But it never makes world headlines and is, in fact, rarely reported at all. Humanitarian officials working in Africa worry that glamour crises such as the Kosovo problem siphon off not only media attention but precious aid dollars, making it ever more likely that people like Justine Kokolo and her family will remain destitute and homeless for all of their lives. An empty shell Conditions were so bad in Pool that mother and family decided to make the dangerous trek back to the capital recently. But Brazzaville itself is a shell of a city. Gunfire echoes through the empty boulevards 24 hours a day.
Food is constantly in short supply.
Many buildings are gutted. The transit center where Justine stays is a half-built sports complex which, like most other centers, has been looted many times over. It can accommodate 2,000 people sleeping on the bare floor of a basketball court. The nearby once-elegant race track is overgrown. Justine is having second or even third thoughts about which is the safest or less dangerous place in Congo, if one exists at all.