Press Release: 22 November
Over half the people displaced by the latest round of fighting in the Congo have become separated from family members in the chaos of war, a survey by aid agencies suggests.
The survey showed 63% of displaced people in the camps and shelters around Goma in eastern Congo had lost contact with one or more close relatives as they fled the fighting. Over a quarter – 26% - of those surveyed had lost a child, and 17% had lost their husband or wife.
If these results are replicated across the Congo’s conflict zone it suggests a huge problem for families already traumatised by war.
Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the Disasters and Emergency Committee (DEC), said:
“The people in the Congo have endured terrible physical conditions and this survey gives a glimpse of the emotional turmoil most of them are enduring too. Families have been torn apart by war. Many of those we surveyed have no idea if their children, spouses and other close relatives are alive or dead.
“As well as providing life-saving water, food, sanitation and medical care, many charities are trying reunite families. To do this, we need the help of the British people. We urgently need your donations to reduce the suffering and bring hope to the Congo.”
The survey has been done by the DEC aid agencies to help them understand the extent of family separation and the issues involved as they launch an appeal to raise money for the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ends
Notes to editors
- Oxfam, World Vision, Save the Children, ActionAid and Merlin surveyed 284 people in Kibati camp, churches, schools and clinics around Goma this week. All had been displaced in the latest round of fighting.
- The DEC can provide case studies and pictures of reunited families and VNR footage of children who lost their parents in the Congo.
- The DEC consists of: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.
- How to donate: It’s easy to donate. Please visit our website on www.dec.org.uk or call the DEC on 0370 60 60 900 or donate at any high street bank or post office
The DEC criteria to launch an appeal are:
The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift International humanitarian assistance
The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national Appeal
There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public Appeal would be successful
For new footage, photographs, case studies and pre-recorded or live interviews with both aid agency staff on the ground and in the UK, please contact the DEC press office on 0207 387 0200 or, out of hours, on 07930 999014.
