Possible embezzlement of IDPs Relief Aid in Goma: Finally the Governor comes out
In June the Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister visited Goma and left relief aid to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), however since she left, the relief aid disappeared and no one talked about it anymore, IDPs waited for the aid to be distributed but in vain, they came and reported to our offices, we moved on ground to find out what happened, information indicated that it hide somewhere. What we saw was some few things of what was said the remaining of the aid, however the store in which it was kept was not appropriate and it was not in that place where it should have been kept.
The Governor on North Kivu, Peter Chirimwami
Finally on Thursday August 8th, 2024 the Governor of North Kivu, Peter Chirimwami mobilized the representatives of IDPs and showed them the relief aid which he said will be distributed soon, he said his office delayed to distribute the aid but he did not give reasons for the delay as he claimed that the aid was not diverted as some people claim, However up to now people have not yet received the aid. We are so happy that because of our activism this aid comes back and it is being talked about, two months later when it was given.
We are working hard towards the transparency on the relief aid coming to North Kivu, however generally the United Nations Agencies, and the Donor Communities (USA, Canada, and the European Union) among others are not giving out necessary information in order to follow up how the relief aid is used, and no one is willing to give information to the public how the relief is used. We hope that they should change and embrace transparency.
The fate of IDP Children around Goma, watch this clip here
Engaging the Board of Directors to support the move to change our advocacy approaches towards Internally Displaced Persons in NorthKivu, the Democratic Republic of Congo
Porridge distribution to IDP Children in Lushagala Camp on Sunday June 30th 2024
On Thursday July 4th, 2024 I the Coordinator appeared before the Board of Directors to defend the current approach of the organization towards IDPs and to respond to questions from Board members on various issues they were not updated.
On top of pushing for the end of war so that IDPs can go back to their villages which still one among the priorities which we have, there is need to focus on the current situations which affect both IDPs and the host communities, these include the security of IDPs in Camps, the relief aid, transparency in the current aid relief and participation of IDPs in decision making are part of our new approaches.
However questions remain
We are now giving food to people in camps, could this make the organization appear like a humanitarian relief aid? What is the impact of such activity? How long can we do it? How many people can we offer food, and how many times can we do it in a month? How do we get this food?
Can this approach take away our efforts to focus on peace and the responsibility of the government to provide security to each person?
Among all these questions and many others more, the Coordinator Mr. Kulihoshi Pecos eloquently engaged the Board and convinced on the following details.
First of all thanks for these concerns which I believe are positive and aim at understanding better the situation and to ensure the organization keeps the truck on various issues.
Children already waiting for the Porridge in Lushagala
As organization, we should be in the middle of people, and at the center of people preocupations and this is exactly what we are doing. North Kivu has more than 5million IDPs currently among them more than 3million are just near Goma here which is believed to be safe, some have been displaced at least five times for the last 10 years and this has affected them severely in terms of economic stability. Over the years like the way you can also see it here, most of the interventions are based on relief aid in terms of food and other basic needs, this creates more dependency of people, some among these IDPs have been here for the last three years now, and are still depending on relief aid agencies, we need to advocate for livelihood activities and this may be also another battle. There is a close relationship between the life in camp and vulnerability when people were still in their villages, most of those who were economically poor in their villages are the ones living in camps in dire conditions, so here the main issue is not necessary about the quantity of relief aid but the quality of the aid which may help people to be economically independent from the relief aid. Even if these people go back today, they will still be confronted to the issue of poverty in their villages, the only difference is that in their villages they will suffer alone and we shall not see them languishing in poverty and destitution and those who will die we shall not be blamed. The issue here is about poverty, we need to advocate for the change of approaches.
Camps have already people who are extremely vulnerable and who may only depend on relief aid, this is the category of people we are supporting. Our intention is not necessary to end their hunger but also to ensure that once we are there on that particular day they can have something to eat, we want to help them not to die of hunger today but may be die of it tomorrow and we hope what we are doing may inspire other people in order to come in, the few we are supporting are just a drop of water in the Ocean, however you may be surprised that those we have helped also share with others what we have provided, and life goes on.
