The Mahoro Peace Association held a peaceful protest August 5 to demand that the Congolese government and the international community intervene and stop the recent escalation of the ethnic cleansing and uprooting of the Banyamulenge people taking place in DR Congo. The protest began in Monument Square in Portland at 11:00 a.m. and proceeded to the offices of Senator Collins and Congresswoman Pingree, where leaders delivered letters calling for assistance. Maine is home to more than 300 Banyamulenge who have resettled here. The Banyamulenge are a minority tribe in DR Congo and Genocide Watch considers their situation a ‘genocide emergency.’
The Banyamulenge people living in Maine are totally exhausted by seeing their relatives dying everyday in DR Congo. We are also tired of calling for help from the Congolese government and the international community to no avail. The killing must stop.
GEORGES BUDAGU MAKOKO
