Summery of the situation of IDP Children and women in Camps around Goma the Democratic Republic of Congo
MONITORING AND ADVOCACY FOR IDP CHILDREN IN CAMPS
Our team in Lushagala IDP Camp preparing children for different games, prayers and songs
DIRE SITUATION OF THE IDP CHILDREN VICTIMS OF THE WAR IN VARIOUS CAMPS AROUND GOMA, NORTH KIVU THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Basing on our observations, we came across many children in internally displaced camps who are living in dire conditions especially the lack of food, clothes, shelter, education, health care, recreative activities, security and protection among others. Currently four Territories in North Kivu are occupied by the rebels supported by Rwanda out of seven territories on North Kivu, this has pushed out 40% of the entire population in IDPs Camps in some places which are believed. With the control of Masisi, Nyiragongo, Masisi and Lubero by M23 rebels, the United Nations estimate around 4million people now in IDP Camps among them 78% are children and women.
Copying mechanism
As some children health is deteriorating in camps and only waiting for their fate, others are visible all over the streets in Goma and in other places begging for help, including women who keep on knocking on different homes in Goma during the day. The fate of these people always depend on the good will and the ability of those who are being asked, in this let us also point out that 70% of the entire population in Goma is composed of people who have a history of displacement in their lives and many have never benefited from any integration.
In terms of distances from the camps to Goma these IDPs children and women are walking from 5 to 10 Km per day and on top of that they are subjected to insecurity from the security services who sometimes come and take whatever they have managed to get, these children are also victim of abuses where they beg from, women are victims of sexual abuses, and their safety is not guaranteed on the roadside, regularly some are victims of accidents.
These IDP children are also facing the risks of being kidnapped and being recruited into armed groups which are fighting in North Kivu.
The following are viewed as the problems faced by IDP Children
- Hassle
- Harm
- Degrading treatment
- Challenges to move
- Hunger
Let us break down in a brief details about these situations so that you may understand better.
- Hassle
In most cases where they do to beg, these children are victims of abuses some times they are beaten, face unkind words by people, discriminated and stigmatized by people of bad intentions in the host communities. Some times people use force to take away all what these children had managed to get during the whole day, they beat them and subject them to inhuman treatment.
- Harm
Generally children who are used to different movements happen to occur wounds either as the result of beating, knocked by a car, or enjured during the phase of playing, and generally children are first victims of bombs which were deposited somewhere
- Inhuman treatment
In the process IDP children may face street children who confront them and fight them, as also some parts of Goma are affected by Gaz which has claimed the lives of many IDPs generally children who are not informed. On the streets we have observed now hostilities between street children and IDP children over available opportunities in order to survive and in some cases the fighting has claimed the lives of some.
- Hunger
IDP children now pass the whole day without eating, we have obseved cases of IDP children and women collapsing on roadside because of hunger, and as they beg their first thing they ask for is food to eat, and when you look at them you realize that they are weak due to hunger. In some places we have observed cases of stealing food and again if they are caught they are severely beaten.
- TRANSPORT
After passing the whole day in town begging still in the evening these children have to go back home they do not have transport and even if they could have it, still transport may not be their first priority, but still in the evening the operators of Public Transport do increase the fare pf the transport and on top of that people are so many struggling to get a bus which reduce the chance for the IDP children to get where to sit in a Bus. Generally these children often reach home too late towards 8pm yet there is insecurity in town.
Advocacy
As a human rights organization we have put various interventions in place which we believe should help to improve the situation of these children and women.
We are putting a particular attention on efforts to end this war so that people can go back, but at the same we are warning our audience that IDPs going back to their village will not take away the situation of poverty in which they have been living over the years, so we need also to work on poverty reduction and put in place development activities. We continue observing the total absence of the Government and at the same times we have observed that humanitarian organizations are not in position to solve the challenges.
We also put in place two projects: The first one focuses on Solidarity and Pacific Cohabitation between IDPs and host communities, and the second project is to mobilize well-wishers to help these children.
Here are some urgent interventions that are needed on top of what we are doing.
- The need for these children to be psychological and social support in order to reduce their plight,
- The need to provide them with food and other urgent basic needs and come up with education activities which may occupy them,
- The need to promote children rights particularly for these children in IDP Camps and put on attention on human rights approach,
- The need to mobilize more actors at local, national, continental and international levels to come and help these children in need,
Goma, this 10/07/2024
The coordination of COJESKI North Kivu