So in brief this is how we are going to support IDPs will focus on: Relief Aid to most vulnerable, Advocacy for Economic support and livelihood activities, security to IDPs in Camps, transparency in the whole humanitarian actions and peace so that IDPs may go back to their villages, the challenge is only one which we have and it is the lack funding.
On Sunday June 30th, 2024 we moved to Lushagala IDP Camp in Goma for the following activities
Chilren getting instructions from the volunteers before they were given porridge
Speech during the Religious Concert to support Internally Displaced Persons in Goma, North Kivu the Democratic Republic of Congo who are facing the current humanitarian crisis caused by the war: IPDs need justice but not acts of mercy out of good will.Find the full statement here “Our speech during the concert in Bulengo Goma
STORYPIC_during the religious concert in Bulengo IDP Camp
The current war of M23 rebels backed by Rwanda has pushed over 7 million people in Internally Displaced Camps, Goma which is considered as safe hosts more than 3miliions IDPs, however this town has been cut off its main roads for agricultural provisions supply, the poor are feeling the pinch of the situation.
We are engaged in various actions of advocacy towards the end of the war so that people can go back to their villages, however it should be the lasting solution and not temporal as it has been before over the years, we are aware that for the last 30 years people have been in displacement and that should end now. We are also involved in reducing poverty which we believe is connected to this vulnerability and destitution in IDPs Camps, those who were already vulnerable and living in misery in their villages are the most affected in camps currently. So for us it is not only for you to go back but also to reduce poverty in your villages so that you may live a dignified life.
Our presence here is to be with you and send a clear message that in your current plight you are not alone, for us to be here it has taken us now 6 months thinking about what we should do, we are still yes a minority of people thinking how best we can also bring our part of contribution in order to improve your lives. Our presence may not be to solve the problems you are facing but rather to show the world how you are abandoned, ignored and not taken care of just because you were born in a village which has minerals, just because your house was built on minerals, we are here to tell the world that there is a humanitarian crisis here and efforts should be done now for solutions. It is not only about hunger, diseases, psychological problems, shelter, education, income generating activity which are the issues you are struggling with but also insecurity in camps caused sometimes by the very people who are supposed to protect and offer you security, sometimes this is done in total impunity, and this continues despite the assurance from the Provincial Authorities to remove all armed people in IDP Camps. We hope that with these activities the DRC Government may become more active to ensure that you may live here in peace before you go back to your villages, our presence is to tell you that we are concerned.
We are also coming here to amplify your murmuring about the embezzlement of the existing relief aid by the very people who are supposed to ensure you get it and this is done in total impunity, the opacity in which the existing aid is handled, in which you are denied information, excluded in the decision making and your voice does not count. We are fully frustrated like you to observe that a handful people beneficiary of this very relief aid live in abundance with a lot to waste just because they handle the aid while you are living in destitution with a lot to want just because you are not in contact with donors.
Aide to you should be an act of justice and not a mere humanitarian gesture, or act of charity out goodwill, and efforts should be done to ensure that even your misery is not exploited to make some people rich while you sink into destitution as we are observe it. At the end of the month you get 10kg of food while local aid workers get hundreds of dollars, international aid workers get thousands of dollars every month, and a vehicle for a humanitarian organization has a better fixed budget than a human being in this camp.
Our presence here today is to denounce the indifference of more than 100 million Congolese composed of 85% of Christians who have not paid attention to your problems, and who have betrayed the message of Christ the Social, we are frustrated like you that very few religious leaders talk about your situation during their sermons. We are here express your feeling when you see your leaders enjoying life in expensive hotels, going to holidays, being treated in Europe when they are sick, sending their children to study outside the country yet you the voters who put them into power are living in destitution and despair. Like you we are wondering when this end will. The leaders who are supposed to give us solutions continue telling us to be patient, could those who preach about patience come and live here for a while and then tell us how long they can endure this life.
