BREAKING NEWS:
Congolese Refugee Boy, PIERRE KOMPANY elected First Black Mayor in Belgium…Oversees a borough of 25,000 people in Gashoren
*Ran intelligent campaign devoid of identity and racial politics
*Focused on issues like childcare, elderly assistance and improved soccer fields
* African engineer by trade earlier elected Councilor in 2006, Won a seat in Brussels Regional Parliament in 2014
*His son-Vincent is a professional footballer in the Manchester City Football Club
*QUOTE: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”-Hariette Tubman
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF
DREAM DO COME THROUGH IN LIFE. IT IS NEVER GOOD TO GIVE UP YOUR ASPIRATIONS. Confirming the truism that where you are born does not determine your success rating, rather your attitude determines your altitude, PIERRE KOMPANY, born in Democratic Republic of Congo came to Belgium as a refugee for survival. He obeyed all rules, stayed away from scandals, had his eyes on his goals and he attained his outstanding success.
Having arrived Belgium, he ensured his son, Vincent is a professional footballer in the Manchester City Football Club. With diligent hardwork and aggressive electoral campaign, he was elected the first Black mayor in Belgium’s history. Kompany, was elected mayor of Ganshoren, a Brussels borough of about 25,000 people on Sunday, October 14.
The newly minted mayor ran a campaign that avoided identity and racial politics, but the local election is being celebrated as a moment of racial progress in Belgium anyway. Kompany, an engineer by trade entered the political arena in 2006 when he was elected as a councilor, and in 2014 he won a seat in Brussels Regional Parliament.
According to reports, Kompany resists titles like the “Obama of Brussels” and race politics, running an independent campaign that focused on issues like childcare, elderly assistance and improved soccer fields.
Kompany’s sons Vincent and Francois (who plays soccer locally) wished their dad congratulations via Instagram not shying away from the obvious.
Vincent wrote on Instagram: “History! We are so proud of you dad. Came over from the DR Congo, as a refugee, in 1975. Now gained the trust of your local community becoming the first ever black elected mayor in Belgium! It was long over due but it’s progress. Massive congrats.”
“I’m especially proud, and so is the whole Congolese community, that a black man was directly elected by Belgians in a city like Ganshoren, which has maybe 100 people of Congolese origin,” local historian Mathieu Zana Etambala, told the New York Times.
Etambala continued that this “marks the undeniable presence of the Congolese here in Belgium,”
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