Minova – a commercial hub trapped in the fighting in eastern DRC
Minova, a town of about 50,000 inhabitants, tucked between the Lake Kivu and the mountains, has been a bustling commercial hub in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. But, since the armed conflict this part of the country has known for thirty years, flared up at the end of 2023, the commercial activity has slowed dramatically.
“Because of the war, we hardly get any income. Buying food is difficult. Prices have gone up. And so, we are wondering how do we survive? How do we live?” says Kasereka Kohonja, a barber, who works at the local market.
On Fridays, the market day, the town’s main street used to be filled with trucks that came from Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu, or Goma in the neighboring North Kivu. The trucks brought household goods and in return, loaded them with locally produced fruit and vegetables to take away to markets of larger towns.
Now, the only road between Minova and Goma is cut off by the fighting between the government forces and M23 movement, and the road connecting Minova to Bukavu was made unusable by floods and landslides. Bringing goods into the town has become incredibly difficult, since the only way to access it is by the lake, which is also becoming more and more insecure for civilian boats due to the armed conflicts in the area.
The scarcity of the essential resources can be felt even more, since the town’s population exploded, after hundreds of thousands of people fled their villages in recent months and came here to seek refuge with not much more than the clothes they were wearing. “Life has defeated us,” says Beatrice Tunisifu, a young mother who has been displaced for about two months with her infant. “Because of hunger and disease.”
In the past weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) brought food and essential household items for 48,000 displaced people in Minova and surrounding areas, having first secured the guarantees of safe access from the parties engaged in the fighting. “When we bring medicine, food, or other essential items, we always start by notifying the parties to the conflict, so they can give us access,” says Claude Milongo, who oversees ICRC programs in Kalehe, Southern Kivu. “And we work with the national Red Cross society and local authorities, who also help us to deliver aid.”
For further information please contact:
Alyona Synenko, ICRC Nairobi, +254 716 897 265, asynenko@icrc.org
Eleonore Asomani, ICRC Dakar, +221781864687, easomani@icrc.org
Follow the ICRC on facebook.com/icrc and twitter.com/icrc
LOGLIST
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Production Number
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On-screen credit |
ICRC |
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Shooting date
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1-2.04.2024 |
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Country/Location
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DRC, Minova, South Kivu |
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Language
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French, Swahili |
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Producer |
Mark Kamau |
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Cameraperson
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Alyona Synenko |
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Copyright / Details of restriction if applicable |
ICRC |
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Comments / brief overview of content |
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