A note from Nanchang

Nanchang, China, 11 January 2008: After being unable to access the Kilcullen Diary site for several months I got it on my screen just now, but won't jump up and down too much as it may be temporary.

I marked the new year by inviting four Nigerian students around to my apartment for drinks. We watched a DVD movie 'Lumumba', which is about the troubled independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. Kilcullen soldiers served with the UN peacekeeping force sent when the Congo erupted in political chaos. (Are there any photos of them from that time?)

I explained the historical background to the students before starting the film. There are ten Nigerians recently arrived here. They will spend their first year intensively learning Chinese before starting their chosen degree courses in business or computers. Under a new China-Africa co-operation agreement a total of 15,000 students from several African countries will come to China and be dispersed to third level institutions around the country.

Garreth Byrne

[ED NOTE: Garreth has been teaching in China for many years and before that spent most of his working life teaching in Africa. His comment about not being able to access the Diary is in relation to the Chinese censorship system which regularly cuts off access to internet sites, including Blogger.com where the Diary is hosted. About his query on Irish soldiers in the Congo, if there are readers with information and photographs, we'd be delighted to have them.]