05/17/2005

The Ituri region of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the site of inter-ethnic violence and militia clashes that have displaced thousands of Congolese civilians. The Ituri base of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo (MONUC) is located in Bunia in the eastern Congo. Following an explosion of violence in Ituri in June 2003, MONUC deployed about 4800 troops to Bunia. Seeking safety from the militias, many people clustered near the MONUC camp in an area close to the Bunia Airport. Aero Camp was at one point home to about 20,000 people. Many of the displaced people are from the town of Bunia itself.
 
While Ituri has remained relatively calm for most of 2004, fighting among six militias in the district began anew in December. MONUC imposed an April 1, 2005 deadline for voluntary disarmament for all militia groups or threatened that they would be disarmed by force.  As a result, 10,000 of the 15,000 militia soldiers active in Ituri have voluntarily joined the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program. As security and peace have begun to arrive in Ituri, 8,500 displaced persons in Aero Camp voluntarily returned home, but many remain. Refugees International visited the Aero camp and interviewed some of the residents there.  

Elizabeth is a mother of four children, ages 4-9, and was living in a outlying community of Bunia. “In the spring [2003] I took my children and fled to the bush. My 6-year-old son was separated from us.  We did not know where he was but a neighbor saw that he was with the militia. A leader [a traditional leader from her community] was able to negotiate with them and then he returned to us.  When MONUC arrived in Bunia, I took my children and we left the forest and ran to the field near the soldiers’ compound seeking their protection.  We have been here for almost two years.  I used to buy vegetables and trade them for other goods before but now it is unsafe to go the countryside and buy vegetables. I send my two daughters to buy vegetables in the city and sell them in the camp.”
 
When we asked her why she hasn’t returned home, she explained to us, “I used to rent a home for my family outside of Bunia. I can no longer afford to pay the rent or pay for school fees for my children.  In fact, only one of my children goes to school because I can only afford to send one. It costs about US$ 1 per semester. My eldest son goes to a school in the camp, but it costs less at this school than where I lived before. I am not ready to go home. The National Army is still fighting the militias. Return is voluntary, everyone makes up their own mind when it is safe to go home. I will not return yet. ”

Like Elizabeth, others in the Aero camp do not want to return. For some, the conditions in the camp are better than back home. Others stay because they don’t know where to return, and have experienced multiple displacements. The increase in activity by the hardliners that have refused to disarm also worries the people of Ituri. A humanitarian agency in Ituri explained the conundrum that faces Ituri. “Most of Ituri’s population will go home once it is safe. However, some will not because there is nothing in their communities. Roads, schools and health centers need rehabilitation. [Because of the ongoing insecurity] donors are reluctant to invest in infrastructure that might be destroyed again in three months.”