In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the South Kivu province’s capital of Bukavu, is being abandoned to hunger and neglect, amid a humanitarian emergency where violations against children are surging, essential services have collapsed, and the population sees no way out.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Bukavu is being abandoned to neglect and hunger, asserts a missionary from the city who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, reports the pontifical news agency Fides.
Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was taken over by the M23 militia on February 16.
Since then, the city has been in a state of limbo, suspended between the lack of services guaranteed by state institutions that are no longer present and widespread insecurity.
With Bukavu still under the M23’s control, it continues experiencing significant disruptions, essential services paralyzed and banks, schools, and businesses closed.
Not helping matters, agencies report, is that the M23 has imposed new taxes on local businesses, including a 15 per cent levy on coltan mining and, worsening economic hardships, up to 20 per cent on small traders.
Surging violations against children
This humanitarian emergency is leaving the population on the brink.
Recent figures reveal that over 850,000 people have been displaced, nearly half of whom are children, facing limited access to clean water, healthcare, and education.
According to UNICEF, since January, violations against children have surged, with a 150 per cent increase in reported cases.
Grappling with natural disasters, continued conflict, and damaged infrastructure
The region is also grappling with the aftermath of severe flooding that has killed at least 62 people and left 50 missing, reported The Associate Press.
Moreover, the ongoing conflict and damaged infrastructure are impeding efforts to provide aid.
Exacerbating this already dramatic situation, international businesses, due to tax-related disputes with the rebel administration, have suspended operations.
All of this further brings to light the growing instability for foreign entities which operate in the area.
‘Clinging to God’
“In these last weeks of the year,” the missionary had told Fides, “the children who suffer most are those who are expelled from school, as if the trauma they have been suffering for weeks from constant shelling were not enough.”
Decrying that they often are witnesses to violence, the missionary however observes that, “people fill the churches, clinging with all their might to the God they believe in.”
Yet, the individual warns, “from a human perspective, they see no way out.”
