Kalemie, 28 May 2019: MONUSCO organized a public event “Journee Porte ouverte “at Maendeleo Square as part of the International Day of Peacekeepers on the theme "Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace". In addition to the military and police personnel, all MONUSCO civilian components, local elected officials, social partners, United Nations system staff took an active part in this event of proximity.
Several stands have been installed in this large public square to allow people to learn about the role and the work of the Blue Helmets, mainly in the field of the protection of civilians and the consolidation of peace. For this purpose, the public had direct exchanges with Blue Helmets; screenings of photos and video films were also made available to the population. Similarly, various documents (magazines, leaflets, CDs, brochures) on the mandate of protection of civilians were distributed.
The Mayor of the city of Kalemie, M. Gedeon Kakudji Kalema, who opened the "Day with the Blue Helmets" paid tribute to their sense of duty and sacrifice and for some to the "peril of their lives". The event was held in a festive atmosphere of songs and dances with the participation of an enthusiastic audience estimated at about a thousand people from all social categories, including students from surrounding schools.
On 31 May, the commemorations continued by a tribute ceremony to United Nations peacekeepers at the Monusco base: Laying of the wreaths, ringing the dead, a minute of silence in memory of peacekeepers fallen in the peacekeeping exercise and the reading of the Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations by the Acting Head of Office, Issaka Dangnossi , remain the highlights of this ceremony organized by the Indonesian Battalion Force, the United Nations Police and the Military Police of Bangladesh.
Issaka Dangnossi, Photo MONUSCO/Force