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AID WORKER DIARY: Crisis in eastern Congo
Written by: Michel Mungungu
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Here is Michel Mungungu's diary documenting the humanitarian crisis erupting in eastern Congo during the past week. Monday, 27 October Monday being a work day, I was at our office as usual in the centre of Goma. It was 11.20am when we heard the beeping of many motorcycle taxis on the main road, who were shouting in Swahili, "Wame uzisha tena mgini!" Which means, "They've once more sold and betrayed the province." These motorcycle taxis went around town alerting everyone to what was happening on the road between Goma and Rutshuru. They then went towards Goma airport, and 30 minutes later we heard about a dozen gunshots, and there was panic in the town. A few minutes later I went to where the gunshots had come from, it was at the roundabout called Rutshuru on the way to the airport. Motorists had attacked a jeep full of "blue helmets" from MONUC (the U.N. force), and there was panic. To defend themselves, the "blue helmets" had fired their guns to scare the demonstrators. The outcome was that two blue helmets were seriously injured and two civilians were killed (a 14-year-old child and a motorist). A soldier from the government forces, who was trying to calm the crowd, received a stomach wound. After this incident, which lasted three hours, the traffic returned to normal in town but in the evening it was clear that the camp of Rumangabo had been taken by the CNDP. This was broadcast on the radios as well as the fact that the road from Goma to Rutshuru had been inaccessible since Sunday at 5am. Tuesday, 28 October Things were quiet until 2pm, when information began spreading quickly around the city that the army of Laurent Nkunda's CNDP rebels had reached Kibuma, just 35 km from Goma. My colleague and I were worried that Nkunda had advanced into this area for the first time. Most of the shopkeepers began to empty their shops, and this, combined with the presence of the Congolese army and U.N. forces, also served to heighten the panic in the population and confirm the rumours. At 3.30pm, myself and a colleague from MSF France went to Kibati and Kanyaruchinya camps, which are 10 km from Kibumba, where we met a crowd of displaced people without shelter. There were about 20,000 people in a radius of 2 km. When we returned to Goma at about 5pm, we heard the crackling of gunfire. RTNC radio station explained that this was in response to an attempted escape at the Munzenze prison, in which two prisoners were killed and four were injured. Wednesday, 29 October A particularly tense day, especially given the rumours already circulating. We were operating at about one-third capacity until 1.30pm, when one of our microcredit beneficiaries called to ask me to help him find his three children and his wife because everyone was fleeing. On my motorcycle en route to the airport, I passed government forces and MONUC leaving the combat zones to enter the city of Goma, signalling with their hands: "There is nothing else to be none." Behind them, displaced people and the inhabitants of three surrounding villages (Kibati, Kanyaruchinya and Munigi) and two slums on the outskirts of the city (Majengo and Birere) were entering the city of Goma. At 4pm, you could hear repeated gunshots in Goma. Eyewitness reports say that most of the gunshots came from government forces looting telephones, jewellery and money until late into the night. Thursday, 30 October Most of the inhabitants of Goma stayed at home. In the morning, we heard that seven civilians had been killed by the previous night's gunfire (one of them was the night guard of the restaurant next to my house). Three women had been raped, 10 injured and many people traumatised. Only the Congolese military and the military police remained in town. Friday, 31 October The day was calm but worrying as we had little information following the cease fire. I went to see how some displaced people were starting to go home to Birere, Majengo, Munigi, Kanyaruchinya and Kibati. A few tried to go home to Kibumba using motorcycle taxis thinking everything was over. However they were stopped by CNDP soldiers who were posted 5kms from Kibati in the Kilimanyoka plain. In town, only about a quarter of our normal activities could go ahead. We saw the MONUC airplanes ferrying diplomats to a negotiation meeting. Saturday, 1 November Last night and this morning were calmer. We heard on the radio that the police and government soldiers were starting to return certain goods they had stolen earlier. People were reassured by this, even though they haven't recovered half of what they have lost. Most of the people remaining in Goma have seen at least some of their family members flee to Bukavu, Minova or across the border to Gisenye. They are hoping for some diplomatic resolution before deciding on where they should try to make a temporary home. * PIAMF is a partner organisation of AlertNet member ChristianAid, which is appealing for funds to help respond to the Congo crisis.
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