“Painting is in my blood. I do not have to make any effort; it comes naturally”
Richard is slender. He is wearing a houndstooth scarf on his neck and a pair of jeans that has painted himself. He is only 24 years old but talks like a mature man. The forced migration, the loneliness of a difficult journey across different continents, that looks more like a game of hide-and-seek among adults, grow up people before their time, and if not, it makes them harsh. However, Richard has an inherent kindness. He looks stoically. He has placed his hands on the table and speaks in French about painting, singing and Congo, his homeland.
Richard arrived in Greece through Turkey. His first station was the island of Samos, where he stayed for 3,5 months. He moved to *Volvi, in May 2017. The last few months he has been living in Thessaloniki. We ask him about Congo and the situation there. “I do not want to talk about the past”, he says, and we change the topic of our conversation.
Richard has studied and worked as a painter. He has participated in many art exhibitions in Congo, as well as in France, where he won the 2nd prize among 53 participants. In Kinshasa he had his own atelier. “Painting is in my blood. I do not have to make any effort; it comes naturally”, he stresses. He is a painter, an original artist; he was born creative. “I am the son of a great artist. My father has done a lot of things in Congo. His name is Emmanuelle”, he says proudly and adds: “my father was my mentor, I admire him so much”.
Richard remembers himself at the age of 3, watching his father paint one of the walls of their home. As he recounts, he took his father’s brushes and tried to imitate him. At the age of 7, he did the same unsuccessfully, because instead of helping his father, he was destroying his paintings. As a result his father was keeping him away from his studio. The only thing that Richard wanted was to paint with him. At the age of 15, he decided to reproduce one of his paintings. The painting represented a lion’s head. One day as his father wasn’t home he took the opportunity and hid the original painting while hanging his own on the wall. When his father returned home he didn’t see the difference and when Richard revealed him the truth, Emmanuelle decided to teach him the secrets of his art. “My father is very proud of me”, he says. Now Richard is a figurative artist. His paintings are inspired by society, by how people live, the difficulties they are experiencing, but also by his own life.
Richard’s talent doesn’t stop there. Because of his studies he has worked also as an actor. When he was living in Kinshasa he played in theatrical plays. Moreover, he writes cinematic scenarios, theatrical plays but he also sings. In fact, with the help of one of his compatriots, Moria, he created the first gospel music band at Volvi. “I did not create the band; we created it all together”, he says. The idea for the band was born out of an invitation he received to participate in a children’s music concert organized by IATAP. “At the beginning it wasn’t easy. All of us had to struggle with difficulties, but our passion for music led us to create the band. First, we were singing in the name of God, in church. I told the guys that if we want to grasp the opportunity and show our talent we have to work more. We saw that we were making progress with Antonis, who is on the keyboards, and since then we all sing together gospel”, he explains.
How does it feel to have your own band and to sing? “It’s amazing. It’s hard to explain. It is very nice. It’s so good”, he says. It’s worth mentioning here, that they have already written their first song, and now they are waiting for the opportunity to record it. Their song talks about determination. “When you are in a difficult phase of your life, you must have hope and believe that everything will go well”, he stresses.
When he arrived at Volvi, it was difficult for him to get used to the place. Despite the complicated political situation in Congo, Richard left behind a good life in Kinshasa. In Volvi Accommodation Scheme he stayed nearly a year. He decided to move to Thessaloniki because as he says there are more opportunities in the city. His goal is to continue the Greek language classes, that he had started in the past. We ask him if he sees his life in Greece and he answers: “Yes, why not? I want to continue painting, but I would also like to make films here in Greece”.
*Richard is a beneficiary of the Child and Family Support Hubs program, which is implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by UNICEF, with funding from the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department (ECHO).
**The Organisation Internationale De La Francophonie (OIF) finances French language courses for asylum seekers in Athens and Thessaloniki.
*** Iliaktida as UNHCR’s partner has the management of Volvi Accommodation Scheme, through IATAP