Congolese Refugees in the US, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest CountryCountry in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of biomass. It is located in Central Africa. For a long time, Congo has been fighting in several wars that include; the first war in 1996 to 1997, the second war which started in 1998-2003, and the present wars since 2003; the Kivu conflicts in the Eastern part of the Country (Marie-Laurence Flahaux and Bruno Schoumaker, 2020). This ongoing war crisis has resulted in Congo being declared the worst humanitarian crisis, resulting in hundreds and thousands of Congolese always being in above trying to seek refuge in neighboring countries like Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. According to UNHCR reports, around 40000 Congolese have sought refuge outside Congo in the neighboring countries mentioned above.

In the U.S., the USRAP started resettling Congolese in small numbers in 2000 in different states. Its most significant group of refugees came from Tanzania from the year 2008 to 2013. It is adding up to around 11,000 refugees (Staff, 2020). During this period, young adults of age 15-44 years and about 55% of the total number of refugees arrived in the U.S. These people have been resettled in different states in the U.S. that include; Kentucky, Texas, New York, Arizona, among others.  They are given the freedom to relocate to any part of the CountryCountry on arrival and even join the already established Congolese Community, the refugees are pretty standard.

Language and Literacy

French is the official language in Congo, and their other national languages are considered their primary languages. The languages include; Kiswahili, Lingala, Kikongo, and Tshiluba. The Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese are mostly settling in the U.S. as they come from the Eastern side of Congo, which is in war. The refugees are exposed to the English language through the media and school system, but their fluency is low, accounting for 595 lacking oral English skills while 65% cannot read or write in English. Many of them are bilingual, speaking their native language plus Kiswahili or other regional languages. According to the RSC Africa survey, most of the adult refugees have never reported to high school or even higher learning institutions, while girls that attend school in Congo are very few making the literacy levels of the girl’s population even lower compared to the men.

Religious Beliefs

70% of the total population in Congo practices Christianity. In the studies on refugee settlers migrating to the U.S., the majority, around 80 %, are Christians, with 95% of this population being Protestants. A large number of them are Seventh Day Adventists Pentecostals. Only about 4% of the refugees identify as Muslim. Some Congolese believe in the traditional belief system.

Family and Kinship

Typically, a Congolese household consists of the immediate family and the extended family and, in some cases, even the unrelated persons by blood. Children in the Congo cultural system are considered a sign of good fortune and prosperity, which results in advocating the bearing of many children, resulting in large families (COR, 2021). The children are considered to belong to the Community; hence their care and discipline are bestowed on the whole community rather than the specific parents.

Gender Roles

Traditionally the gender roles in the Congo people were clearly outlined, with the fathers being the breadwinners and source of protection to their families. The women were expected to take care of their children and take care of the house chores. Although significantly changed due to the continuous wars resulting in the women stepping up to be breadwinners doing various jobs like Selling handcrafts. There is still existing discrimination in the access of the girls to school, though.

Cultural Approach to Health Care

Western medicine is somewhat received into the DRC. Although hindered by several barriers that include; high cost of the medication and the Health Centers’ geographical location, they are mostly far to be easily accessed (CDC, 2021). This results in access to quality health care in Congo, which is quite a challenge and results in Congolese seeking traditional medicines. Typically the Congolese people combine both conventional drugs and Western drugs. The health care infrastructure is well or fairly developed in the urban centers. It requires cash payments as a payment mode, resulting in many Congolese finding it challenging to access the system and consult traditional spiritual leaders to help resolve their illnesses.

The Christian Community in Congo is known to rely on prayers for the healing of their illnesses. Some illnesses are also considered a curse, caused by witchcraft or supernatural elements like mental illness, and considered taboo in the Congo.

In conclusion, the Congo people are a population who still have their cultural practices intact and have a standard way of doing things. They have their way of addressing any problem or issue that comes their way through the stipulated traditional rules concerning; education, health care, or gender roles.

References

CDC. (2021, March 16). Congolese refugee health profile. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/congolese/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fimmigrantrefugeehealth%2Fprofiles%2Fcongolese%2Fpopulation-movements%2Findex.html

COR. (2021). Congolese refugees. COR Center – Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center. https://www.culturalorientation.net/learning/populations/congolese-refugees

Marie-Laurence Flahaux and Bruno Schoumaker. (2020, October 22). The Democratic Republic of the Congo: A migration history marked by crises and restrictions. migrationpolicy.org. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/democratic-republic-congo-migration-history-marked-crises-and-restrictions

Staff, T. 3. (2020, August 11). Settling in U.S. refugees in America. TCU 360. https://www.tcu360.com/2019/03/settling-in-u-s-refugees-in-america/