Congo: Humanitarian Drive to Launch on Election Eve
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NEW YORK, Jul 27 (OneWorld) - As millions of Congolese prepare to go to polls this weekend for the first time after four decades of political chaos and undemocratic rule in their country, one of the world's major humanitarian groups says the strife-torn African nation needs humanitarian aid at this historical juncture more than ever before.
"The ballot alone will not bring bread to the people of Congo," said Cathy Skoula, executive director of Action Against Hunger (AAH), an international relief and development organization based in the United States, which plans to launch a new humanitarian drive in Congo this week. Noting that the decade-long civil war in Congo has not only taken four million human lives, but also caused an unprecedented level of hunger and disease in the country of 60 million, Action Against Hunger says it plans to redouble its humanitarian efforts starting on the eve of the presidential and parliamentary elections. "To rebuild this country, millions need a hand up from starvation's door and the economic tools to feed themselves in the future," Skoula said. "This is why international humanitarian relief is more important now than ever." The group, which operates in more than 40 countries around the world and has been active in Congo throughout the chaos and war of the past decade, currently employs about 300 people who are responsible for providing direct assistance to 400,000 Congolese living in both eastern and western parts of the country. According to some estimates, in Congo about 1,200 people continue to die every day from increased starvation and diseases caused by unsafe and unhygienic living conditions linked to the decade-long civil war. A former colony of Belgium, Congo gained independence in 1960, but fell into a deep turmoil a year later when its popular prime minister Patrice Lumumba was seized and killed by troops loyal to army chief Joseph Mobutu. In 1965 Mobutu seized power and renamed the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko. Backed by the United States, Mobutu continued to rule Congo until 1997, when the rebel movement led by Laurent Kabila captured the capital city of Kinshasa. Kabila was killed in January 2001. The country is currently ruled by his son, Joseph Kabila, as an interim head of state. Though hopeful that elections would help restore country's stability, humanitarian activists working inside Congo say the international community should not abandon the population after the polls. "People are tired of war and want to live their lives in peace," said Thierry Laurent-Badin, AAH's director in eastern Congo, "but they cannot do it alone." Recently, some officials in the West have also expressed similar concerns. On Wednesday, British Minister for International Development Hilary Benn urged the world community to "do more" to help victims of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Congo. "When a mother is unable to feed herself and her children," he said, "it does not matter whether it is because of conflict, drought or natural disaster. What matters to her is that her children might die without help." "The international community," Benn added, "must do more to provide this help." In February, the United Nations established a new humanitarian fund as part of an appeal for an "action plan" for Congo, which seeks to save lives and help in recovery. Donors have so far committed close to $100 million out of nearly $800 million dollars requested, two thirds of which has come from Britain. The humanitarian funding is aimed at providing emergency food and shelter and medicines for people who fled their homes and for those returning to safe areas. According to the United Nations, around 500,000 people have left their homes in fear of violence in the last six months alone. So far donors, most of them Europeans, have committed $400 million to support the elections, UN officials said, adding that another $46 million are "urgently needed" to secure a second round of elections due later this year. This week, more than 1,300 international observers have arrived in the country to help oversee the election. "It certainly is a massive undertaking for us," said Carlo De Filippi, head of the European Commission to Congo, in recent statement, hoping that the elections would bring stability after years of conflict. The UN Development Program says the Congolese election requires some 30 million ballots, as an estimated 25 million have been registered to vote. The first round of voting takes place Sunday when people will cast their ballots for presidential candidates and those running for the National Assembly. |
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