I was unemployed, trying to kickstart a career in political journalism, when I received a call from a BBC producer making a documentary about theDemocratic Republic of Congo. My uncle works in the Congolese community in north London, translating, teaching English, offering advice; the documentary makers had come to him looking for a young woman, living in Britain but born in DRC, who had not been back for a long while. I fitted the bill.
I thought they would want a quick interview, maybe to use my words in a voiceover. After a couple of meetings it became apparent they had something much grander in mind. They wanted to take me to eastern Congo, home of the deadliest conflict in Africa, to learn first-hand about the violence that is devastating the region.
