Tania.co.za

Irony

I had this conversation with the passenger next to me on the plane during my last trip to Mozambique. He was a French-speaking man of Arabic origin, and was on his way to Maputo from the DRC via Johannesburg. He had lived in Kinshasa for many years, and was going to Maputo to visit relatives.

My fellow traveler told me that he made a living by importing used clothes from Canada, and that there was a very good market for these goods in the DRC.

"Is it difficult to get new clothes in the DRC?" I asked, having learned three years ago from my landlord, a telecommunications contractor, that new clothes are hard to come by in the part of West Africa where he works. I thought it may be the same in the DRC.
"No," said my fellow passenger, "it's just that all the new clothes come from China."
"Ah," I said, "So is it difficult to import clothes into the DRC from China?"
"No, you can get them," he said, "but people prefer old clothes because they last longer."