Nyiragongo: the long road to survival of Goma refugees

It is almost noon. Florence, accompanied by other women, picks some leaves in a bean field in Virunga National Park. “These leaves are all we’re going to eat,” she said. Florence is a survivor. On May 22, unexpectedly, the Nyiragongo volcano, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), erupted. The lava flows caused an exodus of the Congolese population. “The day it started, we went to Sake,” explains Florence. “God helped us and we were able to go home. On the way back, we were told it was very dangerous to stay in Goma as another eruption loomed. We decided to leave, because we were afraid. Suddenly, we came here Thursday on foot with the children, ”she continues.

Water and electricity shortage, threat of volcanic ash

Here, it is Kibumba, a locality located on the road to Rutshuru, not far from the volcano, just a few hundred meters from the place where the Italian ambassador to the Congo, Luca Attanasio was assassinated last February with two members of his team.

Florence took refuge in the Nyiragongo Youth Center. A center that is neither supplied with water nor electricity. It is there that she cooks her food on an improvised hearth with charcoal. “I just put a little palm oil with it and that’s it. There is no water, ”she said, pointing to the leaves covered in volcanic ash. “We cook them as they are, without washing them,” she continues. Problem: volcanic ash is toxic.

In fact, eating fruits and vegetables without washing them properly after a rash can have particularly bad health effects, but Florence doesn’t care. “I am not afraid of illnesses. I have nothing to eat. We’ve been here for four days and it’s the only food available, ”she says.

Cholera threatens but the response is getting organized despite an environment full of deficiencies

But it’s not just volcanic ash that is to be feared. With this lack of drinking water, cholera threatens. Samuel, an agent of Unicef, is concerned: “This area was before the eruption a geographical area of ​​transmission of the disease. This concentration of people and the successive movements of the population increase the risk of the disease spreading. Highly transmissible, this disease is caught by contact with contaminated water and generates high intensity diarrhea. According to the WHO, cholera can be fatal within hours if left untreated.

In Saké, where more than 56,000 people have sought refuge after the order to evacuate the city of Goma, the response is being organized. “In Saké, drinking water is lacking. We brought in around 30 tanks. With the Red Cross, we are currently installing chlorinated water points in various places in the city. We distribute plastic sheeting, buckets and also chlorine to the population, ”we explain. In addition to the distributions, at the health center of Saké, doctors are on the bridge to detect the disease. “Between May 27 and 29, twelve suspected cases of cholera, including nine children, were reported in the Sake health center,” reports Unicef.

But in Kibumba, there are neither doctors nor aid workers. Floribert, the guardian of the Nyiragongo youth center, is alone to deal with the influx of refugees. He says: “When I heard that the governor of the province had ordered the evacuation of Goma, I immediately opened the center. There are more than a hundred people who came to shelter here, but we did not receive help from anyone. ”

The center is located in a remote corner of Virunga Park. It is surrounded by fields and a few pastures, a green, almost idyllic landscape with, in the background, the volcano which emerges in the mist. The refugees spend the day in these pastures, the children play there while the parents look for water and food.

Difficult to stock up lack of money

“Usually, to get supplies in the center, we use the rainwater that is stored here in this reservoir,” explains Floribert, pointing to a stone tower of about 1.80 m. “But,” he continues, “with the influx of refugees, our stock was very quickly reduced and now it is empty. It is not raining. There is nothing left to drink and no more toilets. “And to add:” To provide themselves with water, some refugees buy water jerry cans on the road a few hundred meters away. But with the eruption, the demand became more and more important and the prices increased. “Before, I used to pay 500 Congolese francs for a jerry can, today you need 1,500 Congolese francs,” explains Nyota, a refugee. For now, she can afford to pay, but not everyone.

When the eruption happened, in the rush, many did not take much money. This is the case with Fatuma. This young mother of a family just had time to catch her children before the lava flow reduced her house to ashes. Today she has nothing left. The situation pisses her off. “I have children, the youngest is not even a year old and has diarrhea, but no one is helping us. We are exposed to disease. I haven’t even washed since I arrived. How could we wash ourselves when there is no water to prepare food, ”she said angrily. In this chaos, a glimmer of hope is there, crystallized in the solidarity shown by the families in the center. While waiting for the State or humanitarian workers to come to their aid, they are part of a logic of sharing despite the anguish that grips them. Among the reasons for hope, this reality which means that more than 700 children have been able to find their families. As a reminder, with the panic of the eruption, more than 1,300 families had been separated leading to the establishment of a system including rounds, reception centers and electronic bracelets.