Vigil: Solidarity with DR Congo

Name: Vigil: Solidarity with DR Congo
Start: 2025-01-13T16:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-01-13T16:45:00+00:00
Location: Outside Tiffin Cafe, Bank Street, Bradford

Schedule

Mon Jan 13 2025 at 04:00 pm to 04:45 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Outside Tiffin Cafe, Bank Street, Bradford | Bradford, EN

At our silent vigil we will be thinking about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where 5.4 million people have died since 1998 because of conflict.
Political rivalries, land disputes, mineral interests, and foreign intervention are some of the factors driving the current upsurge in violence.
The DRC is richly endowed with natural resources and is the world’s leading producer of two critical minerals, cobalt and tantalum, essential to the production of batteries and other electronic components. DRC was the world’s fourth-largest producer of diamonds in 2023.
The humanitarian disaster resulting from cyclical, violent conflict in the Congo, which has killed millions over the past three decades, continues to deepen:
- There are now 7.3 million internally displaced people across DRC,
one of the highest numbers of internally displaced persons in the world.
- Over 23 million are estimated to be food insecure and 5.4 million people face acute food insecurity in the three eastern provinces.
- More than 38,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in North Kivu in 2022.
If you can, join us between 4.00pm and 4.45pm for a silent vigil at the junction of Hustlergate and Bank Street in Bradford City Centre. And if you would prefer to join in from home, by lighting a candle and spending some time reflecting, please do.
Women in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. Groups in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East all hold regular vigils, standing in peace and in solidarity with all those affected by conflict.
In Bradford we meet on the first Monday of each month. All women and nonbinary people are invited to join us. #WomenInBlack