About 30 people gathered in single-digit temperatures outside Manchester City Hall on Saturday to raise awareness about the ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Members of the Congolese Community of NH called on the state’s Congressional leaders to support protections for Congolese asylum seekers and put a stop to the purchase of raw materials from high conflict areas — particularly cobalt and coltan.
Since 2011, more than 1,000 refugees from the Congo have resettled in New Hampshire according to state data.
Several languages were reflected at this weekend’s rally, including English, French, and Lingala. Sandra Mwamini is originally from Bukavu, a city in the eastern part of the country.
“No matter what weather, we'll keep standing. We'll stand in snow, we'll stand in cold for our own rights,” Mwamini said in Swahili, with an English interpreter.
Grace Kindeke said she came to Manchester 1989 with her mother, leaving her family behind. They're in Goma, a city in the eastern region of the country and one of the areas hardest hit by conflict. She highlighted the dependence of the U.S. on Congolese materials used in everyday technology.
“For all the ways that this economy benefits from the blood of the Congolese, the people of New Hampshire are coming together to say ‘no more,’” Kindeke said.
Other advocates asked Congressional leaders to stop funding the government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and invest in peace in the Congo.
State Rep. Mary Ngwanda Georges is part of the Congolese community and represents Manchester in the State House. As the founder and past president of the Congolese Community of New Hampshire, she urged attendees to use their platforms.
“The solution comes from you kids who are in the United States,” she said. “All of you are out of the country because you know what's going on over there is not right. If today I can be in the State House to be a representative, you can be more than that.”
