DRC (Mulongwe) : refugees in search of firewood victims of rape

In the Mulongwe refugee camp in the South Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundian refugees are lacking firewood. The refugees, especially women and girls, go into the surrounding forests in search of wood. According to sources within community leaders, they are in most cases raped by armed men and are robbed of their telephones and their wood-cutting tools. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to sources in the camp, refugee women fetch firewood from Kaseke and Katalukulu forests.
It is in these forests where they meet armed men, as indicated by B. Marie, a mother of five children.

“We walk about 6 kilometers. Some of us are raped in the middle of the forest while others are robbed of their phones.”

This information is confirmed by Déo Ntakirutimana, leader of the Burundian refugees in the Mulongwe camp.

According to him, there are people who enter the forest to look for firewood but who encounter problems including rape.

Due to the lack of firewood in this camp, some refugees use grass for cooking.

The Mulongwe refugee camp is home to more than 10,000 Burundian refugees.