From Saturday 31st of December 2022 to Tuesday January 10th 2023, the Secretary for Missionary Cooperation, Father Jérôme Paluku, stayed in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aim was to promote a socio-cultural centre in the region that will aim to prevent inter-ethnic conflicts through socio-cultural and sports activities. It was an opportunity to get in touch with the complex reality of the region.
A few kilometers from Goma International Airport, on the road leading to the territory of Rutshuru, can be seen small shelters made from tarpaulins. The more you go on, the more numerous these makeshift shelters become. In Kanyarucinya, six kilometers away, the situation is unimaginable: there are macabre scenes that cannot be described. More than 53,000 people, displaced by war, forgotten by everyone and ignored by all, live in makeshift shelters: under tarpaulins, straw shelters or just a mosquito net, exposed to all kinds of bad weather. This situation is due to the war between a terrorist group called M23 (March 23 Movement – supported by the Rwandan army according to numerous UN reports) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), the national army.
Several massacres of civilians have been perpetrated in the region. Also in Mungote, in the town of Kitshanga, in the territory of Masisi, several people who escaped the massacre of Kishishe on November 29 are crammed into makeshift shelters. According to a preliminary UN investigation, at least 131 civilians were executed by the Rwanda-backed M23 that day. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo speaks of 273 people massacred. The group and its allies are also accused of raping, kidnapping and looting civilians. In short, cruelty has reached its peak.
It is in this environment that our Carmelite friars work in the city of Goma. As you can imagine, it is not easy for them to see and experience the horrors of this unspeakable war far from the attention of international leaders. What can we say about all these displaced and forgotten populations? It is not uncommon to hear complaints such as: «If we were Ukrainians, they would have thought of us, they would have sent us weapons to free us from these terrorists».
