The wave of violence that has hit the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not stopped: in the Kivu province, the total number of evacuees has reached 857 thousand. It was stated today by the UN. In 2008, despite the ceasefire reached in January between the Congolese government and the rebel militias, over half a million people have lost everything, including thousands of children. “This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most evacuees who now live in the four camps nearest to Goma, the capital of north Kivu, had to leave their homes just at the beginning of the year", says Patrick Lavand’Homme, head of the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (Ocha) in Goma. “I came here with another 16 thousand people", said Jeanine Maombi, a young mother who, because of the conflict, has lost track of her two children. “We escaped when the fight against the Masisi people spiralled out of control, eight months ago, and now I am forced to live with my five children in a small tent in this camp”, said Savina Tumaini. Many families who have been separated by the internal conflict are afraid of going back to their villages. The NGOs and UN agencies have taken measures to help family reunions by mapping the evacuees who live in the camps.
