The Congolese Community of Central Illinois is hosting a Day for Peace tomorrow in Art Zeeck Park in Beardstown.
The day long celebration and informational march will bring activities and food on the Beardstown Square. The community will then march starting at 11AM from the Beardstown Soccer Fields, down Wall Street, to 4th Street, and ending at the city square. The event is expected to conclude around 6PM.
On June 30, 1960, Congo gained independence from Belgium. The decades since have brought political turmoil and violence to the mineral-rich country in Africa. Many natives were forced to flee and found new homes in the United States and all over the world. The displacement crisis in the Congo is one of the largest in the world, second only to Sudan, according to the United Nations.
According to Reuters, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been under fierce fighting for several months between government troops and M23 rebels. The fighting in North Kivu province has sent more than 1.7 million people fleeing their homes, driving up the number displaced in Congo by multiple conflicts to a record 7.2 million, according to United Nations estimates. The United States and the U.N. have welcomed a two-week truce for the adversaries so that humanitarian aid can reach refugees and the remaining civilian population. Much of the current fighting started more than 2 years ago in the country.
Many of the local Congolese population still have family members who live in the war-torn country and are hoping to raise awareness of the issues in their homeland and to show unity in a call for peace. The march in Beardstown is one of several marches taking place all across the U.S.