04 12 13 WFP – Even Harder Times Ahead For Displaced In DR Congo
Faida,
a mother of eight living in Mugunga 1 camp on the outskirts of Goma, North
Kivu's provincial capital. Copyright:
WFP/Claude Kalinga
For
the past six months, Faida (40) and her eight children have been surviving on
half rations in Mugungu 1 camp in eastern DRC’s North Kivu province. Faced with
limited resources, WFP has been forced to cut back the level of assistance given
to these and other displaced people (IDPs) to ensure the continuation of WFP
programmes elsewhere in the country. It’s far from ideal but at least the food
Farida and her children have been receiving has been just about enough to
sustain them.
Farida,
her husband and children are huddled in one of the thousands of makeshift tents
that crowd the rocky volcanic ground at the foot of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma.
They have been living there since fighting forced them to flee their village of
Mahanga in Masisi territory in 2011. In all, there are more than 53,000 IDPs in
Mugunga 1.
Forest
risk
“Without
support from WFP, we women would have to wander into the forest to cut wood for
sale”, says Faida. “But everyone knows that women and girls who go into the
forest risk getting raped or kidnapped”.
For
the ‘privilege’ of running such a risk, women have to pay a “tax” of 200
Congolese francs (about US 20 cents) to unscrupulous racketeers some of whom, it
is alleged, are members of the local security forces.
“Very
few of us have any money”, she says. “If we did, we’d use it to buy food. But
the very people who should be protecting us are taking advantage of
us”.
Five
camps
Her
husband works as a daily labourer in a sand quarry. He earns 50 cents a day and
with that has to support his whole family. None of Faida’s children goes to
school.
There
are five makeshift camps around Goma, housing more than 150,000 IDPs. In the
whole of North Kivu province, there are as many as 900,000 IDPs. WFP has been
giving food assistance to half a million people in North Kivu of whom 300,000
are IDPs.
As
from next month, WFP’s food stocks in Goma will be almost exhausted. Given the
long lead times for transportation of commodities to this remote location in
Africa’s interior, the next delivery of food – made possible by a contribution
to WFP of $30 million from the United States – will not be until March or
April.
Most
vulnerable
In
the intervening months, WFP will have no option but limit food assistance to the
most vulnerable beneficiaries in the camps including unaccompanied and orphaned
children, handicapped people, the elderly, the sick and newly arrived displaced
people. It is likely that Faida and her family will not get any more WFP food
assistance in coming months as they do not fit into any of the categories of
extreme vulnerability.
The
fighting between the FARDC (Congolese army) and the M23 rebel group would seem
to have ended with the surrrender of the latter. But, with so many other armed
militias in the eastern DRC, peace remains elusive. For as long as this is the
case, people like Faida and her family will be reluctant to return home and
resume their lives.
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