As one starts working with a refugee family, it’s a natural question to wonder what circumstances led them to flee their home, their community, and their country. Obviously something that is incomprehensible to most living in the first world. With language barriers, it’s difficult to communicate. A volunteer working with the Kasongo’s spent some time learning their story. As best she understood, this is their heart-wrenching story; a 9 months long ordeal with very difficult and trying situations. The hand of God preserved them and reunited their family after being separated in a violent part of the world. Warning, there are difficult subjects in their story, though graphic details are not included. Here’s a powerful video from some great musicians on the plight of refugees.
Here is the Kasongo’s story…
Papa Kasongo and Mama Kasongo (names changed) met in teens / early twenties in central Congo somewhere. His father was the pastor at the pentecostal church. She came home one day and found her parents and entire family were either missing or dead (language barrier challenges – not certain the cause or reasons for this). With none of her family left, she married Papa Kasongo, starting their family. They had 4 children, but faced much suffering where they lived. (Uncertain as to reason of suffering – Hunger? Violence? Something else?) So, they decided to move, seeking a better place.
They settled at the border of Congo and Tanzania. From what was understood, they lived where there is a river between the countries, but looking at a map, in reality there is a large lake between the two countries. Anyway, periodically, from the Tanzania side of the river or lake, soldiers would come to raid the Congo village, killing men, raping women, etc. It’s unclear how long the Kasongo’s were living here before this happened, but one night in 2009, 4 soldiers showed up at their home. Two of them attacked him while two of them attacked her. In fighting to escape, her leg was slashed with a knife or machete leaving a huge scar. The soldiers planned to rape Mama Kasongo while Papa Kasongo watched. He said he would rather die, so they took him into another room to kill him, but he broke free and escaped out the window. It’s unclear what happened to Mama Kasongo over the next 9 months.
Papa Kasongo ran for his life, but before long was captured by 2 other soldiers. One wanted to kill him, but the other suggested to enslave him. He was now in bondage, forced to carry their supplies and gear, journeying south until reaching a larger soldier camp in Zambia. Many men had been rounded up and were given the choice to become soldiers or be killed. Papa Kasongo said he would die rather than fight. The 2 soldiers who had captured him decided that rather than kill him, he would continue as their slave, being like a woman – cooking, washing, cleaning, etc. For several months he was a slave at the camp. One day in the midst of an attack near the camp, With the soldiers off fighting in the sudden attack, Papa Kasongo escaped down the river in Zambia, eventually reaching a large boat transporting people to Namibia. He convinced a member of the crew to allow him on the boat without a ticket, where he hid until reaching a border somewhere. He snuck past the border during the night, eventually reaching a Red Cross group and got registered as a refugee.
NOTE: This is a long journey, and from what I can tell, there is not a route for a boat to travel all the way from Zambia to Namibia. But, certainly a significant distance could be covered by boat. There was likely either walking or bus/truck transport for part of the journey. It’s also unclear why Namibia was Papa Kasongo’s destination of choice.
We don’t know anything of Mama Kasongo’s story with her and the kids during these months. Papa Kasongo was able to send a message with his picture through the Red Cross, searching for his family. They were located somewhere by the Red Cross and traveled to Namibia to reunite with Willy in spring 2010, some 9 months after the soldiers attacked them in their home. It’s difficult to imagine the emotions they must have felt when they each learned the other was alive and they would be reunited. Then, seeing one another again must have been a phenomenally joyous reunion.
They lived in the Namibia refugee camp for over 6 years. While there, they were blessed to have 3 more children, opportunity for some education, including learning some English and French. Papa Kasongo worked as a security guard at the camp. Mama Kasongo prepared food for sale. In December 2016 they had been accepted for resettlement, after significant screening, and traveled from Namibia to South Africa to New York to Salt Lake City to being their new life as immigrants to America.
Learning something of the heart-wrenching experiences that resulted in them fleeing their home to become refugees is difficult for many in the 1st world to understand. Yet, every refugee has experience of one type or another that drove them from their homes, and then from their home country. There is ample opportunity to help ease their transition into America.