CAFOD is continuing to monitor the humanitarian situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its programme manager in the country, Bernard Balinuno, has sent this latest report:
“The markets have opened in Goma, but food prices remain high and many people cannot afford to buy enough to eat.
“The schools remain closed as so do the banks. The schools are expected to open next week, but many families are too fearful to let their children leave home and send them back to the classroom.
“M23 have imposed a toll on all vehicles going towards South Kivu. The check point is in Mugunga. Small vehicles have to pay $5, buses $10, and trucks $350.
“Tensions remain high as thousands of people continue to flee. They are on the move with no idea what will happen next. Some people are fleeing because fighting has broken out in their areas, others because they have heard rumours about the prospect of fighting.
“Around 50,000 people from the Kanyaruchinya camp were forced to run and they are now living in basic conditions in churches and schools around Goma.”
Father Piero Gavioli from the Don Bosco Centre in Goma, says that more than 12,000 people, including 7,000 children, have fled from the Kanyaruchinya camp to the Don Bosco Centre.
“They are living in very squalid conditions in classrooms and in the games hall,” said Father Piero. “Eight women gave birth whilst escaping and the poorest that have arrived came with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.”
Militia and government troop movements are unpredictable, but the scale of the humanitarian needs is anticipated to rise considerably. CAFOD remains extremely concerned at the lack of humanitarian access. While CAFOD and its partners on the ground are continuing to help families and whole communities who have fled their homes to take shelter in churches and schools, by providing shelter, water containers and other household items, such as pots and pans, few other NGOs are currently fully operational in Goma, and owing to security concerns, many humanitarian agencies are unable to gain access to other communities in need. The acute lack of food and water in some parts of the city is also a cause of real concern. With so many people living in such appalling conditions without safe drinking water and sanitation, there is a real fear of a cholera outbreak.
Congolese Bishops have been speaking out. Bishop Bernard Kasanda of Mbuji-Mayi has stressed that mineral resources and oil in the north-east of the country are the main reasons for the region’s instability, while the Bishop of Bukavu, Francois-Xavier Maroy Rusengo, has called for peace and development: “Congo is very rich and can feed half of Africa. Let us work and build the country as opposed to fighting each other”.
CAFOD has submitted 5 recommendations to the UK Government on the action that must be taken internationally to resolve the humanitarian crisis:
The immediate priority is to ensure an end to the fighting and the ability of humanitarian agencies to reach populations in need, and the British government should use its position as a member of the UN Security Council, the EU and its current participation in regional crisis talks to ensure this happens as soon as possible.Given that MONUCSO has shown an evident lack of willingness to act according to its mandate of protecting civilians, HMG should use its influence through its position on the United Nations Security Council to strengthen its mandate so that it can actually protect civilians in Eastern DRC.With the lack of UN senior negotiators in Goma, HMG should work urgently to ensure that humanitarian access is secured so that the populations in need are reached.Work with senior UN staff to ensure that MONUSCO fulfils its mandate to protect civilians and in the long-term considers changes to the next UNSC MONUSCO mandate to ensure that this role can be strengthened so that it can be effectively implemented.Support the merger of the two proposed international negotiators into one special envoy under the aegis of both the AU and United Nations who can launch a political process to stop the violence in close collaboration with the CIRGL.
For further information or interviews with CAFOD Staff on the ground in Goma, please contact: Nana Anto-Awuakye on: Blackberry +44(0)7799 477 541 or Office: +44(0)207 095-5456 or email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk