Today I think you and I may have been witness to something remarkable. Since the communal elections are this Friday, today is the last official day of campaigning. Wednesday and Thursday I guess are supposed to be days of peaceful reflection, and election day itself is a national holiday. So today, every party was out on the street, walking, driving cars, renting buses, waving flags, singing, chanting and otherwise trying to show enthusiasm for the party of their choice. We got caught on a main street in a massive traffic jam of party colours and songs. What I saw was different groups from different parties saluting each other with their various party gestures but without malice or hostility. Really it felt to me more like a celebration of the freedom to participate than a belligerent contest. I was travelling in a car with a colleague who is actually from the Congo, and he was just laughing and enjoying the whole spectacle. He said to me,"Bob in all my life as a Congolese, I have only ever participated in one democratic election."

So I'm very hopeful. I know there are rumours out there that things could go badly, but right now, I think many are anxiously optimistic. What I wonder is, where is the press right now? This could potentially be a triumph of democracy, a country moving beyond its violent past, and yet, I see no cameras, no microphones. I did in Haiti. Journalist teams literally on every corner recording as much misery as can be fit into a 30 second clip. So where are they when they might actually have a shot at documenting humanity rising above our baser nature?