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Biden urges Americans to 'keep the faith' as he spends final full day as president in South Carolina

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Biden urges Americans to 'keep the faith' as he spends final full day as president in South Carolina
News

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Biden urges Americans to 'keep the faith' as he spends final full day as president in South Carolina

2025-01-20 09:05 Last Updated At:09:12

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden spent his final full day as president Sunday in South Carolina, urging Americans to “keep the faith in a better day to come” and reflecting on the influence of both the civil rights movement and the state itself in his political trajectory.

On the eve of Monday’s inauguration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, Biden delivered a final farewell from a state that holds special meaning after his commanding win in its 2020 Democratic primary set him up to achieve his life’s goal of winning election as president.

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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum and others. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum and others. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, seated right, attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, seated right, attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during a church service attended by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during a church service attended by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attend a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attend a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks to the media about today's hostage release at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks to the media about today's hostage release at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

202President Joe Biden embraces Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

202President Joe Biden embraces Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden greets members of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Southern Region Team Delta 6, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden greets members of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Southern Region Team Delta 6, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they walk from Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they walk from Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden spoke to the congregation of Royal Missionary Baptist Church about why he entered public service — Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were political heroes, he said. And in a nod to South Carolina Democrats, he said: “I owe you big.”

The day before the federal holiday honoring King, the slain civil rights leader, Biden struck a more hopeful tone for the future of the country than his televised farewell address last Wednesday, when he warned about an “oligarchy” of the ultrawealthy taking root and a “tech-industrial complex” impeding the future of democracy.

“We know the struggle to redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing," Biden said Sunday. “We must hold on to hope. We must stay engaged. We must always keep the faith in a better day to come."

He added: "I’m not going anywhere” — and the congregation applauded.

Biden later toured the International African American Museum in Charleston which was built on a waterfront site where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to the U.S. from the late 1760s through 1808.

He spoke about efforts to ensure an administration “that looks like America,” pointing to people like Lloyd Austin, who was Biden's secretary of defense and the first Black person in the job. Speaking of his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, he leaned toward the microphone and said: “And by the way, she's smarter than those guys.”

“We’re proving that by remembering our history, we can make history,” Biden said.

As he spoke, at a Trump rally back in Washington, speaker after speaker slammed Biden's presidency before the president-elect got on stage, previewing what was to come after Trump takes office.

Before the church service, as hostages started to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that the U.S. helped broker, Biden said “the guns in Gaza have gone silent." He noted that in May he had outlined the agreement to halt the fighting.

“Now it falls on the next administration to help implement this deal. I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days,” Biden said, before urging Trump to keep supporting regional allies and using diplomacy to maintain the hard-won deal.

Biden has been dogged by critics who oppose his administration for shipping arms to Israel and say the U.S. didn’t push its ally hard enough to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As his motorcade moved through Charleston, a group chanted “Biden is a war criminal” and held a banner saying “Biden's legacy=genocide.”

After commenting on the ceasefire, Biden and first lady Jill Biden took their seats in the front pew at the church. At least several hundred congregants sang gospel songs, rising to their feet and swaying and clapping. A choir led the musical selections from behind the pulpit before the program later shifted to focus on King.

Biden was introduced at both stops by Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., a key ally who called the president his “longtime friend." Clyburn cited a number of presidents who were underappreciated in office but were later looked on more fondly. He added Biden to that list.

“So I want to say to you, good friend, very little appreciation has been shown recently but faint not. History will be very kind to you,” Clyburn said.

In 2020, Biden saw his campaign flounder after he lost the opening contests in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada. But at the fourth stop, South Carolina — where Black voters make up a majority of the Democratic electorate — he was lifted to victory after Clyburn's endorsement.

After taking office, Biden pushed for South Carolina to open the Democratic Party's nominating process for 2024, instead of New Hampshire. He easily won the state's primary last year, but after faltering in a debate against Trump, Biden dropped out of the race under pressure from many Democrats. Notably, Clyburn was not among them.

Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum and others. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum and others. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, with Dr. Tanya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, seated right, attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, seated right, attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during a church service attended by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during a church service attended by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attends a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attend a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., attend a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks to the media about today's hostage release at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks to the media about today's hostage release at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

202President Joe Biden embraces Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

202President Joe Biden embraces Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden greets members of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Southern Region Team Delta 6, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden greets members of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Southern Region Team Delta 6, as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they walk from Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they walk from Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

GOMA, Congo (AP) — The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo 's key city of Goma sought to reassure its residents Thursday, holding a stadium rally and promising safety under their administration as they try to shore up public support amid growing international pressure.

The M23 rebels continued advances elsewhere in eastern Congo despite their own announcement of a unilateral cease-fire, and the U.N. secretary-general called for them to lay down their guns and agree to mediation. Health officials, meanwhile, said the rebellion had disrupted a key medical lab in Goma.

As thousands gathered at the stadium in Goma, which the rebels captured last week with the support of troops from neighboring Rwanda, M23 political leader Corneille Nangaa told the crowd that the city had been “liberated and sanitized” and that new administrative heads have been appointed.

“I ask you to sleep well because we bring you security; this is our priority,” Nangaa said. “Starting next week, the children return to school. Let all state agents return to their offices. The displaced people are returning to their homes.”

The rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts. They are the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups active in Congo’s east, which holds vast deposits critical to much of the world’s technology.

Unlike in 2012, when the rebels first captured Goma but held it for only a short time, analysts say the M23 is now eyeing political power and eager to show it can govern.

One of those at the rally Thursday, Emmanuel Kakule, a Goma resident, said he is still worried about the situation in Goma.

“I came to listen to their project,” the 26-year-old said. “I don’t know if I’m convinced. ... We’re still afraid.”

Earlier this week, the rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid, but the Congolese government later dismissed that as a “false communication” amid reports of continued rebel advances in the east.

On Thursday, the rebels were advancing into South Kivu province and were 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the provincial capital of Bukavu, according to Nene Bintou, president of the civil society in the province. The rebels also had seized a town in the mineral-rich region a day earlier after the ceasefire was declared.

The advance has caused tension and fear among residents in Bukavu, with many fleeing to surrounding villages further afar from the city. Public transportation has also become less available, forcing some to trek for hours with their children and belongings.

Africa’s top public health body, meanwhile, sounded notes of alarm Thursday, saying that the rebellion had disrupted services at a high-security medical lab in Goma involved in the control and surveillance of infectious diseases such as Ebola.

The disruption at the National Institute of Biomedical Research lab underscores “the need for the decentralization of laboratory capacity” in the region, said Yap Boum II, a manager at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Boum, in an online briefing, said that collection of samples for illnesses such as mpox had been disrupted and that the rebellion has led to dozens of mpox patients fleeing from treatment centers, raising the risk of the disease spreading.

The U.N. and aid groups have expressed concern about the safety of the displaced people in Goma. Before it was captured by the rebels, the city was a critical humanitarian hub that hosted many of the more than 6 million people displaced by conflict in the region.

On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal to the rebels and their Rwandan military backers to “silence the guns” and stop the escalating fighting in the region, stressing that there is no military solution to the conflict in the mineral-rich region.

“It is time for mediation. It is time to end this crisis. It is time for peace,” Guterres told U.N. reporters.

The U.N. chief announced that he will be flying to Addis Ababa to take part in a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council next week, “where this crisis will also be front and center.”

“We also see the continued threat by other armed groups, either Congolese or foreign,” Guterres said. “We have countless reports of human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence, forced recruitment, and the disruption of lifesaving aid.”

Meanwhile, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, said that he's asked the commander of his country’s peacekeepers in eastern Congo to begin preparations for their withdrawal.

Malawian troops are part of a regional peacekeeping force supporting Congolese army in the region. At least 3 Malawian troops and 14 South African soldiers — also part of the force — have been killed in the fighting.

Chakwera said on Wednesday that the withdrawal was “to honor the declaration of a ceasefire" by the rebels and to pave the way for negotiations and a lasting peace. He did not give a timeframe for the Malawian troops’ withdrawal.

——

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria, and Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo. AP journalist Rodney Muhmuza in Kampala, Uganda and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this reporting.

Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

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