Benault Beno (Beno) escaped political persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) eight years ago. A high school administrator, and teaching French, math and history. Beno would describe his life as normal. That was up until his country underwent a political upheaval and Beno was faced with having to escape a politician to save his life.
It was difficult to get here in Buffalo. I left Kinshasa on September 22, 2014, arriving in Istanbul, Turkey by 6:00 in the morning.
His journey to Vive in Buffalo started with some people who helped him to leave the country quickly. “It was difficult to get here in Buffalo. I left Kinshasa on September 22, 2014, arriving in Istanbul, Turkey by 6:00 in the morning.” Beno’s journey continued from Istanbul to Europe where he boarded a very big plane to the United States.
Like the Underground Railroad, Beno’s friend gave him the contact information for Renee who was living in New Jersey. She gave Beno a small sheet of paper with an address written on it. “She said, ‘Just go there.” It was 50 Wyoming, Vive La Casa. A slip of paper and a drive to no longer live in fear—that is all Beno had. Beno showed his piece of paper to a front desk attendant at the Greyhound bus station. “I told her ‘I’m going to this address.’ Showing her the paper, the attendant smiled, said she knew where Beno wanted to go, and asked him to follow her. “I was feeling comfortable because it looked like all these people know this place.”
Beno’s path to hope started with a journey of thousands of miles. In 2016, one year and a couple of months after arriving at Vive, Beno was granted asylum and able to secure a job at University of Buffalo North Campus, save some money and rent an apartment by himself. Beno is giving back to the community as a translator and helping new asylum seekers.
When asked to describe the role of Vive in his new life, Beno is quick to point to the importance of sustaining this vital organization for asylum seekers because there is no organization like this elsewhere—without Vive those who flee in fear cannot do it by themselves. Vive saved his life and the Buffalo community welcomed him. For that Beno will be forever grateful.
