Testimonies from Zaire.

Abstract

Tribal hatred and rivalry can contribute to the dislocation of many people and reduction in their social welfare. Assimilation into new areas is made difficult by limitations on resources: the results can be starvation, malnutrition, death, morbidity, prostitution and rape, and inadequate shelter and means of survival. In the fall of 1992, more than 150,000 Kasaians were forced to leave Zaire and travel to regions in the East and West Kasai by whatever means possible. Accounts of "repatriation" were given by women involved in the movement. One account describes the initial adjustment in 1991 of a nine-child family in Katanga; this family took in 10 refugee families until it became impossible to survive or get along with neighbors. The decision was made to take the one train out of the area to Kasai territory. The journey was difficult for the children who had to stand and did not have sufficient food or water. A two to three day trip took two weeks. The adjustment to the new village was a strange experience, after having lived with electricity and tap water. By March 1993, conditions had so deteriorated that Kasaian women were banned from economic activity of any kind, and young thugs brandishing knives and clubs hurt and killed Kasaian women and children. Houses were set on fire, and people were disposed without any shelter in the rainy season. Those with possessions sold them and bought food. Some tried to find food in abandoned fields, but were driven back by Katangan military personnel. Maize grains and maniac root were the only food options. Many became ill with kwashiorkor and dysentery, and as many as 35 people died daily. The Red Cross counted 640 deaths between March 20 and May 25, 1993. The hatred ran deep, and mixed marriages suffered. Most families left by train, but the conditions in Kananga were the same as in Kolwezi. Food rations were inadequate. The refugee camps had bottled water, but access meant a very long wait. There was no income and no facility to plan for the future.