Théophile

"My name is Théophile, I was supported by a Belgian professor who lived in Kinshasa at the time when I lost my parents. I was living with my brother but he did not have the means to support both of us. When the Professor returned to Belgium, he asked me to come there. I lived and studied in Brussels. 

After school, I decided that it was not necessary to stay there too long because I could not find a job.

Having received an offer of employment here in DRC, I decided to go back and so far it has been good. Belgium is my second home, but I think there are difficulties there for both new African migrants and those who have already been integrated.

Migration is a normal thing. Today when I go to Europe as an African, I can bring what others do not. Therefore, we should not put up a lot of barriers. The barriers that people put up are used mainly to protect their own interests, but I think we must all have integration.

When the Belgians came to the Congo in the past, many of them did not want to go back. It was a political situation that had pushed them away. I think that today we have to promote the free movement of persons."