Episcopal Press and News
Congo faces humanitarian crisis as rebel activity escalates; ERD responds
Episcopal News Service. November 1, 2008 [110108-01]
Matthew Davies
Hostilities between rebel forces and the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are causing widespread chaos and bloodshed in the country's North Kivu province where many relief agencies and aid workers have been removed for security reasons.
Episcopal Relief and Development is sending $10,000 emergency assistance to the Diocese of Bukavu to provide basic needs to the traumatized community amid fears of an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
France's foreign minister said on November 1 that the European Union is ready to send humanitarian aid but is still unsure whether it will send troops.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR reported October 31 that the rebel army of General Laurent Nkunda is forcibly emptying, looting and burning refugee camps on the outskirts of Goma.
Thousands of people have been displaced by the recent violence, with many living in schools and churches, said Bishop Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestre of the Diocese of Bukavu, who made an October 24-30 pastoral visit to Goma to "comfort the people" and conduct ordinations and confirmations.
"These are people living in hardship and exposed to hunger, illness and death," he said.
An October 26 confirmation service went ahead as planned but the ordinations were cancelled after the candidates failed to reach Goma due to instability in the region, the bishop said.
The Geneva-based ACT International (Action by Churches Together) said in a statement on October 30 that it had received accounts from aid workers of looted shops and dead bodies on the pavements in Goma.
The political situation remains uncertain in the Congo since former Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga resigned on October 10 and was succeeded by Adolphe Muzito of the Unified Lumumbist Party.
Rebel leader Nkunda reportedly says he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels. "The Congolese government has often promised to stop Hutu forces from using its territory, but has not done so," the BBC reports. "There have also been accusations of collusion between Congo's army and Hutu guerrillas. The Congolese government, for its part, has accused Rwanda of backing Nkunda."
Acknowledging the insecurity in the East of the country and the general economic crisis as "the hottest spots of the problems," Bishop Henri Isingoma of Boga said that the country is watching to see if the new government can "mobilize itself for the fight against corruption" and forge good relationships with neighboring countries.
Isingoma said the priority for the Anglican Church is to serve those who have been displaced by the instability, but he noted that many people are reluctant to return to their villages for fear that the hostilities will resume "since dialogue with the rebels is not promising as long as they still hold their weapons and continue to keep their positions."
Even when the victims return to their homes, many of them find that they've lost all their possessions, Isingoma said.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on October 30 appealed for an end to the fighting. "Unfortunately, the situation in Goma is worrisome," he said. "There were some attacks even against the United Nations mission by civilian people."
Ecumenical News International reported October 31 that Christian organization World Vision had evacuated its office in Goma into neighboring Rwanda due to "rapidly deteriorating security conditions."
World Vision said it is calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities by all parties and for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to enable access by aid workers to those in need, ENI reported. "Given that many humanitarian workers have now been forced to relocate or evacuate, the international community, led by the U.N., [should] immediately develop a plan to address the current humanitarian crisis resulting from the latest displacements, in addition to the ongoing humanitarian needs," a statement from World Vision said.
The recent instability comes just weeks after an increase in rebel activity left Isingoma and 150 Anglicans stranded in Boga following their diocesan synod and forced them to travel for two days through the bush until they arrived safely in Bunia.
In early October, ERD sent $12,000 of emergency assistance to help more than 200 displaced people from the Anglican Church in the north-east region of the Congo.
The Anglican presence in the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, was established by Ugandan evangelist Apolo Kivebulaya in 1896. Following independence in 1960, the church expanded and formed dioceses as part of the Province of Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Boa-Zaire. The new province was inaugurated in 1992 and changed its name in 1997.
Today, a lack of resources in the Congo prevents the Anglican province from being financially independent and self-supporting, and many of the church's clergy and bishops survive without a salary.