Returns to Rutshuru: A Glimmer of Hope in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
DEVELOPMENTS
The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has uprooted millions of people from their homes. In North Kivu province however, one of the areas in eastern DRC worst hit by violence during the past decade, there are some early glimmers of hope. Despite continued fighting in many parts of North Kivu, improved security in some areas allowed an increased number of people to return home in 2009.
This development is positive, but it is by no means a signal that peace has finally come to the DRC. Although many more people are going home, they are doing so cautiously and with little assistance. The reality remains that violence in eastern DRC is still forcing civilians to flee. In the mean time, Congolese people who are now trying to rebuild their lives amid the chaos will need more long-term assistance and support.
BACKGROUND
In late 2008, a rebel group known as the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) made a dramatic push to take Goma, the provincial capitol of North Kivu. The CNDP was led by a dissident general named Laurent Nkunda, who claimed that he and his forces were protecting the Congolese Tutsi population from another rebel group in eastern DRC, the Forces for the Democratic Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR are made up primarily of Hutu refugees from Rwanda, some of whom participated in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
Fighting between the various armed groups in the DRC over the past decade has caused more than a million Congolese people to become displaced in North Kivu. The majority of people who flee live with local families, who share what meager resources they might have with friends or relatives taking shelter in their homes. A smaller number of displaced people live in official displacement camps where they receive more regular rations of basic items such as food and water.
During its attempt to invade Goma in 2008, the CNDP overpowered the Congolese national army and seized a key town called Rutshuru, just north of Goma, where several thousands of displaced people were living in camps. When the CNDP took Rutshuru they told all of the displaced people that they were now liberated, and that they should return home. The sites were then destroyed, and many thousands of displaced people made their way closer to Goma for protection.
While the CNDP were eventually prevented from taking Goma by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, the destruction they left in their wake following the upsurge in fighting at the end of 2008 was daunting. At least 300,000 people were newly displaced, and those in the camps in Rutshuru were now scattered amongst local families, in spontaneous sites, or in Uganda as refugees.
One year later, many people are now returning to Rutshuru. In 2009, in an unprecedented move, the governments of the DRC and Rwanda formed a military alliance to root out the FDLR Rwandan rebels from eastern DRC. The newly formed cooperation between the two governments also led to the arrest in Rwanda of Nkunda, and the rapid integration of his CNDP forces into the Congolese army.
Immediately following the arrest of Nkunda, some displaced people felt that their home areas were safe, and returned right away. Others remained wary of the new military operations that were unfolding against the FDLR, and the rapid integration of Nkunda’s CNDP forces, which left them deployed in the same areas they had previously controlled as rebels. Many displaced Congolese expressed concerns that even though the CNDP had changed uniforms, they were still the same armed men who had caused them to flee in the first place.
The number of people returning home throughout 2009 was hailed as a sign that the operations against the FDLR were succeeding. The impact on local populations was devastating. It is estimated that at least 900,000 civilians were displaced in North and South Kivu because of the military operations against the FDLR in 2009. The reported cases of rape and sexual violence against women and girls also spiked sharply during this time.
Both the FDLR rebels and the Congolese army have been linked to abuses against civilians during the conflict. The reality remains that the majority of people who have gone home in North Kivu did not return to areas where the operations against the FDLR have taken place, but rather, to areas where the security improved because of the integration of the CNDP.
ANALYSIS
The ongoing insecurity in the DRC impacts not only the people of the Congo, but also the whole region of the Great Lakes in Africa. Recognizing the negative effects of an unstable DRC, the U.S. government has invested significant diplomatic effort and humanitarian assistance in order to stabilize the country. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even made a visit to Goma in August 2009 in order to get a first hand look at the impact of the conflict, particularly on women and girls.
Knowing that Congolese people are returning home and rebuilding their lives offers a glimmer of hope. Yet, returns are also a very political thing, particularly in a country like the DRC. There is constant concern that the government of the DRC will force displaced people back home in order to demonstrate that peace now exists. Another fear is that major government funding agencies that have long been showing signs of fatigue towards supporting programs in the DRC will see people returning home and decide they no longer need to provide aid to the war-torn region. Balancing assistance between those who go back home and those who continue to remain in the displacement camps and with local families remains a major challenge.
The conflict in the DRC is often described as pendular, and many Congo watchers are waiting for the next major wave of violence to hit, particularly now that a third phase of the military operation against the FDLR is launching. In the mean time, many Congolese people will take advantage of a lull in the violence in North Kivu to go back home, begin planting their fields, and rebuild their houses. In order for these activities to be successful, and for people to be able to continue to go home voluntarily and with dignity, the U.S. and other donor governments must commit to long-term assistance to the DRC, and must increase diplomatic efforts to deal with the root causes of the conflict.
Camilla Olson is an Advocate with Refugees International, based in Washington, DC. She most recently visited eastern Congo in August 2009.
