From Asylum seeker to politician in Bremen

When Elombo left the DRC after taking part in a demonstration against Mobutu Seseseko’s government and landed in Germany as an asylum seeker, from all points of view his life was over but not from the way he saw it.

He left the DRC in 1992 and came to Europe for the very first time, first landing in Moscow and later moving to Braunschweig, Hannover and finally to Syke where he finally settled and applied for political asylum.

He learnt capentry and later became a salesperson at the Baumarkt in Bremen where he joined the workers’ council (Betriebsrat) in 2003. Since 2009, he has been the Chair of the workers’ council.

Currently he’s a member of the SPD where he’s a representative in the committee in charge of Integration, Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten, internationale Kontakte und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit and also in the committee in charge of Gleichstellung der Frauen in der staatlichen Deputation für Bildung (sorry for my laziness in translating).

On his website, he states his goals as:

• Fixing the minimum wage to €8,50 per hour
• Encourage balance between careers and families
• Ensure quality education for all regardless of their origin and social status
• Making Intergration a reality and not just theory

In his free time, he’s a husband, father, singer and drummer. Check out his website, here and/or watch this video about him.