Las Vegan who escaped Congo is strong advocate for refugees

By Aida Ahmed

Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 | 2 a.m.

The world Luzau Balowa lives in today is much different from the one he escaped eight years ago.

The 41-year-old human rights activist in Las Vegas is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. And although Balowa says he has real freedom in the U.S., he feels obligated to fight for others who are not so lucky.

“What pushed me to be an activist is my government,” Balowa said. “In a country of violence and corruption, the human rights defender is not welcome.”

This month, Balowa shared his story at Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C., as part of the first Refugee Congress, organized by the United Nations Refugee Agency. He was among dozens of refugees and asylum-seekers from different countries who met with government representatives to offer ideas for reforming policies that affect refugees.

Most refugees flee their home countries because of political unrest, little freedom and abuse. According to the African Community Center of Las Vegas, 300 to 400 refugees are placed in the city each year through their organization. Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada also assists in placing refugees in the valley.

In the Congo, Balowa worked as a teacher and journalist, writing articles about women’s rights and the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. In a country where rape is an instrument of war, Balowa says up to 8 million women have been sexually assaulted.

Voting rights are virtually nonexistent, and speaking against the government will land you in jail.

Balowa says his experience was the same as many people living in the Congo. He was arrested in 2002 for campaigning for the end of the sexual abuse. Unlike in America, he says, he didn’t get a fair trial and after his conviction, was subjected to the “law of the jungle” for six months.

“I was abused in the jungle. Beaten every day,” he said.

He lost six teeth and has a scar on his left eye that he says is a visual reminder of the pain he suffered. He was rescued when the French military entered the Congo and saved him and other prisoners. He left the country in 2003, went into exile in Kenya and Uganda and arrived in Las Vegas as a refugee in 2008 with the help of the U.S. government.

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When Balowa arrived in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he thought the community would be welcoming, but it was the opposite, he said.

“Africans are doubly discriminated — for our accent and we are black,” he said. “Discrimination is like sugar in tea. You can taste it but you can’t see it.”

In an effort to help other refugees in Las Vegas like himself, Balowa started the African Rights Activist Group in March 2009. He said many refugees in the valley come from Sudan, Liberia and Ethiopia, and it is estimated that Las Vegas will be home to several thousand African refugees in the coming years.

The African Rights Activist Group teaches refugees how to drive, speak English and even provides a class for locals who want to learn how to speak languages such as French and Swahili. The organization has participated in the International Day of Peace and Women’s Day and is planning to work with the U.N. later this year for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

“Our goal is to bring a change on the issue of refugees and immigrants,” Balowa said.

His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Balowa was nominated and served this month as the Nevada distinguished refugee in the first United Nations Refugee Agency congress.

As one of 49 participants representing 25 countries, Balowa worked with fellow refugees to create the first refugee proclamation.

“For the first time, all refugees in the U.S. have one declaration we can use as a tool to lobby the government,” he said. “Refugees should be put in the center of every decision made about us.”

The U.N. Refugee Agency reports that 10.4 million refugees live in America. Charity Tooze, a spokeswoman for the agency, says America takes in 70,000 a year. She said the refugee proclamation Balowa helped create aids refugees in improving policies on refugee funding, resettling and resources once they are in the country.

Now back in Las Vegas, Balowa plans to show the proclamation to Mayor Carolyn Goodman and other Nevada politicians in hopes they will recognize the growing refugee population in the valley.

Balowa says he will continue to work toward bridging the gap between refugees and the Las Vegas community.

“I will die an activist,” he said. “I don’t see a better thing I can do than to talk on behalf of my people.”