Close to five million Congolese from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) live in Angola, according to estimates by community leaders, most of whom are dedicated to the retail trade of various products, especially in the informal market.
A large part of the Congolese community in Angola has lived for decades in the urban district of Palanca, municipality of Kilamba Kiaxi, in Luanda, and there they seek their livelihood, which ranges from selling various meals and drinks in bars on the side of the roads, as well as used clothing, electrical, construction and other materials.
The socio-political situation in DRCongo is, therefore, intensely experienced in Palanca, where Congolese residents hold a daily street debate in the early evening to analyze the reality of the country, which re-elected Félix Tshisekedi for a second term.
"I followed the elections in DRCongo well, from the beginning until now, and from what I saw things went and are going well", doctor Nzuzi Mabela, originally from Lower Congo and who has lived in Angola for 25 years, told Lusa.
For this Congolese, who completed his higher education in Angola and is currently the owner of a health center in Palanca, Tshisekedi's re-election took place in an atmosphere of "transparency and freedom".
Nzuzi Mabela understands that the President has once again placed the country in the international arena, contrary to previous governments, and that internally there are "remarkable changes", such as the construction of infrastructure for the benefit of the people, minimizing criticism from the opposition.
The doctor also said that, when he can, he visits his country, but he never thought of returning definitively to DRCongo.
"Because I spent a lot of my life here, my children [are here], but living there I don't believe it," he said.
Félix Tshisekedi was reappointed as President of DRCongo for a second five-year term, following the last presidential, legislative and municipal elections in the African country, on December 20, with intense criticism from the opposition over alleged fraud.
João Pedro dos Santos, a Congolese from Kasai Central province, denied the accusations of fraud and corruption in the elections and stated that Tshisekedi was re-elected for returning love to the country, for his proximity and dialogue to resolve the people's complaints.
This 60-year-old community leader, 32 of whom lived in Angola, says that DRCongo was "run by dictators" and, despite not thinking about returning to the country, believes that in this second term the President "should be able to organize the country well" and combat poverty.
"Anywhere in the world there is poverty, but it's not from 'foot to hand' that would change the situation at once, because he found great poverty, but nowadays he is struggling, especially to build roads", he stressed.
Regime change was what merchant Tuzolana Mvungudi, 46, wanted, who laments the social and economic degradation of the DRCongo and accuses the re-elected President of being "failure to fulfill" the country's promises of improvement and of "incapacity to govern".
"Life in Congo at the moment is very difficult, in the past during President Kabila's time it was so-so, now the President in power has made things worse again and all the people of Congo are crying," he told Lusa.
Tuzolana, born in Central Congo and in Angola for 14 years, considered that Moise Katumbi, one of the opposition's competitors, would be the ideal person to lead the country and said that Tshisekedi won with fraudulent results.
It is on his doorstep, on one of the busiest streets in Palanca, that this Congolese citizen sells various products, fighting for his livelihood, which he also shares with his family in DRCongo, a neighboring country to which he does not intend to return.
"For me, at the moment, I'm not [thinking about returning], because the situation there is always getting worse, so if I can get bread here it's better, to send it there, but to go and live, not at the moment," he said.
José Félix Wuandja, 42 years old, is secretary general of the DRCongo community in Angola and applauded Tshisekedi's electoral victory, saying that he worked, leading the people to renew confidence in him.
In Angola since 2006, the citizen of Kasai Oriental devalues the opposition's criticisms about alleged electoral fraud: "These complaints are just to distract public opinion", he said.
He also believes that the President, in this new term of another five years, must respond to the complaints of the Congolese, in the areas of health, road infrastructure and others.
"The problem is that DRCongo is not a country to improve all conditions at once, because there have been many years of complications, since Mobutu's regime, years in which the people were suffering for a long time (... ).We are confident that, in another five years, he can change at least 60 percent or 70 percent of what the people demand", he concluded.
Wuandja also said that the citizens of DRCongo are spread across the 18 Angolan provinces and that the management of the community organization is also preparing a census to help the Angolan authorities in controlling the mobility of immigrants.
