LONDON (AlertNet) - Outbreaks of violence are making much of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo inaccessible to NGOs and local traders, making it difficult for people to buy basic supplies or receive aid, a refugee specialist told AlertNet.
Many aid organisations have closed their offices and evacuated expatriate staff during
weeks of battles between government loyalists and rebels that have plunged the Democratic Republic of Congo back into violence and upset a fragile peace process aimed at ending years of conflict in central Africa.
“It is one of the greatest humanitarian crises,” said Michael Despines, regional director for the Great Lakes region of Africa for International Rescue Committee (IRC), a U.S.-based NGO focusing on assistance to refugees and other displaced people.
Reaching people in need is a problem of logistics and security. “Many areas are not accessible except by plane,” he said.
“There are troop movements going on and people feel very uncomfortable travelling outside the cities."
He said most relief organisations were waiting to see how events progressed, although some had already reopened.
“Many NGOs still have their expatriates outside the country and that is going to slow projects down,” he said.
“It makes people hesitant to rush back in if things are just going to heat up again,” Despines said.
He was in Kinshasa by chance when rioting started there in early June.
“We had to stay inside the house for two days until things quieted down,” he said.
Despines said Rwanda had closed its border with Congo to everything but refugees, making it hard for people to buy or sell basic provisions.
NO GOODS
“No goods are getting in or out and that is going to make life more and more difficult economically,” he said.
He said health and food were top concerns for NGOs.
“Primary health care is one of the greatest needs, because many people have been dying over the years due to the lack of just getting basis health care,” said Despines.
“People are dying from measles, malaria and diarrhoea. People should never be dying from these things,” he said.
“Food security is a big problem in some areas because of insecurity. People are unable to tend their fields.
"Even at places where they can, because of insecurity they can’t get their crops out to other areas.
“Most of the violence and suffering happens in the forest at night and many people die without anyone ever knowing about it in the outside world," he said.
“Conflicts flash out like this seemingly unexpectedly. In some ways, that is very typical of Democratic Republic of Congo,” Despines said.
He said that the peace process had progressed enormously, but its foundations were weak, and root causes had not been addresses.
ROOT CAUSES
"There are still many fundamental issues around nationalities, access to resources, and land issues," he said.
“Until those issues are addressed, this peace process will continue to be very fragile and we’ll probably see more outbreaks of violence like this,” said Despines.
“Everyone is working very hard to put pressure on all parties involved to make sure that full open warfare doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Despines said: “I hope the leaders will... make the compromises necessary to make the peace last and to get the economy, health and education system back up and running.
“The population is very tired of this war. They desperately want peace.”
A woman bags charbon which is charcoal made out of wood used for cooking fuel at Petionville Club IDP camp, where more than 50,000 people have moved into makeshift tents when ...
