DRC: ‘Why is the world looking away?’

‘Those who live in Goma live in fear. They do not know what is next. They ask why the international community has looked the other way.’

Those are the words of someone I saw in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) just a few months ago – and who, with his family, is now out of his home, having being compelled to flee as rebel forces advanced.

Although I had visited DRC several times before, the trip last September to Goma, Congo’s largest city in the east, was my first to that particular location. I was travelling to meet members of the Anglican Church of Congo and as we drove through the crowded streets, I asked my host what locals feared most. I was expecting him to say the threat of incursion by M23 rebels who had become increasingly active in the region.

‘Well, malaria and road traffic accidents remain two big killers,’ he replied, ‘but their biggest worry is through the clouds over there.’ Initially I couldn’t see what he was pointing at but as the clouds parted, Mount Nyiragongo, one of the most active volcanos in the world, came into view, quietly puffing away. It has erupted 34 times since 1882; in January 2002, the volcano destroyed 20% of the city including the airport runway. About 250 were killed and thousands left homeless.

Now, the volcano is the least of their worries. On 26 January, Rwandan-backed rebels, known as M23, entered and took the city in a surprise attack. They are far better trained and equipped than the government forces, who were soon overwhelmed. The UN reports 3,000 killed and hundreds of Congolese women raped and burnt alive when militants raided a prison. But this is only the latest episode in a conflict which has lasted over three decades where, it is estimated, between 3 and 5 million people have been killed or starved to death and more than 4 million are displaced.

DRC has been unstable ever since independence in 1960, but the current conflict began in the wake of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Ethnic rivalry between Tutsi and Hutus in Rwanda spilled into neighbouring DRC, resulting in two full-blown wars (1993–1994 and 1997–1999).

Since then, rebels have been active in the region. Indeed, they were in the process of capturing the town of Masisi 50 miles northwest of Goma when I was there in September, but I didn’t sense that DRC’s principal eastern city was in any real danger. The last time M23 entered Goma was in 2012, but they soon retreated when Western nations withdrew aid to Rwanda. This time it looks as if the rebels are there to stay, and have now also taken Bukavu, the next major city south of Goma. The rebels are adamant their aim is to protect Tutsi minorities in the region, but the Congolese government and the majority of the international community believe Congo’s abundance of hugely prized minerals, particularly cobalt which is used in car and phone batteries, is Rwanda’s real objective.

Calls for peace

My host and his young family managed to evacuate from Goma just in time. I haven’t been able to contact him directly, but I know he is safe and has been able to send three bulletins since the incursion. His latest, dated 5 February, reported the launch of #GomaCallForPeace.

His bulletin says: ‘The Goma Call For Peace centres around an end to the fighting and a lasting ceasefire, an urgent humanitarian response and the withdrawal of occupying troops. It urges dialogue as the only path to lasting peace in the region, and calls on the international community to move beyond fine-sounding statements to act decisively for peace.

‘Some semblance of calm has returned to Goma. The Red Cross has removed over 900 bodies from the streets. Shops are beginning to open. Motorbikes and taxis are beginning to circulate. Some food is getting into the city, although prices remain high. The border is open.

‘However there has been widespread looting. Government property and vehicles have been seized, as have NGO vehicles. The banks and schools remain closed. The hospitals are overwhelmed. The airport is not yet open for humanitarian assistance. People are dying of hunger.

‘Those who live in Goma live in fear. They do not know what is next. They ask why the international community has looked the other way. For them we have issued the Goma Call For Peace calling for immediate and decisive action from the international community.’

Please sign the petition at: gomacallforpeace.org and share the link widely.

Read also: DRC: Christians caught in crossfire