MAHORO PEACE ASSOCIATION

Today’s episode takes us deep into a crisis unfolding thousands of miles away in the high plateaus of South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — and into the streets of American cities where a diaspora is mobilizing with urgency.
Before we hear from our guest, Douglas Gasore Kabunda, President of the Mahoro Peace Association, we take you first to Maine and Indiana, where the Banyamulenge community has been rallying to raise the alarm about what they describe as a deadly blockade imposed on their families in Minembwe.
In Portland, Maine, under a biting winter cold, community leader Claude Rwaganje stood before protesters and told them why they had gathered — why parents brought their children, why elders walked slowly with signs in their hands, why they refused to remain silent while loved ones were trapped without food or medicine.
And in Indiana, voices like Laurent Mwungura carried the same message: that what is happening in Minembwe is not a distant conflict but a humanitarian emergency requiring urgent international action — including from lawmakers in Washington.
These demonstrations have become a collective cry for visibility, protection, and justice.
And now, to understand the heart of this crisis — and why the diaspora is calling for U.S. intervention — we turn to someone who has been documenting the situation closely.