Following the renewed fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, there has been an influx of refugees crossing into Rwanda from the volatile region, mainly running away from the marauding killers affiliated to the Congolese government. According to the refugees, they are fleeing due to the terror unleashed by militiamen under the so-called Wazalendo coalition, which was put together and armed by the Kinshasa government with the purpose of scuttling the peace process spearheaded by the East African Community, to restore sanity that has eluded the restive country for so long. ALSO READ: Fighting resumes in eastern DR Congo Wazalendo has among its core members the FDLR, a genocidal militia group founded by perpetrators of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The terror group has for close to three decades committed despicable crimes in DR Congo, especially targeting the Tutsi population. Some members of same community of the Congolese Tutsi population have lived in Rwanda as refugees for over 25 years in different refugee camps in the country – having fled the terror exported to their country by FDLR. ALSO READ: Inside the secret DR Congo-FDLR pact Sadly, the international community has ignored the plight of these Congolese citizen, who, besides those living in Rwanda, are scattered in other neighbouring countries, seemingly condemned to a perpetual refugee life. Interestingly, the United Nations has poured billions of dollars in MONUSCO, an ineffective peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, which has nothing to show for all the years of its deployment, other than the involvement of its peacekeepers in human rights abuses. ALSO READ: South African peacekeepers recalled over sexual misconduct However, the most deplorable thing is the recent announcement that the UN, through its agencies; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Programme, that there would be a significant reduction in relief given to refugees in Rwanda owing to lack of funds. ALSO READ: UNHCR, WFP announce decrease in basic services for refugees in Rwanda Some of the relief services that will be affected include food rations and medical services, which are essentially basic services any human being needs to survive. It is important to note that majority of the refugees in Rwanda – over 62 per cent – are Congolese who have for decades yearned for return to normalcy in their country so that they can return home. To the contrary, the situation is only getting worse, and more are now crossing, with over 11,000 fleeing into Rwanda in the last three months. ALSO READ: UNHCR boss on situation of refugees in Rwanda ahead of World Refugee Day This puts the Congolese in a state of double jeopardy; the UN has failed to create the necessary conditions for them to return home despite the colossal sums of money it spends on its peacekeeping mission, and now where they found a safe haven, they cannot get basic services!
