** A call to resistance: unity or illusion? **
Last Wednesday, in Lubumbashi, the words of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Jacquemain Shabani, resounded as a rallying cry for a youth in search of benchmarks. In a colorful speech, he launched an appeal vibrating to resistance against “the enemy”, designating tired forces under the weight of the years of conflict and exploitation. But behind this exhortation to unity, a deaf question is heard: what does this resistance really imply, in a context where disillusionment and cynicism settle as unwanted guests?
Shabani did not chew his words: he prompted the young people of Haut-Katanga to come together, to block the road to attackers whom he accuses of martyrizing the people and of looting his resources. His rhetoric, tinged with ardent patriotism, evokes the memory of past struggles, like those that rocked the country at the dawn of its independence. What he does not say is how much the spectrum of these struggles still resonates, but in a world where the ideals of solidarity seem to have fled, leaving room for despair.
Congolese youth knows too well what it means to live in the shadow of a promise of unity that has never really materialized. The tomorrow who is disillusioned, the betrayed hopes, they experienced it, far beyond the proud cries of the political elites. So what meaning to give to this call to resistance, when unity, instead of being a solid base, appears as a facade ready to crack?
Shabani evokes the “fathers of independence”, these historical figures which glorified the dream of a free Congo, but did he forget that disillusionment was also born in their wake? The promises of security and prosperity have often been only a lure, and disenchantment infiltrates the streets of Lubumbashi where young people look with resignation the riches of their land fly away, often in favor of foreign interests. Is the fight against crime, which he came to supervise with his famous Operation Ndombo, is really the miracle remedy that we hoped for, or is it only a way of maintaining order in a system that struggles to get rid of his old demons?
And what about this reform of security governance, which promises to involve local communities in security management? Paradoxically, this initiative could also hide a desire to control more, to monitor the smallest movements of an already reluctant population. Could the 500 formed members interpret this new governance as a tense hand, or will they rather feel the weight of disguised oppression?
The Minister quoted Marshal Mobutu, a choice that does not fail to lift eyebrows. The time of that which was called “the Kinshasa sphinx” left a hard imprint on collective consciousness, and the echoes of a dictatorship with a persist. Isn’t it to mobilize young people to mobilize young people to rekindle passions that might turn against itself?
Faced with this vibrating call, a question remains unanswered: how to build a real unit when the past continues to haunt the present, and that the pain of yesterday’s struggles are still not healed? To resist, it will take more than a galvanizing speech. It will take concrete gestures, a real recognition of past injustices and a commitment to governance that goes beyond the simple framework of security.
The road to unity is strewn with pitfalls, and the young people of Haut-Katanga, while answering the minister’s call, will also have to question themselves: what are they ready to build, and at what price? Resistance can be transformed into a form of authentic solidarity, but this will require going beyond rhetoric and confront the disturbing truths. Because the struggle for the future of Congo will not only be played on the battlefield, but also in the minds and hearts of those who aspire to a real change.