An alarming report from Actualite.cd: DRC: Ebola, sexual violence and exploitation; "Increased and totally unnecessary risks" for thousands of Congolese seeking refuge in Uganda (NGO). Excerpt:
A dozen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concern, Friday, May 3, crossing thousands of Congolese forced to flee to Uganda following an upsurge in armed violence in Beni in North Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In their flight, Congolese avoid official border points and choose to cross illegally through forests along the border or by boat on Lake Albert.
"This increases the risk of spreading the Ebola virus, because people are not screened, as they would be at official border crossings," the humanitarians said in a joint statement.
The text is signed by Assistance to Forced Migrants, Care International, Catholic Relief Services, Cordaid, Danish Refugee Council, Finn Church Aid, Finnish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, Jesuit Refugee Service, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Council for Refugees Refugees, Oxfam, Save the Children, Swiss Church Aid, Uganda Joint Christian Council and War Child Holland.
These unofficial crossings place people seeking refuge in the face of an "increased and totally unnecessary risk of sexual violence and exploitation," says Francis Iwa, executive director of Care for Forced Migrants (CAFOMI).
Once in Uganda, Congolese also avoid official immigration procedures and registration as refugees. They are therefore at risk of not being tested for Ebola and will not be able to access services that have been specially created to help them, worries Iwa.
Among these Congolese in search of refuge, are at least 30,000 children who live now in "appalling" conditions, according to Heather Kerr, country director of the NGO Save the Children in DRC.
"Many people would have witnessed atrocious violence, having seen their family members attacked and their homes destroyed, and now they are exposed to diseases such as the Ebola virus, which strikes the children the hardest. It is an unacceptable situation that needs to be addressed without further delay," she says.
See also this report in PML Daily: Uganda on Ebola red alert as Congolese illegally migrate in huge numbers, and this Thomson Reuters report.
