Central African Republic: Bangui & CAR from the Air

What a change is Central African Republic after the dry and sandy Sahel – endless sea of green jungle and tree canopy, with only a couple villages and the river dividing Central African Republic and equally unstable Democratic Republic of Congo to the south! The capital of Bangui presents itself as mostly a collection of shacks and unpaved orange mud roads. And finally the airport – dozens of planes parked on the tarmac but none of them are commercial – it’s an alphabet soup of United Nations and various related aid agencies – UN, UNHCR, MSF, WFP, Red Cross, USAID, MISCA, FAF, FG, and so on – crowding each other out in their efforts to help. No tourists here – only blue helmets of UN, various agency personnel, and some rough diamond-hunting individuals. CAR is the least developed country in the world, it is also the unhealthiest country, and the worst country to live in according to international ratings.
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