Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Lehi, a resettled refugee, describes fleeing Congo and leading youth programs with UNHCR
Loading...
Summary
A resettled refugee identified as Lehi told meeting attendees he fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after threats tied to forced recruitment, lived in refugee camps, and later volunteered with UNHCR to lead youth programs addressing gender-based violence, child protection and climate action before resettling in Ohio.
Lehi, a resettled refugee and youth leader who volunteers with the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, told meeting attendees that armed recruiters in his home region of the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened to kill him if he refused to join their group.
“They told me that if I don't want to join, that means I'm supposed to be killed,” Lehi said, describing pressure on boys to join an armed group when they turn 18 and his father’s refusal to allow him to join. He said he left the country to seek safety and traveled by bus to refugee camps, where he initially stayed in Tongari Refugee Camp and later in Tumugara Refugee Camp.
Lehi said his sister took him in at the camp but that his first days there were difficult: “Just looking at the place, it really made me cry to say, like, where am I?” He later became active in the camp’s community and “started engaging in the community, uplifting other refugees in the camp,” he said.
As a young refugee leader, Lehi said he volunteered with UNHCR and led programs focused on gender-based violence prevention, child and youth protection, and empowering refugees to take climate action. He said he led more than 5,000 young refugees at Tumugara Refugee Camp. He and his family qualified for resettlement to the United States and now live in Ohio.
“I’m able to advocate for, the empowerment, for the protection, for the development of, young refugees,” Lehi said, adding that he continues to work with UNHCR across the globe to amplify young refugees’ voices and promote climate action.
This account was presented as a personal testimony during the meeting’s public comment period. No formal action or vote was recorded on the topic during the session.
