"The Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at the site where the displaced people are being received, was suspended following heavy gunfire on the highlands of the Salesian house and the camp of displaced people, who were hosted by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Shasha about a month ago," reports JAMBO VIJANA, a magazine for the youth of the Salesian works of the Eastern Delegation (AFC-EST)
"At the moment, the sounds of marching are heard within the Salesian concession and its northern periphery, where the loyalist force has settled in to confront the opposing forces, which are located a few kilometers away in the nearby town of Karuba," the statement continues.
This military presence in the Don Bosco Shasha plantation is of great concern to the Salesians in Shasha because, in the current situation, all the displaced people who have settled in this Salesian concession do not feel safe. Despite this concern, the Salesians comfort this distressed population by saying, "This war in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is causing so many deaths and dehumanizing thousands of people, will one day come to an end."
Fr. Kizito Thembo, SDB, director of the Salesian community in Shasha, invites people to unite in prayer to implore God's help at this very difficult time, when every day brings a new wave of displaced people fleeing the fighting.