Our presence here today is to amplify your frustration towards your fellow Congolese who at this particular moment when we are here, for them they are enjoying life, we are here to express that pain you feel when you see other Congolese posting pictures on social media enjoying life yet you have nothing to eat in the evening, we are here to express that feeling and anger you carry when you move in the streets of Goma in the evening and see others drinking and eating nice food while you have not yet eaten since morning and you are not sure if you will eat in the evening.
Only solidarity with you will end this, we stand in solidarity with.
Thanks
Kulihoshi Musikami Pecos
Human Rights Defender, Specialized in Refugee Rights in the Great Lakes Region,
Coordinator of COJESKI North Kivu
Tel: +243853191163, Email: cojeskinordkivu@gmail.com
Internally Displaced Persons Crisis around Goma and in North Kivu
Goma is the Provincial Capital City of North Kivu, with a population estimated to be around 2million, the city currently also hosts more than 3millions Internally Displaced Persons and more than 100,000 refugees. The city’s population is composed of more than 70% people who have a history of forced displacement either by the war or by the Nyiragongo Volcano and each time a person runs away when he/she comes back, needs to start life a fresh.
What are the major problems affecting people in Goma and IDPs
The very first problem is access to food: Goma highly depended on agricultural products but most of people who produced food are now living in camps as IDPs, and the few who remained are being imposed restrictions by the M23 rebels in areas which they control which have reduce access to food more difficult in Goma,
Shelter: This is a big problem affecting IDPs in Camps, most of their temporal shelters could not resist to winds, rain and sunshine, they are all destroyed forcing people to stay outside,
Water: With such a big number of people a lot pressure was put on existing water suppliers and this has caused a big demand which is difficult to meet,
Security: In many IDPS camps there are various forms of security threats perpetrated by armed groups
Medical treatment: Accessing medical treatment when people are already too poor becomes a challenge, not only that they may not access to information, but also do not have money in order to access treatment.
Poverty: People who were already poor and lived on their daily bread collected from the gardens were forced to flee their villages and now are in IDP Camps with nothing, on top of that the relief aid workers focused of food to some people but not all and did not put in place resilience activities.
We are involved in various activities towards IDPs around Goma and elsewhere in North Kivu the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Report on our field visit in the Internally Displaced Persons around Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to find out what are the issues and challenges they are facing. This brief report depicts mismatch between reports from Relief Aid Agencies and the real realities of people in camps.
The site of IDPs in Rusayu One in Nyiragongo around Goma
Report of our field visit in Rusayu One Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps in Nyiragongo North Kivu the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This IDP wondering the remain of his things when his house was destroyed in order to get some money which will help him to build another house
Date: Tuesday September 12th, 2023
Team: Two people from COJESKI under the Project of Global Refugee Leaders Forum visited the camp,
Time: 9 am – 4pm
Objectives
To collect information on those who do not access relief aid yet and share it with humanitarian organizations,
To understand why some of the relief aid material and items are found being sold in markets here in Goma,
To collect information on emerging issues,
To monitor the progress of 10 women who were supported in order to do income generating activities,
As usual our field work was dictated by two events: The first is the complaint from people who come to our offices that they have stayed in camps for long without getting assistance, and the second was about destruction of the houses of some IDPs in Rusayu One by CNR on Monday September 11th, 2023.
Items of Aid Relief being sold in Goma
A number of relief aid items are found in public markets in Goma and even sold on the roadside in many places. We visited some shops and pretended as if we want to buy Taplin’s which are used as shelter for IDPs and the owners of the shops assured that they have enough in stores and they can give us the quantity we want up to 100 even. On top of that most the houses under construction in Goma are often covered by these plastic sheets either from UNHCR or from IOM, we also visited private houses of people especially those constructed with timber and found these plastic sheets inside of almost each house. This UNHCR kit for refugees has been on the market for the last few months here in Goma.
IDPs we spoke to in Rusayu One Camp indicated that exactly some people do sell off their items but this is in small number and could not make these items visible in Goma and available everywhere at every time. Because after all IDPs do not get them every day, they also indicated that some items are sold by those in charge of the camp, various stories which we did not have time to monitor were advanced on how the items are sold. What is evident is that there are items which are in big number in the public market in Goma which may need serious investigations.
