Dear supporters,
The world is on fire. Palestine, Colombia, India, Burma, and definitely far more. We know this for a fact. It’s happening right now in DR Congo. Again. To be fair, it hasn’t stopped for years, but it has escalated over the past couple of weeks and the Banyamulenge ethnic minority are now on the verge of genocide.
It’s been a year since we last updated you, and more than a year since we started this petition after the women in Minembwe rose up and protested demanding immediate protection of the Banyamulenge as well as urgent humanitarian aid provision. But neither the UN and its peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, nor the Government of the DRC did listen to our plea, thus failing to fulfill their mission.
We come to you because today we are rising up again. The Banyamulenge in the hauts plateaux of South Kivu urgently need us. 3000 more people have been forced to flee their homes for fear of their lives from Mai Mai attacks. These are new additions to the more than 110,000 Banyamulenge that were displaced from October 2019 to May 2020, now trying to survive with limited food and shelter and a complete lack of basic living essentials.
And we want to invite you to rise up with us.
Today is #SaveBanyamulenge Action Day. The Congolese Diaspora will be protesting in 40+ cities across the US to ask for the support of the US government to intervene for humanitarian aid provision as well as the urgent protection our Banyamulenge sisters and brothers need, and by listening to our petition for a Congressional Hearing to be held. If you can’t join our protests, you can join us online or by calling your representatives. Check this document with Twitter handles, phone numbers and a suggested message you can leave when you call.
To make it easier for you, you can also copy and paste the following tweets. Please help us be heard and for the US’s decision-makers to support the #SaveBanyamulenge cause.
The Banyamulenge people are being ethnically cleansed right now in DR Congo. Please join our warning to the international community by voicing your support of a Congressional Hearing to address the situation, @BurgessOwens. It can prevent an imminent genocide. #SaveBanyamulenge
As the US Ambassador to the United Nations, @LindaT_G, please demand accountability of the effectiveness of MONUSCO in Eastern DRC. Banyamulenge in DRC are on the verge of a genocide that can be prevented. #SaveBanyamulenge @USAmbUN
As the Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, @RepGregoryMeeks, listen to the pleas of the Banyamulenge and hold a Congressional Hearing that will bring light to the atrocities and ethnic cleansing happening now in DR Congo #SaveBanyamulenge
Help us prevent the genocide of the Banyamulenge in DR Congo, @KarenBassTweets. As the Chairwoman of the Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights subcommittee, listen to our plea to hold a joint congressional subcommittee hearing! #SaveBanyamulenge
Help us stop the ethnic cleansing of the Banyamulenge people in DR Congo, @JoaquinCastrotx. As the Chairman of the International Development and International Organizations Subcommittee, accept our proposal to hold a joint congressional subcommittee hearing to #SaveBanyamulenge
In deep gratitude,
Adele and Neema