ReliefWeb

Masisi, 9 September 2011 – Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the seven unofficial camps in the Masisi district of North Kivu province in eastern Congo are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, according to the Jesuit Refugee Service.

More than 3,650 IDP families are believed to be living in seven makeshift camps, where they hardly receive any humanitarian assistance. These makeshift camps are home to extremely vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, older persons, and unmarried pregnant girls. At the end of 2010, the population of IDPs living in North Kivu was estimated to be approximately one million.

"Makeshift camps receive far less support than official ones. No assistance is assured here; people even have to struggle to find something to eat. Girls are the most vulnerable group; they’re apathetic, without any dreams or goals in life. That's why working with young girls is one of our priorities. We need to help them go back to school so they can rebuild their lives", said JRS Programme Director in Masisi, Sr Inés Oleaga.

If allowed to live in an official camp, or if these camps were officially recognised by the regional authorities, they would receive food and other material assistance from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme. Such a move would be a significant step forward.

Unfortunately many Congolese politicians are focusing on the upcoming presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for 28 November next. UN agencies and local and international NGOs need to push the authorities in North Kivu into identifying solutions and alleviating the suffering of displaced persons.

Surviving in a makeshift camp

Faida is a 25-year old man living in the Kishondja makeshift camp in the North Kivu Masisi district, in eastern Congo. JRS teams met him in the camp the day after he arrived with his wife and two children.

"Everybody in Ngululu village was sleeping. At four in the morning, one hundred or so armed men arrived and broke into our homes, stealing whatever they could find. They killed at least two people and injured many others. Like most of our neighbours, I took my family and ran into the forest. From the distance, I saw them raping women and girls, and burning houses", he said.

Before losing his land and home, Faida was a farmer. Now they are forced to live in the most rudimentary housing made from mud and banana leaves. Since Kishondja is a makeshift camp and not officially recognised by authorities or the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Faida and his family will not receive any food and other material assistance.

Faida's story is common. Since 2009, thousands of women, children and men have fled their homes and are still living in the makeshift camps in this part of North Kivu. Their displacement is caused primarily by attacks carried out by many rebel groups in the area and the absence of protection from the Congolese army.

In response to the drastic humanitarian situation in makeshift camps, JRS has recently started to work in three of these camps: Kishondja, Kihuma and Bonde.

"We assist them by providing them with milk and food or bringing them to the hospital. Sometimes, just talking and sharing their problems is enough to give these people confidence and love", said JRS Project Director working with vulnerable persons in Masisi, Sr Regina Missanga.

Other camp activities include literacy classes for women and girls, secondary school construction, and the distribution of school supplies. Plagued by sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV), especially against women, JRS staff are providing awareness-raising courses on this sensitive issue to women and girls in the camps, as well as counselling services to survivors.