AFRICA/DR CONGO - Testimony from Bukavu: Children are the silent victims of war

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Children are the silent victims of all wars: in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. From Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, currently under the control of the M23 rebel movement since mid-February (see Fides 17/2/2025), we have received a testimony that reflects the dramatic humanitarian situation in the region. Although the rebels have announced the creation of an administration to manage the conquered territories, the situation in South and North Kivu remains precarious, especially for the most vulnerable: women, children, and the elderly. We publish the full testimony, omitting the name of the person who shared it for security reasons.

Sister Charline welcomes me to the ward of the Bukavu General Hospital, where, together with Sister Marie-Jeanne, she coordinates the reception and care for malnourished children. “Before the war there were about 40, now there are 84; there are even three per bed,” she tells me as she invites me into the large rooms. In one of them, a mother is dressing her eight-year-old daughter: she is about to return home. She is very thin, but has passed the critical phase. The girl says goodbye with a smile. The most serious cases are in the intensive care unit, including that of a baby abandoned in the hospital by its mother, from a combat zone. A nurse cares for him with care. The war has made it impossible to grow crops, harvest, and trade... and this, along with the looting, has caused hunger. “When we have enough adequate food, they recover in two weeks; otherwise, it takes up to two months… or they die. We try to send them home as soon as possible to make room for others, but sometimes the mothers tell us they will be short of food there again… I give them a little flour; I can't do more,” Sister Charline adds, desolately. I go to greet Natalina. In her Ek'Abana center, she welcomes children accused of witchcraft, but also, since the war began, children entrusted to her by the Red Cross while they wait to find their families. There are about 25 in total. “Cases of girls accused of witchcraft are increasing,” Natalina says. Three have arrived this week. With their parents dead or absent, the girls lived with their grandparents or other relatives. The psychologist explains: the stress of these times, the succession of illnesses, deaths, job losses, and other problems, pushes people to seek answers in prayer rooms, where irresponsible pastors point to the most vulnerable as the cause of their ills. The girl is blamed and marginalized. Sometimes, it is the grassroots communities that accompany them to the center to save them. And what about the stress of children who flinch at every noise? Of miscarriages caused by the startle of gunshots? Of the violence the children witness at the hands of the occupiers, the bandits, the population itself when, in exasperation, they lash out at the alleged thief until they kill him? Of dropping out of school after fleeing with their families? Of the humiliation of being expelled from school because parents can no longer pay the quarterly fees? Of the shortage of daily food? As I was returning, a child asked me to buy him a pancake, which is sold cheaply on the street. “Who do you live with?” “With my grandmother.” Given the crisis, I overcame my reluctance: “Take two, one for Grandma.” “Then I'll buy some flour,” he replied. Nothing to do with a whim. All this adds to the tally of children killed directly by bombs and violence. They are silent victims, like those in Gaza, who pay the price for a debt that is all ours.” (Agenzia Fides 2/6/2025)

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