Young British people are supposed to be apathetic and lazy, happier to click their support for an e-petition than get involved in politics. However, there's not that much evidence of that with young, politically-motivated woman 19-year-old Noella Kisina. The Salford University student is so politically engaged that she is going to run to stand as an MP at the next general election. Not the UK’s next general election, though. No, she’s going to run for MP in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country her parents fled in 1993 to escape its brutal regime.
‘I have visited Congo many times and seeing the poverty that was prevalent in Madimba territory [the Eastern part, where most conflict is happening] made me want to help the people,’ she's said. ‘Looking around with all those minerals and you see the people suffering, that made me want to be politically active and do something about it.’
The DRC is still a very violent country and is in a lot of turmoil; where racial tensions between different sects used to tear the country apart, now the country is divided by militias vying for precious minerals that are then sold to the West to help make phones and computers. This ongoing conflict has caused 5.4million deaths since 1998.
‘Given the lack of a transparent minerals supply chain, American consumers have no way to ensure that their purchases are not financing armed groups that regularly commit atrocities, including mass rape,’ according to charity Raise Hope for Congo.
Grim. Really, really grim. So is Noella afraid of heading back to the country in such an important capacity? ‘Yes, I am scared… but at the same time I am motivated and there is a driving force within me to make a difference,’ she told the* i* newspaper. ‘There is obviously going to be danger and the militias mean there is some level of risk.’
But Noella’s got lots of support behind her – she has the backing of the Congolese ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Barnabe Kikaya Bin Karubi, who she interned for at the embassy two years ago. And officials within the country are keen to see her gain power, as they are keen to attract back the more educated members of the diaspora in a bid to get the country into some form of stability.
‘I was always politically aware as a child,’ she said. “Because parents were refugees that left a mark on me and made me aware of the situation. Because I was born here, raised in this country with a very democratic society, made me want to be politically active, and to help democracy in the land of my parents.’
We wish Noella the absolute best of luck.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Colin McPherson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.