TRAUMATISED GIRL REVEALS CONGO HORROR

It’s difficult to watch this heartbreaking interview of a traumatised girl in a displacement camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fighting back tears, she tells how even here isn’t safe, with rebels frequently carrying out kidnappings.

She bears what can best be described as the ‘face’ of the Congo. An innocent child scarred by the daily horrors of the long-running conflict that’s impacted millions of defenceless Congolese.

The country’s east is one of the most dangerous places in the world for women and girls. There’s the ever-present danger of rape, abduction or murder as they go in search of food and other essentials. As as this sister reveals, conditions in displacement camps are no better. They’re often overcrowded and unhygienic, with inadequate facilities for the protection of vulnerable refugees.

More than 25 million people – a quarter of DR Congo’s population – don’t have enough to eat. Cholera and measles are spreading, worsened by floods induced by an El Niño weather pattern. Over seven million have been displaced, and millions of children cannot go to school due to threats to their safety and forced recruitment by rebels.

A December 2023 UN report found Rwanda responsible for arming and funding the M23 militia, one of the groups fighting to control the mineral-rich eastern region of DR Congo. Western multi-nationals have also been accused of fuelling and profiting from the conflict, by purchasing illegally extracted minerals from the country.