wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Congolese churches doing "an enormous job" - Interview with Anna Muinonen

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For immediate release - 30/07/2009 15:14:29

CONGOLESE CHURCHES DOING "AN ENORMOUS JOB" - INTERVIEW WITH ANNA

>MUINONEN

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

Free photos and audio files available, see below

Anna Muinonen is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
programme coordinator for FinnChurchAid, a member of Action by
Churches Together (ACT) International providing emergency relief
to victims of the long running conflict in the Central African
country.

In the mineral-rich DRC, fighting has displaced tens of
thousands of people since 1998. Although a peace agreement in
2003 brought a semblance of peace to some areas, with displaced
people returning to their homes, South and North Kivu provinces
in the eastern DRC remain volatile.

>From 9 to 11 July, an international ecumenical team visited
Bukavu and Goma, the capital cities of South and North Kivu
respectively. The group, along with four others travelling to
different parts of the country, came to the DRC as "Living
Letters (
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)" on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in order to
listen, learn and show solidarity with the Congolese churches. 

Bukavu at the southern tip of Lake Kivu and Goma on its northern
shore are the bases for the humanitarian agencies' relief efforts
in the eastern DRC.

In the cities, everything looks normal. The markets are full of
bananas, tomatoes and a variety of fruit. Women are carrying
baskets on their heads, trading. Baskets full of fish and even
meat are on sale. Sometimes traffic jams form on the ragged
roads.

But this peaceful picture is contrasted by the presence of UN
soldiers in their blue helmets. It indicates that all is not well
here. 

Meeting the Living Letters delegation at the Nzulo Camp for
internally displaced people (IDP) in Goma, Anna Muinonen answered
some questions on the relief work of ACT International. 

How does Action by Churches Together respond to the needs of
people in the eastern DRC who have been caught up in conflict for
all these years? 

The ACT forum is working to assist the victims of diverse wars
in the DRC. Last November we elaborated an emergency appeal to
assist the people who had fled the latest fighting in North Kivu
in October and November. We are currently working on the
implementation of this emergency appeal. For example, here [in
Nzulo Camp], one ACT member, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), has set
up a water and sanitation project. Hygienic conditions in IDP
camps are really terrible regarding the number of people staying
here and the initial lack of latrines, the lack of potable water.
So NCA established water supply system here and has helped the
people build latrines. Other ACT members are collaborating in
providing assistance in different areas of North Kivu. 

The focus is on agricultural activities, distributing seeds for
both displaced people and their host communities, because food
assistance only lasts for a few weeks, maximum a few months.
After that, the people are left with nothing. So we are helping
them cultivate their own food and gain a minimum of
self-sufficiency.

How can displaced people do agriculture when they live in
camps?

Actually, most of the displaced people in Congo are housed in
host families, not in IDP sites – this actually is the last
option for people, usually. Most of the times when people have to
flee the conflicts, they try to flee to areas where they have
either some – even distant – family members or members of the
same churches. The hospitality of these host families is really
phenomenal. Some people house even five families in their tiny
little home. 

In these situations, we ACT members help the people negotiate
with the local authorities or local churches to give them a piece
of land, so that they together with the host communities can at
least cultivate some agricultural crops. Usually almost all the
production is used as food, but sometimes a little part of it can
be sold and the income used for buying other necessities.

>What challenges do you face in your work?

In this area, unfortunately the conflict is not over. The same
people who flee and after a few months return to their areas of
origin, have to flee again, usually even several times a year. So
it is really difficult to try help people stabilize and rebuild
their lives. Usually when they go back to their home areas they
find their houses looted, their fields destroyed, and all their
agricultural tools either stolen or broken. ACT members are
trying to help the returnees to restart their lives again, but
the continuing conflict is the main challenge. 

In some areas, the ACT partners also work in extremely dangerous
areas. For example, the South Lubero area in the middle of North
Kivu is a very dangerous area at the moment. There are daily
looting raids to local villages, there are almost daily attacks
on vehicles along the roads.

So one of the challenges is as well that we cannot go to certain
places where people desperately need help but the humanitarian
access is restricted because of the insecurity. 

Do you think there are still people trapped in the conflict and
not being reached by your efforts?

Absolutely – either because they had to flee to areas that are
even further from where most humanitarian agencies work, or due
to logistical constraints because the road infrastructure in the
DRC is almost non-existent. Some of the roads that exist are too
dangerous because of attacks by armed groups and bandits. So yes,
there are some areas where people are trapped and remain with
hardly any assistance.

Why do you think the conflict has continued for so long?

I think the conflict in the DRC is one of the most complicated
conflicts. It has been characterized as a forgotten emergency,
partly maybe due to the fact that it is so difficult to
understand. It is difficult to find the roots causes, and to
tackle them. When the conflict is not even among the population
itself, it is difficult to engage in peace and reconciliation
work. There is very little you can do at the level of civil
society because it is not the civilians who are fighting one
another. 

There are several armed groups, local and foreign. Also the rich
natural resources of the Congo have turned out to be rather a
curse for the country, since diverse economic interests keep up
the functioning of these militias.

What is the impact of relief work by the churches? 

We in the ACT network try to do what is possible with the
resources that we have. Moreover, the Congolese churches,
regardless of whether they are part of the ACT forum or not, are
doing an enormous job. It is basically the churches that have
kept up the educational system and the health care system in the
eastern DRC during all these years of conflict. 

Churches are everywhere. I was talking about these areas where
people are trapped, where no humanitarian agency can go because
of security and logistical constraints, but churches are there.
If there is no school in a certain village, churches are usually
the ones who will organize themselves to provide at least a
minimum of education for the children. Churches are also keeping
up quite a number of health centres and hospitals. 

In one word, how you describe the conflict in the DRC?

I would say this is the very definition of a complex
humanitarian emergency.

(*) Fredrick Nzwiliis a freelance journalist based in Nairobi,
Kenya. He is a correspondent for Ecumenical News International
(ENI).

Free high resolution photo of Anna Muinonen with children at
Nzulo Camp (please credit © Fredrick Nzwili/WCC):
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/fileadmin/dov/images/living_letters/drc/muinonen.JPG

Audio files: Listen to Anna Muinonen's comments on 
The hospitality of host families:
http://oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/drc/hospitality.mp3

The challenges faced by relief agencies:

http://oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/drc/challenges.mp3

The impact of church relief work:

http://oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/drc/churches.mp3

More stories and photos from the Living Letters visit to the
DRC:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits/democratic-republic-of-congo.html

>WCC member churches in the DRC:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4558

Relief efforts of Action by Churches Together (ACT)
International:
http://act-intl.org/countries.php?uid=9

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

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