Congo’s Uvira residents state their greatest fears

Over the past two years, the Kivus and Ituri regions have witnessed increased violence due to a military campaign by the M23, a rebel group backed by Rwanda, according to the UN and other observers.

This year, the M23 embarked on an aggressive territory capture campaign that saw them control Goma and Bukavu, the most important cities in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces respectively. Some 120km from Bukavu in Uvira, panic-stricken residents shared their fears with The EastAfrican. 

Micheline: My biggest fear is rape

Micheline Mauwa, 47, is no stranger to conflict, having been a victim of the displacement by the 1996 war. 

“Growing up everything was well until 1996, when I first started seeing conflict. When things got very bad, we had to leave our home in Uvira and move to Ubangi district. We were refugees there for five months before coming back home. I came back and managed to continue with my education. However, things have never been the same since then,” she says.

With the recent conflict, Micheline is gripped by fear. 

“What is happening to our people is disheartening. People are being raped, some are losing their jobs, many are hungry and many are being killed ruthlessly,” she says adding that the capture of Goma has cut off food supplies to their city.

 “Hawkers brought beans and salted fish from Goma. However, since the capture, there is no more food coming in from Goma. Now we have to make do with what we have here and, even then, everything is so expensive. Food prices, especially for beans, wheat, rice, oil and peas, have risen by 25-50 percent,” says the woman who is an economist and a trainer at the Women for Women International, a nonprofit.

She says that her biggest fear is rape. 

“Here, rape is very common, especially with the ongoing war. Rape is used as a weapon. When the rebels arrive at a place, rape is the first thing on their mind. If you refuse, they kill you,” the mother of four says. 

Now she worries for her two daughters.

“I am stocking up food and water for my family for at least two months in case things get bad,” she says.

“I am happy to get the opportunity to speak about the plight in Congo. We need people who can listen to us and raise awareness about what is happening in our country. We need people to come in and help in finding the solution to these challenges. You see, the problem is that Congo has so much wealth and everyone wants a share of it. This is what is causing the conflict. We need our country’s leaders to find solutions.”

Buloze: I live in constant worry

For Buloze Musengenya, 20, the ongoing conflict is her first real encounter with war. 

“Right now, we have no peace. We are in constant worry, especially when we hear about what is happening to our people in Goma. Families are being broken up as wives are left widows and children are left as orphans.”

Born and raised in Uvira, Buloze says that it is disheartening that she cannot walk freely in the place that she has always known as home.

“I have to be indoors most of the time and if I leave, I need to be back in the house before 5pm.”  

Buloze says that she has also been stocking up food to make sure that she and her husband can survive in case the fighting reaches her city.

Buloze complete secondary education but her parents were unable to raise the money to take her to the university so she got married.

Sandra: Unrest has made it difficult to secure jobs

Sandra Namana, 32, attained a diploma in Social Technique, Sandra thought that she would secure a job and manage to uplift her living standards and that of her family. But she says that in Congo, securing a job even with an education is a challenge. 

“With the uncertainty in the country, many people are apprehensive about setting up businesses, let alone hiring people. Then it is also difficult to secure a job in the area that you have studied,” she said, noting that the current war will only serve to worsen things in the country.

 “Before the conflict began, I would get up at 4am to fetch water then start the day’s activities. But, right now, we cannot leave the house until it is light outside. Then the men are required to be back homes by 6pm for the sake of their safety,” she explained. 

Sandra’s main worry is that people are losing their lives unnecessarily in this war. 

“I worry for my brother who is in Goma, the city hardest hit by the conflict. When the war started, we couldn’t reach him for two weeks, I was so worried. When we finally got to speak to him, he told us that he didn’t have access to internet. Now, there is no transport to this place and he cannot come home,” she said.

Pacifique: Men are being forced to choose a side

When Pacifique Mugaruka left his family in December after the Christmas festivities, nothing prepared him for the war that erupted while he was over 350km away from his family.

Pacifique works with Women for Women International in Uvira while his wife and children live in Goma. With no means to get home, his only touch with his family is through phone calls,  when he can access the internet.

“I have three Sim cards -- Orange, Airtel and Vodacom. When one lacks connectivity, I switch to the other one until I am able to make a call to my wife, who works as a midwife in Goma. When I speak with her, she tells me that she is at the forefront seeing the reality of the war in the country. What I am seeing on the internet is what she is seeing in real life. My children have had to pause their studies,” he said.

He is grateful that his family is safe.  Since the war started, Pacifique says that he has had to adjust his working hours. “Before leaving the house you must find out if there is conflict near your place. We also have to leave the office early. I am worried about the bitterness that is slowly building up in the community. Even here we have those supporting the government and those supporting the rebels.” 

Pacifique knows very well the cost of war, having lost family members in the 1996 war.

He worries about the forcible conscription of men to fight and the senseless killings. 

“Men are   now being forced to join either side and fight. You either join the rebels or the army. Either way, you risk getting killed,” he said.