A closer Look

Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Since last year, hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people have arrived at the foot of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano, on the shores of Lake Kivu, fleeing the fighting that broke out in Masisi and Rutshuru Territories with the new M23 offensive. Amidst the tall grass and lush hills, the camps they occupy offer heartbreakingly little. Shelters that would give anyone nightmares, one meal a day at best, and long treks through the forest in search of wood to sell or build huts or cook with, risking violence and rape by armed groups or civilians.

These people have been there several weeks, or two, four, sometimes six months. They have nothing, and judging by how they live, you might think they arrived just a week ago. On the bright side, with the region entering the dry season there should be less and less rain causing less wind and rain damage to the shelters, fewer mosquitos, and so less malaria. These people must be brought to life, one by one – each of their stories, the individuals behind the statistics, their tales of violence, their villages bombed, their spouses gone, their families destroyed: the grandmother who takes care of her five grandchildren whose parents were killed in the attack on their village; the young mother of eight who must leave her youngest, still breastfeeding, all day while she goes searching for wood, recounting how she was whipped by the forest wardens.