African immigrant activist Paul Mulangu has extended his hunger strike and protest outside the now-closed Centre of Integration for African Immigrants.
It has now been almost two weeks without food and sleeping outside the Carnavron Street location for Mulangu, who is protesting what he says is government abandonment of his non-profit and unfairly being kicked out of the rented space.
Mulangu said Monday that he has only had water and tea to sustain him since the protest began on Oct. 12.
"I am really shivering. Today, I went to walk to the lawyer and I couldn't walk very well," he said.
"It's very tough. It's very, very, very tough and I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.
Mulangu had originally planned to only stay until Oct. 22, but he said nothing has come from his protest so far. The provincial funding arrangement for the centre's jobs program expired in January. Mulangu was forced to lay his staff off but kept the centre open as an events hall. In 2010, the centre received a $275,000 federal stimulus grant and the centre borrowed another $280,000 from Vancity to install improvements including a kitchen, gym and change rooms.
Mulangu found the centre's locks changed and lease terminated in September after going into just under $40,000 in arrears to the landlord.
"(I will stay) until the time I can see a solution," he said.
Posted on the door of the centre is a notice from the landlord stating that all the centre's belongings must be removed by Wednesday, Oct 26. Mulangu said he hopes that will turn into one last big protest from the centre's supporters.
"I am planning for a lot of people to start protesting around 4 p.m. Everybody is going to come here. There will be drumming and everything," he said. "Where are we going to put those things? Nowhere. We have no where to put those things."
In an email sent to The Record Tuesday, Mulangu said he still has hope for the centre surviving, and that Vancity has remained supportive.
"Our goal is to approach Vancity to hold a mortgage on the building, while we use the revenue-generating opportunities to cover the mortgage. Mortgage payments could work out to be considerably less than what is currently being paid to the landlord," he said. "If the landlord takes over the building, he does so with over $500,000 in upgrades - and the centre would still have to find the money to repay Vancity."
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