On a muggy Sunday afternoon last March, Andrea Turkalo realized it was time to flee.
A few hours earlier, rebel forces had swept into Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), and overthrown the government of President François Bozizé. Now they were pushing toward the country’s southwestern rainforest, massacring civilians along the way.
At her jungle compound near the village of Bayanga, the elephant researcher grabbed a bag of cash and six hard drives crammed with 20 years of data. Then she joined a dozen other foreigners on three skiffs heading down the Sangha River toward the Republic of Congo, 50 miles to the south.
They reached the border about 10 o’clock that night. As the flotilla approached through the darkness, armed guards at a checkpoint shouted angrily and fired into the air. Turkalo got out and tried to soothe the men, whose belligerence seemed to be fueled by a mix of nerves and alcohol.
