Democratic Republic of the Congo: Yumbi residents struggle to recover from violence
Three months ago, the violent inter-community clashes in Yumbi claimed hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee their homes. Today, residents of this small area north of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are struggling to recover.
Thousands of families are still homeless and are finding it difficult to feed themselves. The violence swept away their homes and their means of earning a living.
Most have had to move in with relatives or neighbours. But even that is difficult. “I’m sleeping on a mat, on the floor,” explains Moseka, who is in her fifties. Her grandchildren were staying with her when her house was burned down. Three of them died. She suffered serious burns. For the time being, she is staying with her son.
There is no shortage of solidarity among those who have suffered so much, and people are sharing what food they have, but once it is gone they have no means of getting more. The people in this area live mainly from fishing along the River Congo, but they have lost their fishing boats and equipment.
Farmers have missed the beginning of the farming season, which was in February. Calvin Mastaki is an agronomist for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “People have lost almost everything they need to survive,” he tells us.
The distrust between farmers and fishermen is still palpable. They used to exchange produce, but right now they don’t even talk to each other. And that means that no-one gets food.
The ICRC and the Red Cross Society of the DRC distributed food to over 15,000 people between 13 and 18 March. This involved a major logistical effort, as the River Congo is virtually the only transport route in the region.
The ICRC is asking the authorities to take all measures necessary to significantly reduce tension between communities, protect the population and facilitate access to the region for humanitarian organizations.
The communal violence of 16, 17 and 18 December 2018 in Yumbi (Maï-Ndombe Province) had serious consequences. According to the United Nations, over 500 people were killed and 16,000 were displaced. Hundreds of houses, schools and health centres were burned down or otherwise destroyed.