After the trauma of exile, people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s war-torn east face the agony of displacement.
The brutal clashes between Congolese authorities and the M23 rebels drove Bahati Bashubage from his house.
The 62-year-old man salvaged his sewing machine in the hope of using it to make a living in the area where he would seek refuge. He has set up a workshop in the Kanyaruchinya camp where he is now staying.
” I had to flee with my sewing machine, and it was very difficult to get it here as I am physically disabled. A man helped me, but once here […] the suffering started,” Bahati Bashubage lamented.
The hillside area of Kanyaruchinya that overlooks Goma, is now thronged with displaced people and serried rows of tents.
Staying alive
The cows of Batale Kibombo Joseph are grazing at the camp’s gate.
As diplomatic efforts to de-escalate continue, the 60-year-old merely wishes for peace.
He does his best to slay alive while waiting for the breakthrough.
“I just want peace to return and I hope to return to my village with a cow or two,” he confesses.
“There I will keep them in the pasture and they will drink water, they will eat and survive. Here, cows die every day. If the ones I have left spend another three days here, I will have nothing left at all.”
Thousands of people displaced by the war are trying to make a living in the town located north of the provincial capital Goma. They operate small businesses or raise and sell the cattle they fled with.
“Displaced people arrived here with their cattle from Rugari and Kibumba [Editor’s note: towns] and because of the climate in Kanyaruchinya, some animals have fallen ill and are dying every day”, cattle breeder Jackson Lukoo explains.
“As a result, the displaced people slaughter them, they make kebabs and others eat them without worrying about the illness the animal had.”
The M23 rebels, which Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting, have been occupying Rutshuru region for months, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.
According to the International Organization for Migration, fighting in the province had displaced over 370,000 people as of November 28.
Many displaced people complained of hunger despite aid efforts. Cholera has also spread as a result of poor hygiene.