and cookies, they perform a dance in front of a rare tourist.

This area is inhabited by pygmies, an ethnic group known for their unusually short height. Their homes are built by the women. The few tourists who come here can watch them perform a dance in exchange for cigarettes and cookies.

Behind the drums is a boy from a neighboring village, not a pygmy.

The boy on the drums is from a nearby village and not a pygmy.

Learned reception.

A well-rehearsed move.

After the performance, the dancers fall to the ground, Mosombo, to the delight of the audience, pulls Ngale by the balls. Everyone is delighted.

After the performance comes to an end, the dancers all fall to the ground. Mosombo tugs on Ngale's balls to the delight of the audience. Everyone Cheers.

In the villages, a fire is made for cooking right in the room. Chimneys have not yet been invented here, the smoke must gently come out from under the thatched roof.

Villagers burn cooking fires right inside their homes. The idea of chimneys hasn't occurred to anyone yet; smoke is supposed to waft up gently from underneath the thatched roof.

Bangui

On the world map Map

Bangui is a city of contrasts.

City urn.

A city trash can.

One of the central squares.

One of the main streets.

One of the central streets.

Bus stop.

Tailor's mannequins.

Signs " crosswalk are beautiful in their original immediacy.

The pedestrian crossing signs are magnificent in their primordial artlessness.

By the way, it is curious that in the supermarket whites can safely walk with their backpacks and bags, while blacks are forced to hand over everything to the storage room. Peanuts are sold in bottles.