Missionaries in the DRC report that a humanitarian crisis is deepening as a new terrorist front opens in the northern region of Upper Uele, where unknown militants are ravaging the countryside. Hundreds of people have left everything behind and fled their villages as a result of the attacks. Testimonies sent to the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) show that villagers are converging on main cities which are completely ill-prepared to host such a massive influx of internally displaced people (IDPs). Despite the danger and the looming threat of famine, the clergy insists they will not abandon their flocks, since they are “living signs of God’s presence”.
Mass displacement unexpected by Missionaries in the DRC
According to Father Claudino Gomes, the city of Isiro recently “awoke to the mass arrival of IDPs,” a wave of people from “dozens of villages in the bush,” with some trekking around 125 kilometers to find refuge. The situation caught everybody by surprise, says the Comboni missionary, since it was widely believed that the fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was mostly confined to the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu at the moment.
The reported levels of violence in the communities are harrowing:
“In Elimba, the most distant community from the parish, the terrorists killed several people who were engaged in small-scale gold panning. The large village of Ndubala also witnessed violence and death. Everybody asks themselves how long this violence will last”.
Humanitarian relief and parish assistance
Despite the surprise, local families in Isiro behaved admirably, opening their homes to the new arrivals and welcoming between 10 and 20 people each. The authorities have been setting up support structures in places like schools, and the Catholic Church has actively intervened. The displaced have been welcomed in convents as well as in Catholic and Protestant parishes across Isiro. Father Claudino explained the operations at his pastoral center:
“In the Catholic parish of Saint Anne, where I work, we are welcoming those who need shelter, and also supporting the families that have opened their hearts and their doors to those who arrived almost empty-handed. Currently we have 140 people staying with us and we are supporting 40 families with rice and beans. Almost all the Catholics from the 40 communities we have in the bush and in the savanna are in Isiro now, so it is only natural that we should help them in any way we can”.
This relief includes medical and pastoral support, ranging from administering the sacraments to simply listening to those who suffer. The parish of Saint Anne has also organized football, catechesis, and prayer for the children, becoming the spiritual home of all the displaced. However, needs continue to mount as the local economy has collapsed. In the fields, the bean and peanut plantations, which were ready to be harvested and sown with rice, have been entirely abandoned; all cattle were lost and houses were set ablaze, making the ghost of hunger clearly visible.
Unwavering fidelity of the Comboni missionaries
ACN received similar accounts from other missionaries on the ground confirming that fear and uncertainty are everywhere. Father Bienvenu Clemy, also a Comboni missionary and in charge of the Parish of Our Lady of the Afflicted in Mungbere, detailed the security challenges of his town:
“Mungbere is a small city in the province of Upper Uele. It has always been peaceful. However, since about one month ago we have been in a difficult situation because of the insecurity caused by the fighting between the armed forces and the rebels. Most people fled, but our community decided we should remain with the poor, because there are some here who have no family, so we stayed with them. The main issue is how to feed these people, because they can no longer go into the bush to tend to their farms. We are trying to manage, sharing what we have, and we are praying for things to settle”.
Additionally, Father Marcelo Oliveira, a third Comboni missionary currently stationed in Kinshasa, made an urgent appeal for solidarity through ACN, emphasizing that the clergy will remain with the population through thick and thin:
“God does not abandon His people, He walks with them. So we, missionaries, will continue to accompany the people, despite persecution, even in suffering, even when we do not have enough, we will remain with the people. We are living signs of God’s presence”.
This pastoral presence is possible, in part, due to the structural help provided by ACN projects in the region. The foundation helps fund pastoral initiatives, such as retreats and formation for local catechists, while also sustaining the diocesan clergy through the provision of mass stipends. ACN calls on all its friends and benefactors to pray for the Church in the DRC during these exceptionally difficult times.
