Manitoba's Congolese rally over death of co-nationals in recent escalation of decades-long war
'We have to fight for people back home ... they've been crying, but nobody's listening': rally organizer
Manitoba's Congolese community rallied in Winnipeg to spread awareness and stand in solidarity with the death of their co-nationals in the African country gripped by a war that has recently seen one of its worst escalations in years.
At least 25 people braved the frigid temperature that hovered around –20 C to take part in the rally that unfolded at the steps of the Manitoba Legislature building Saturday.
"We cannot live in a global village where one piece of the continent has been crying for over 30 years and nobody's listening," said Paul Kambaja, organizer of the demonstration and member of the Congolese community.
Members of the Congolese community joined in a chorus of voices chanting for peace in their homeland, some of whom also held signs calling for a stop to the conflict.
"We have to fight for people back home … people in Congo, they are like animals in the prison, they've been crying, but nobody's listening," Kambaja said.
Fighting in the eastern region of Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, has led to millions of deaths since the war began in the late 1990s.
But over the last months, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has expanded in the country, seizing more territory than rebels had previously while also dealing a major blow to the country after taking over Goma, the largest city in the east.
It has been one of the worst escalation in years of the three-decade conflict, rooted in the long fallout from the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's abundant mineral resources.
"It's like Congo is not part of this planet, there's a huge violation of human rights," said Berkmans Assani, a member of the Congolese community who was at the rally on Saturday.
Congolese authorities and international observers have accused it of sexual violence, forced conscription and summary executions.
Several relatives of Assani, who has been living in Canada for the past 11 years, are still in Congo, including his younger brother and his mother. He refers to them as "heroes" who have endured and survived the same conflict for decades now.
"It's a very sad story," he said. "I have to do this for my ... people who are falling in Congo."
Calls for Ottawa to send aid
At the centre of the war, Kambaja said, is the control of resources, including coltan, a mineral used in the manufacturing of cellphones, predominantly found in the country — a reality he wants Canadians to know.
"Every time [people] see a Congolese person, they can think about their phones, and our blood is inside," he said.
Kambaja also compares the takeover of militant groups over Congo to the comments President Donald Trump has repeatedly made on making Canada the 51st state of the U.S.
But despite the similarities, he said Canada and other Western countries have turned their back on Congo, citing alliances with other countries in the region.
"We are alone against the rest of the world," Kambaja said. "It's cold in Winnipeg, but we have no choice. People are dying."
Assani is calling on the federal government to not only publicly speak in defence of Congo but to send a team to the eastern region of the country to document the violation of human rights faced by those inside the country.
He would also like to see Ottawa send humanitarian health-care aid, especially to those who have been displaced from the conflict.
In a joint statement from G7 foreign ministers, Canada and other countries condemned the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in Congo, urging all military forces involved to cease offensives for the protection of civilians.
"There is a difference between calling and doing," Assani said. "If they called for sanction … that would make a lot of sense. But they are just talking. They've been talking for the last 30 years," Assani said.
At the demonstration, light blue, yellow and red popped from the crowd as attendees, including Assani and Kambaja, were draped in Congo's flag.
"When I see my flag, I see myself," Kambaja said. "This is my identity, you can take over everything from me, but you will never take out my identity."
WATCH | Manitoba's Congolose community rally in solidarity with co-nationals killed in conflict escalation:
With files from Nathan Liewicki, Thompson Reuters and The Associate Press