Demolition of houses for IDPs by CNR
In one second this is what remains for her in Rusayu One IDP Camp
On Monday September 11th, 2023 the Government Body the National Commissioner for Refugees known as CNR that is in charge of land in camps demolished houses of some IDPs in Rusayu One Camp, the operation started at around 10am and people were forced to leave. We visited the area and noticed that most of the demolished houses where constructed on the road reserve, and this spark the first question where was CNR when people put their houses there. Most of those affected have not yet received relief aid and this put in state of vulnerability then after making all possible efforts to get where they put their head, CNR came and destroyed it, without even supporting people with necessary equipment to build another shelter.
Until now those affected are still without humanitarian relief aid in Rusayu One. On Tuesday then AIDES hold a meeting with the victims but nothing was proposed in order to help the victims. We are concerned by the inhuman character in which the demolition was done, why was it done on hurry, who had interests in that and the allegations of bribery and the traffic of influence in order to favor certain camp leaders in order to embezzle the humanitarian relief aid.
Cases of those without aid relief
In Rusayu One like in other camps such as Bulengo which we visited, have a number of people who have been there since March, April, May and June 2023 who have never received relief aid. Three actors are responsible for the aid relief mainly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). As per now it is not yet clear why food does not reach all the IDPs. We continue with our monitoring to understand better this field in order to come up with an advocacy approach to address the situation.
Domestic Violence in the Camps
Both Rusayu One and Bulengo camps continue to report cases of domestic violence, the main cause is the management of the money given in terms of food ration to IDPs when they reach home. Women do complain that if the man is the head of the family and gets the money he does not come with it at home, either the money spent on alcohol, to other women or just disappear with it and comes back when the money is over.
This leads to fighting at home between the husband and the wife and has caused consequences. The men do complain that if it is the woman who is the head of the family once she gets the money, she hides it very far to the point that the man will not know how it was used and on what, but also that the woman will not give some money to the man to drink alcohol with his friends. This is also leading to fighting at home between the woman and man.
The situation urgent needs awareness on how to manage the money and to ensure it is not a source of violence at home, it also needs to work on issue of justice and other legal services, issues of reconciliation and conflict resolution among others.
Malnourished Children in Rusayu One camp
As you move in the camp you will observed signs of malnourished children in the camps, you do not need to make a research for that. We are working hard to get the real reasons why these malnourished children. But so far people in the camp told us that they do not get help from CARITAS that is in charge of these children.
Access to medical treatment
IDPs indicated that this was the only medicine they are given
In Rusayu One IDPs told us that Medecin Sans Frontier is in charge of medical treatment, however IDPs we spoke to indicated that when they go to the health center they are given Panadol and another tablet which they do not know, that is the only two types of medicine they get regardless of what they are suffering from. They shared with us endless list of people who have died yet they believed if they were well treated they could have lived for long again. We visited others who were sick and who did not opt to go to the Health Center anymore, some were using harbor medicine others were going somewhere else especially those who had some money to pay for medicine somewhere.
HIV/AIDS and sexual exploitation of women,
We observed that there are cases of people involved in commercial sex and it is one among the main activity for women and girls as the main clients are men, we talked to some who informed us that they have no idea about issues around protection, nothing about HIV/AIDs and other sexual transmitted diseases. Some women told us that often time they do not say no and do not refuse whatever money which the man comes with, some do even engage in sex at 500 FC provided that they get something. More work is needed to ensure that sexual activity is regulated, does not involved minors, adults are well paid for their work, and to ensure that sexual activity becomes a right but not the last option in the situation of vulnerability.
Lastly we visited some women we are supporting with cash for livelihood activities
We are currently supporting 10 women in Rusayu One IDP Camp with livelihood activities, each one is doing something of her choice. We found them going on well with their activities, however they indicated that the capital is small comparing to the needs of the population they are serving. These women are much better financially than others and as per now they not more vulnerable, when you reach at their homes you will find that they are different from others, when you look at their physical appearance you notice that they are healthy than others.
The project is moving on well and our intention is to extend it to more other women.
Thanks
Kulihoshi Musikami Pecos
Programmes Manager
