The “Congolese Refugee Health Profile,” published by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in 2014, details the migratory movements of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), both within the United States and among the DRC’s neighbors. In essence, it shows that the outpouring of asylum-seekers from the DRC is not likely to stop in the near future.

A summary of germane statistics follows. According to this profile, from 2013 to 2014, the UNHCR reported more than 400,000 Congolese nationals seeking refuge outside of the DRC, primarily in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi. Many Congolese refugees who are admitted to the United States come from as many as 36 African countries. The greatest number of Congolese refugees came from Tanzania (1,742). From 2008 to 2013, approximately 11,000 of the 400,000 Congolese seeking shelter came to the United States, averaging an approximate caseload of a mere 2,000 refugees a year, and the top resettlement states were Texas, Arizona, and New York (Figure 4). I was surprised that Missouri wasn’t included in one of the top ten states. However, the influx of Congolese into Kirksville is so recent that it perhaps wasn’t included in the data, which extends only to 2013. Furthermore, it did not take into account internal migration. The website was useful in that it cited sources from the UNHCR and the Office of Refugee Settlement, resources that we should include in our annotated bibliography.

Although these statistics detail Congolese refugees and not Diversity-lottery immigrants like the population in Kirksville, they are pertinent to our research topic in understanding the geopolitical forces that are driving this wave of emigration from the DRC, no matter the means by which Congolese emigrate. The DRC has had a tumultuous and genocidal history since colonization, and the political and economic situation is not likely to improve as President Kabila refuses to give up power after his third presidential term. Despite the country’s richness in minerals and natural resources, according to a report by Aljazeera, approximately 7.7 million people are on the verge of starvation in the DRC, as revolts and violence have prevented farmers from planting crops (2017).

As we approach the Congolese population, it will be important to remain up-to-date in the news, the little that exists on English websites, on the tenuous geopolitical situation in the DRC. Researching as much as possible about their experience will be vital in understanding a worldview and experiences that are unfamiliar to us.

Sources:

Aljazeera. “UN: Millions of people face acute hunger in DRC.” August 14, 2017. Accessed September 13, 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/millions-people-face-acute-hunger-drc-170814152529669.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Population Movements: Congolese Refugee Health Profile.” CDC Refugee Health Profile. Last modified August 29, 2014. Accessed September 4, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/congolese/population-movements/index.html.