John Katunga, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), spoke with two classes at George Mason High School this past week. This was Mr.Katunga’s first visit to an American high school, and Mrs. Harrington’s International Relations class and Mrs. Hawkesworth Modern World Civilizations class were treated to an hour lecture on African history and contemporary issues. He also discussed the DRC’s run-off elections scheduled for the end of this month, and the ongoing plunder of his country’s natural resources, particularly timber, gem stones, and other minerals, by the West. Falls Church City entered into a "Sister-City" partnership with Kokolopori, DRC earlier this year. Mr. Katunga is an OSI Policy Scholar with the Africa program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the recipient of the Center’s Distinguished African Scholar Award. He was formerly acting executive director of the Nairobi Peace Initiative, a pan-African peace resource organization with a long history of addressing peace and reconciliation issues in Africa. Mr. Katunga has been in the Washington area for several months, and returns to the DRC next week.
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