**Fatshimetry – July 4, 2024**
The poignant image of these displaced people, mainly women and children, fleeing the towns of Kanyabayonga, Kirumba and Kayina delivered into the hands of the M23 rebels, reveals an alarming humanitarian crisis in North Kivu. Deprived of everything, these families claim to live in extreme precariousness, exposed to hunger and disease.
Among them, Marie-Antoinette, a sixty-year-old with indomitable courage, testifies to their heartbreaking journey: “We fled from Kanyabayonga to Kirumba, with the rebels on our heels. We walked for miles, without rest or food, until we reached Lubero. But here too, hunger awaits us. We only ask for one thing: help, food, medicine to survive. »
Pauline, a courageous mother accompanied by her four children, recounts with emotion their ordeal through the forced march into the unknown: “Without water or food, we endured immense suffering. Our path was strewn with pitfalls, but here in Lubero, we hope to find respite. »
In this atmosphere of distress, these displaced people find refuge, after dark, in schools or under the stars. Unfortunately, the presence of humanitarian workers is becoming rarer in the Lubero region, faced with growing insecurity and the spread of false information which hampers relief actions.
Faced with this humanitarian crisis looming in North Kivu, it is imperative that international solidarity mobilizes to provide relief and support to these displaced, vulnerable populations left to their own devices. There is a pressing need for effective and coordinated humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering and prevent further tragedies.
Together, let us act so that these silent voices of the displaced people of North Kivu find an echo in our collective consciousness, and that the hope of a better future emerges on the horizon, far from the horrors of war and abandonment.