For more than 25 years, the neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which have been receiving Congolese refugees day by day, have been hindered by the insecurity that has taken root in the eastern part of the country. Millions of Dollars given to Congolese Refugees
Statistics show that there are over a million Congolese refugees in seven African countries. It is a problem that continues to take another step due to the increase in the number of refugees and the budget needed to care for them.
As of November 2022, an estimated 5.5 million Congolese were internally displaced.
On the other hand, the Congolese government does not stop making a lot of noise about the refugee problem, which sometimes the senior officials agree to deny.
The regional plan to help Congolese refugees in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and the Republic of Congo, called the ‘DRC Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP)’ shows that 69 partners must collect their to help these refugees.
The head of the UNHCR in South Africa and the coordinator of Congolese refugees, Valentin Tapsoba, said that ‘in 2023 there is a need of 605 million dollars to help 916,300 Congolese refugees.
Last year, US$650 million was used from 71 partners for about 801,000 Congolese refugees, in 2021 US$629.7 million was used while in 2020 US$621 million was used.
Food security is one of the most pressing issues facing refugees due to rising market prices resulting from the rising cost of fuel, and fertilizers, climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the resulting economic crisis. of Covid-19.
In addition, the amount of food given to refugees is reduced due to the limited number of donors.
Analysis shows that in 2023 the number of Congolese refugees will continue to increase and there will be no escape. By November 10,400 refugees had fled Kinshasa, Haut-Katanga, and Kasai near Zambia and Angola.
In this program that concerns only Congolese refugees, Angola will receive $23,682,962, Burundi will receive $55,643,762, the Republic of Congo $18,698,995, Rwanda $65,526,242, Uganda will receive $321,231,563, Tanzania $83,932,626 while Zambia will receive $36,332,377.
Feeding refugees will cost $151.5 million, protection and overflow will cost $128.4 million, social welfare and economic inclusion will cost $85.1 million, health and nutrition is $75.7 million, education is $63.3 million, housing it is $54.4 million, cleaning and sanitation will cost $32.5 million, equipment, communication will cost $14 million.
United Nations agencies will provide $466,407,054, while UNHCR will provide $277,574,238, and PAM will provide $145,705,805. International NGOs will contribute $129,734,685, and domestic NGOs will contribute $6,904,563.
Religious organizations and churches will contribute $9,665, colleges and universities will contribute $500,000, regional organizations will contribute $851,800 and development donors will contribute $640,760.
Although the statistics show that the problem of Congolese refugees is dubious, the leaders of the RDC continue to ignore and deliberately ignore the fact that there are people who are not willing to seek stability for the people they are responsible for.
A recent example is the Minister of Higher Education and Universities, Muhindo Nzangi, who joined other politicians in the DRC in denying the people of his country, saying that those in Rwanda are not its real citizens.
He said, “If you go to Rwanda, you will see that there are no new Congolese refugees because no Congolese can agree to live in prison. Rwanda is a prison, no one can leave the DRC to go to prison.”
Saying that the refugees Rwanda calls Congolese “are not the real citizens of the DRC” is a dark expression that tries to make it clear that Congolese Tutsis speak Rwandan and not Congolese.
The meeting of the African Union Peace Council at the level of Heads of State and Government, which met last week, asked the DRC to remove all its refugees from Uganda and Rwanda, including those who have been there for more than 26 years.
These refugees fled long-standing violence in the DRC due to armed groups currently numbering 130, including the FDLR, which was formed by survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.
When you look at the situation of these refugees, it shows that the RDC should be pressured by the International Community to send its refugees, but first of all, it should solve the problem of insecurity because it is what they fled.
