In DR Congo, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, Nyiragongo erupts, and thousands of people are fleeing. More than a hundred children are missing and there is a great danger of a new volcanic eruption.
– We have earthquakes every ten minutes, day and night. The whole hill and the house I am in shakes. From four o’clock last night it was impossible to sleep because the windows shook and things fell to the floor. Most organizations, and even the UN forces, have long since evacuated, says Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
On the run
While everyone who can leaves the volcanic area, Egeland is in place in the country that must be able to be called hell on earth. For a reason:
– We are here to tell the world that DR Congo is the worst, biggest, most neglected and forgotten crisis we have today. Efforts must be made to put an end to injustice, violence and conflict, says Egeland.
EARTHQUAKE: While organizations and people are evacuating due to the volcanic eruption at Goma in northeastern DR Congo, Jan Egeland and the Norwegian Refugee Council are in place. They have had enough of the fact that the world’s attention is not focused on the world’s perhaps worst conflict. Photo: NRC
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DR Congo has over 90 million inhabitants, of which over half are children. One in three suffers from hunger, in addition to around 6,000 people fleeing every single day. Because of hundreds of armed groups, government forces out of control – and now because one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes has erupted violently.
– We get partial attention due to the volcano, but it is a small problem for the population here. So far, around 6,000 to 8,000 people have fled, which is the same number of new people fleeing here every single day, says Egeland and continues:
– So compared to hundreds of local conflicts and the development of the inhabitants, who live in an area that houses the world’s largest mineral resources, the ongoing volcanic eruption means little.
Trillions of dollars
According to Egeland, DR Congo has minerals that have been valued at 27 trillion dollars. Yet one-third of the population lives below the poverty line, struggling to get enough to eat.
WITHOUT DAD: These children are out looking for food and water in the Kishanga camp, which is no longer receiving enough humanitarian aid. – Life is hard. We often go several days without food, says the children’s 26-year-old mother, Noella Furuha, to the Norwegian Refugee Council’s envoy. Photo: NRC
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– I send my two eldest sons out to find vegetables. If they do not find anything, we have nothing to eat. Children are often beaten by farmers when they are out looking. But we must have something to eat, says Noella Furuha to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The mother and children live in a refugee camp where no help has been given for three years.
– We are forgotten and do not own anything, neither a proper place to live, clothes or food. I’m here because I do not know where we’re going, but there is no food here and I do not feel safe, says Noella.
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– Absolutely horrible
The violence and conflicts, especially in the north-eastern part of DR Congo, are enormous and ongoing. Women are raped while out looking for food and clean water. Recently, four employees of NRC were kidnapped.
– In terms of security, it is absolutely absolutely horrible here. Fortunately, our colleagues were released after negotiations. At any given time, there are hundreds of local conflicts and an expansion of the population living in a country with the world’s largest mineral resources. They do not benefit from it at all, says Egeland.
ON THE RUN: The ongoing volcanic eruption causes even more inhabitants of DR Congo to flee. Photo: AFP / NTB
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He is upset that the enormous and ongoing crisis in DR Congo is hardly talked about. UN forces are there, but need to be scaled down.
– It is a basic principle that all people should be helped to meet their needs, regardless of whether they are in an exciting international conflict or crisis, or not. Here, 27 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. We only reach ten million, says Egeland.
Worried
On Wednesday, he was on his way out of Goma and towards the area where the people who have fled from the ongoing volcanic eruption are now. While Dagbladet talks to him, the building shakes due to earthquakes.
– There are earthquakes here every ten minutes, day and night, and there is a great danger of a new, large volcanic eruption, he says.
He himself is “personally calm”, but says he is “worried about Congo”.
– Everything is so dramatic here. I’m now looking at Lake Kivu, which has astronomical amounts of methane gas at the bottom. If the gases are released, people in the entire area around the sea will die in the evening, he says, and gets ready to meet some of those who have fled due to the volcanic eruption.
– They are somewhere between six to eight thousand people who have fled from the villages that have now been swallowed by the volcano. In other words, the same number as those who on average flee every single day in DR Congo. The volcano is not the biggest problem here, says Egeland and adds:
– People must open their eyes to Congo.
Facts The forgotten crises
- Every year, NRC makes an overview of the ten conflicts in the world that they believe the world community has forgotten.
- Eight of the top ten countries are African, while two are in South America.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Burundi, Venezuela, Honduras, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Mali.
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Facts The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)
- 92 million inhabitants.
- Five million are on the run internally in the country, while one million
- One in three suffers from hunger
- Half of the inhabitants are under 17 years of age.
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HUNDREDS MISSED: According to Unicef, more than a hundred children have strayed from their parents and missed the volcanic eruption this weekend. Several eruptions from Nyiragongo, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, are also feared. Photo: EPA / NTB
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DANGEROUS VOLCANO: Mount Nyiragongo with its volcano is one of the most dangerous in the world. In 2002, more than 150 people died from the eruption. Now it’s up and running again. Over a hundred children are missing. Photo: Reuters / NTB
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