Goma: A Dangerous and Much Misunderstood Mess

As the 1994 genocide unfolded in Rwanda, few reporters actually traveled in the country. When the major influx of Rwandan refugees into Zaire (Congo) occurred, many more reporters were sent in to cover that. This discrepancy in the amount of coverage and the attention paid by news media led many audiences outside of Africa to actually perceive of the refugees, mainly Hutu and largely controlled by the extremists responsible for the genocide, as the main victims of what had happened in Rwanda. This embittered most of us who reported mainly on the actual genocide. As the problems created in the refugee camps became more critical, I focused more attention on them and in October and November 1994 I went to Goma (where colleagues had covered the refugee story while I was in Rwanda). Among my stories was this one about some refugees I met along the road north of the city.

Weariness is etched into the eyes of 56-year-old Savelin Mukanyangezi as she and members of her family of 10 briefly interrupt their slow trek toward the Katale refugee camp north of Goma. She has been walking for hours, a few meagre possessions packed in a bundle balanced on her head. She says it is painful to be on the move once again.

Ms. Mukanyangezi, a member of the Hutu ethnic group, was first uprooted from her home in Rwanda early this year. That was when soldiers of the mainly Tutsi Rwandese Patriotic Front launched their all-out assault to take control of the country following the massacres of hundreds of thousands of Tutsi by extremist forces loyal to the then Hutu-led government.

Initially she stayed in Rwanda. But in July, when opposition to the RPF advance finally collapsed, she moved again -- this time across the border into Zaire (Congo). She and her family stayed away from the main refugee concentrations around Goma and settled in a village further north.

Now, though, armed Zairean troops have ordered them into the camps. Ms. Mukanyangezi and others in her group charge those soldiers gave them little time to move and looted most of their belongings, including items like plastic sheeting given to the Rwandans by relief agencies. She makes clear she does not relish going into the overcrowded camps. But she says she was afraid and had no choice.

The reason for her fear is plain along the road north of Goma. At one checkpoint, bellowing moans of pain can be heard from behind a parked truck. Between the big wheels a man can be seen curled on the ground, squirming. Zairean security forces are kicking him repeatedly. A smiling soldier explains the man, a Rwandan refugee, failed to stop at the roadblock.

Relief officials working in Goma say the Zaireans are fed up with the refugees, especially by acts of banditry the local authorities blame on the Rwandans. During the past week, in addition to evicting refugees like Ms. Mukanyangezi from their makeshift homes, Zairean security forces have been accused of shooting indiscriminately into crowds of refugees, killing and wounding more than 100 in one incident. They have detained other refugees on criminal charges stemming from the violence. They have even forcibly deported some Rwandan prisoners back to Rwanda, turning them over to forces of the new government in Kigali despite UN protests.

Still, the growing hostility of Zairean authorities hasn't pushed Ms. Mukanyangezi or a man walking with her, 33-year-old Dominique Uwimana, to think about returning to Rwanda. They say the regugees fear the Zaireans but insist most still fear the RPF as well (even though the new rulers in Kigali says refugees with no role in the genocide have nothing to fear and should return home). Mr. Uwimana says that for him to feel comfortable about going home, the new government in Kigali will first have to negotiate with the old, Hutu-led government -- and let former officials and soldiers return to their homes too.

While many refugees like the two in the previous piece were likely innocent of any wrongdoing during the genocide, there were clearly killers among them. They were terrorizing the camps in Goma and elsewhere, threatening and even killing refugees who wanted to return home. They were also hijacking aid shipments and controlling the distribution of relief supplies. Aid agencies were in a quandary but finally went public with the problems they faced, threatening a possible pullout of humanitarian workers from the camps.

Relief agencies working with Rwandan refugees are calling for swift international action to end what they say are "unacceptably dangerous" conditions for refugees and aid workers at camps in Goma, Zaire.

In a joint statement, the aid agencies warn they may be forced to withdraw from refugee camps unless there are immediate and tangible changes. They say current humanitarian operations are untenable because of what they characterize as deteriorating security conditions.

The relief groups -- including Care, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam -- are demanding, among other things, that all weapons be removed from the camps along with those individuals who are inciting violence and interfering with the delivery of aid supplies.

They also say the protection of refugees must be guaranteed and refugees must be free to stay or return to their homes without intimidation or fear for their lives.

Most of the trouble in the Zairean camps has been blamed on armed militia loyal to Rwanda's ousted Hutu-led government. These are the same groups accused of carrying out the massacres that left more than half a million mainly Tutsi Rwandans dead.