Kevin Mukadi believes that anyone can become a refugee, regardless of skin color or nationality. He’s been one twice — first in South Africa, with his family, then in the U.S., by himself.
In December 2024, he was one of the last refugees to be resettled in New Hampshire before President Donald Trump’s first-day executive order suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Since Jan. 20, no refugees have been allowed to resettle in the state, leaving him indefinitely separated from his family by an entire ocean.
Trump’s ban represents a wall between Mukadi and his family. Although they didn’t have confirmed travel dates when he left, he was under the impression that as he traveled, they wouldn’t be too far behind.
Almost every day, the twenty-seven-year-old spends time on the phone with his family, either dishing out advice to one of his four younger brothers, receiving guidance from his older brother or just catching up with his mother.
“They’re happy for me, but they wish they could be here with me,” said Mukadi. “They just want me to do my best, and also look out for them, too, of course.”
Mukadi said his family wants him to be happy and successful, achieving all his proposed goals in the United States.
Forging a new life
In 2007, at age nine, Mukadi fled his war-torn home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Alongside his mother and five brothers, he boarded an overcrowded bus of Congolese citizens, all trying to escape.
They crossed through two countries — Zambia and Zimbabwe — until they reached South Africa.
“I just knew it was different ’cause I had never seen skyscrapers and big buildings till I got to South Africa,” said Mukadi.
The bus dropped them off in Johannesburg, the country’s largest city, and from there, the Congolese community helped the family of seven find housing in Pretoria.
They moved into a one-bedroom apartment, where the five brothers slept on one mattress. Mukadi’s mother opened a case for her family with the International Organization for Migration, an agency of the United Nations, seeking to resettle in the U.S. with her sons. She knew the process could take years.
When Mukadi’s mother enrolled him in grade four, he spoke no English, only French and Swahili. Only once he grew comfortable with his third language that first year of school did he realize the other students had been making fun of him for his refugee status. This mistreatment continued for years.
“Kids just reflect what they are taught in the house. So, a lot of this stuff is just the kids repeating what their parents would say to other immigrants, and things of that nature,” said Mukadi. “It was a lot of that, but that never really bothered me much.”
In secondary school, the derogatory comments largely ceased. Mukadi forged friendships, excelled in his studies, and discovered his passion for words, writing poetry and recording music at a friend’s home studio.
During this time, the International Organization for Migration made initial contact with Mukadi’s family, informing them that they were working on their immigration case.
As the family waited for resettlement, they struggled financially. The government subsidized a portion of the children’s education, but money was still scarce. Mukadi’s mother began selling goods in the street and eventually started a “tuck shop,” or a small convenience store, to make ends meet.
After graduating in 2015, Mukadi didn’t have the means to attend college, and institutions didn’t offer scholarships to refugee students.
“There was just no way,” he said.“The system was not designed for us.”
He opted to move out and start working instead, earning money as a security guard and a landscaper before realizing his dream of studying civil engineering.
He enrolled at the University of Johannesburg for civil engineering technology in 2018, but because of financial strain and the pandemic, he couldn’t complete the program until October 2024.
Then, he received a call he’d been wanting for years — the International Organization for Migration could finally relocate him to the United States.
Resettling in the Granite State
On Dec. 17, Mukadi touched down on U.S. soil — without his family.
Ascentria Care Alliance, one of the primary resettlement agencies for refugees coming to New Hampshire, picked him up from the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, drove him to Manchester and helped him get settled.
In the eight months since arriving, Mukadi has secured a position as a paraprofessional in the Manchester School District and now works with elementary school students. Despite applying to countless postings and having the corresponding degree and qualifications, he could not find employment, even as an entry-level engineer. Mukadi now seeks to obtain his master’s degree in structural engineering to expand his job prospects.
“It’s the same bureaucratic nonsense that’s been there since,” said Mukadi. “And I feel like if I had to fight a fight, that would be the fight. I think everybody deserves equal working rights. Especially if they do have legal status in the country.”
‘Empowering’
He leans on his love of music to express his frustrations — and his hopes.
“Me just being a free one or like one that made it out, I feel like I have an obligation to do something to kind of address the ills that are going on around where I’m from,” he said.
Mukadi moonlights as Daydreamerkev, a Congolese-South African fusion hip-hop artist. Since 2020, he has released dozens of songs, streamed by thousands of listeners all over the world.
In the chorus of his song “Kongo Messiah,” he raps that he’s “just a freedom-fighting revolutionary,” bringing awareness to societal issues and specifically those arising from his home country.
“I’m just a freedom-fighting revolutionary, when I’m gone, may the struggle live on. I’m just a freedom-fighting revolutionary, when I’m gone, you gon’ find me in this song.” — “Kongo Messiah”
He creates the vocals and masters the product.
“I’m not shy to touch on topics that are very hard-hitting – the struggles of being a refugee, the struggles of being a black man in the world,” said Mukadi. “I draw a lot of pain from my stuff, like my story, but I also like to just have fun with my music. So, I’m not really trying to do a specific thing, but just express myself and my creativity.”
The New Hampshire branch of Ascentria Care Alliance invited Mukadi to speak at a World Refugee Panel back in June.
Mukadi told attendees that he believes telling the story of being a refugee should be a tale about success. It should be about overcoming adversity and being a positive influence by contributing to society, he said.
“We’re facing a lot of worsening in political crisis and situations, so a lot of people are being displaced and they’re ending up in very unfortunate circumstances. So dialogues and discussions of this nature are very, very important,” he said. “I think that we still have a long way to go just in terms of being able to resettle people and putting them in position to aspire to get the kind of life that they’re looking for.”
Although it may be a cliche, he said, another answer is love. If more people put themselves into refugees’ shoes, Mukadi believes they’d offer more support to the community and have a greater understanding of where refugees come from.
“We should definitely change the stereotype around being a refugee, making it something empowering and making sure that people can actually achieve their goals and aspirations in a free and caring society,” said Mukadi.
Mukadi’s music can be streamed at https://ditto.fm/king-kong.