John Mpaliza: We Are All Connected to Abuses in DRC Fuelled by Economic War [Video]
Publisher: International Business Times
Author(s): Ludovica Iaccino and James Lillywhite
Date: 2016
Topics: Conflict Causes, Extractive Resources
Countries: Congo (DRC)
As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) might witness political instability due to a possible delay to the presidential elections, scheduled for this November, IBTimes UK speaks with a prominent Congolese activist who is calling on the whole world to pay closer attention to human right abuses occurring in his homeland.
John Mpaliza was born in eastern DRC in 1969. Following increasing violence and instability, he left the country in the 1990s and moved to Italy. When he visited DRC in 2009, Mpaliza found out he had lost his father while one of his sisters and several cousins had gone missing. He explained that this is a very common situation in the eastern part of DRC, where abuses are still carried out by militants as well as government troops.
Following his 2009 trip, Mpaliza founded a movement to highlight human right abuses occurring in the African nation. The activist has become famous worldwide after organising marches across Europe during which he meets as many people as he can to discuss possible ways to help DRC. Known as the Peace Walking Man, he is now planning a march in Africa.