Reflection on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Arise, Congolese people, wherever you are. United by fate, united in the struggle not for independence, but against dependence(economic, political, academic, military, etc.) It is a dependence imposed on us not by the Belgians, but our own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who beat us because we stand up for our rights; they incarcerate us because we dare to denounce injustice; they kill us because we have the courage to tell them the truth.

Let us hold up our heads, so long bowed by corruption, misery of our people, poor management of our resources, lack of opportunities for our youth. And now for good let us decide to move forward together in peace, lasting peace for all our people. Let us unite our hands and heads and by hard and smart work we can hope for a better tomorrow.

Dear countrymen, we cannot do this without solidarity. We must work as one people moving toward one goal which is to achieve peace, freedom, and prosperity for all our people. That way we shall stand and walk as a sovereign people able to determine our own destiny.

We have been blessed with this rich, immense, and beautiful country, the DRC a country that we love, a country we are willing to live and die for.

How are we going to show the greatness of this beautiful and bountiful country if we are killing one another for futile reasons? How are we going to make it great if we continue to squander its wealth? How are we going to build a better future if we are depriving its youth the educational and economic opportunities they need to create that future? If we do not change, we may end up with a land full of broken souls unable to do anything worthwhile for themselves and the world.

Let this day of June 30, 2018 mark the beginning of when the sun will light our heads and hearts so that the world can witness the abundant source of positive energy, creativity, boldness, and intelligence that characterize us.

Let us make an oath that we shall do all we can to build a strong economy, to make education affordable and accessible to all, to provide quality healthcare for our people, to compete fairly in the global market, to electrify our cities and villages without destroying our planet, to invest in research and development, etc. Our sons and daughters expect this from us. We must not fail them.