#congo genocide

Remember to:

Avoid buying new tech if you can

Try to buy refurbished if you absolutely need to replace something

Boycott disposable vapes

You should be furious at how these people went through atrocity after atrocity and still need raise tens of thousands of dollars to get away

Landry and Agissons Ensemble recently visited Linda Orphanage in Goma, where they prepared food for the children. These things are only made possible by the help of generous contributors supporting Agissons Ensemble. Landry and his team of volunteers are working tirelessly to provide displaced communities with food, shelter, and medical aid. Landry puts extra effort into creating joyful moments for the children, such as arts and crafts or even small holiday celebrations.

Landry's own family has been impacted by displacement. He is supporting his parents, his sister, and her children. His individual fundraiser goes towards his family's needs. He also uses the extra funds to help others in need, like Ezechiel. Landry met Ezechiel and his mother through his volunteer work and learned that the young boy was suffering from a serious skin infection. Landry was able to use some of the money he raised to take Ezechiel to the doctor's and get him medication to treat his infection.

Both campaigns for Agissons Ensemble and Landry's family can be found in their linktree, as well as their socials you can follow to see the incredible work they are doing. Please support them by sharing and donating if you have the means.

long story short (for anyone who hadn't heard of this before) the kids online safety act, aka kosa, is a bill that will censor online content and resources for lgbtq+ matters, reproductive healthcare, activism (INCLUDING PALESTINE AND LIKELY OTHER CRISES GOING ON LIKE IN CONGO OR SUDAN), mental health, etc. everywhere--its effects likely won't be contained to just america.

today, july 30th, 2024, the senate passed it 91-3. it has officially moved to the house of representatives.

is this a pretty massive setback? yes. do you have every right to be scared, sad, angry, or whatever else about this happening? absolutely. but should you give up hope completely? NO!

even though kosa passed the senate, the house is on break/august recess at the moment. we have around an entire month to get emails, calls, and faxes in to house reps, maybe more depending on when they decide to vote on it.

should it pass the house and get signed into law, we still have a whole 18 months before it actually goes into effect. this is plenty of time for digital rights orgs (e.g. fight for the future, the electronic frontier foundation) and other groups that oppose it to file a lawsuit against it. even if, worst-case scenario, it flies through the house immediately after the recess ends, we can still fight this up to march 2026.

so, yes, remember what's at stake here, but also remember that it's not over yet. we lost a battle, not the war.

below are some resources to learn more about kosa and how to contact your reps (first link) + a page that lets you directly contact progressive house reps, sign an open letter opposing the bill, and view others' testimonies against it (second link):

https://x.com/nightowlnikk/status/1802830952940380545?s=46

if you care about palestine’s genocide, i believe you should care about congo’s genocide too.

since the thread is gone i’d recommend reading this instead: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/11/rwanda-militias-drc-goma

thank you msilverstar!

this as well: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congo