The sounds of hammering and the clattering of corrugated metal roofs resonated throughout Goma\u2019s Bulengo camp for internally displaced persons on Tuesday as residents began taking apart the shelters they had occupied for years.<\/p>\n
They reported that M23 rebels, allegedly supported by Rwanda, passed through the camp on Saturday and ordered them to leave within three days.<\/p>\n
Just weeks prior, M23 had seized control of Goma, a key city in eastern Congo that has long been a haven for those escaping ongoing violence.<\/p>\n
Camps in and around Goma housed hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, many of whom have fled conflict multiple times throughout their lives.<\/p>\n
Sibomana Safari, a former resident of the Bulengo camp, walked through the area, burdened by the weight of his belongings on his back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure how we will survive. I have children, and it\u2019s shocking to be told to leave with nothing to provide for them,\u201d\u00a0he expressed.<\/p>\n
After taking over Goma, M23 leaders announced plans to reopen schools and restore the disrupted water supply.<\/p>\n
As bodies from the fighting accumulated in the streets, with Red Cross workers struggling to manage the situation, residents were instructed to resume their normal activities.<\/p>\n
However, the future for those already in a vulnerable position remained uncertain.<\/p>\n
Prior to the M23 takeover of Goma, the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu already hosted over 4 million displaced individuals.<\/p>\n
Vincent Bauma, who lived in Goma\u2019s Lushagala camp, took down his modest shelter with just a hammer on Tuesday morning while other residents watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorities have told us to tear down our small homes and return, but we have no idea how we will get back. There is still no peace,\u201d\u00a0he stated.<\/p>\n
Oonagh Curry, an emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Goma, expressed concern over the rapid movement of people leaving the camps and questioned where they would go.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is crucial to remember that a sudden population shift can worsen the ongoing humanitarian crisis,\u201d\u00a0she stated.<\/p>\n
Kwimana Sifa appeared worn out as she dismantled her shelter bit by bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur homes have been obliterated by bombs, and we have no place to turn,\u201d\u00a0she expressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s preferable to leave us here. Even though we lack food, at least we have some shelter,\u201d\u00a0Sifa continued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sounds of hammering and the clattering of corrugated metal roofs resonated throughout Goma\u2019s Bulengo camp for internally displaced persons on Tuesday as residents began taking apart the shelters they had occupied for years. They reported that M23 rebels, allegedly supported by Rwanda, passed through the camp on Saturday and ordered them to leave within […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","source_name":"AP","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,29,2362,1129],"tags":[3778,1468,1621],"class_list":["post-15244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-central-africa","category-east-africa","category-featured","category-security","tag-bulengo-camp","tag-goma","tag-m23-rebels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}