Three Congolese children have died on spot while searching for white sand to paint their houses in a long pit located near Gihembe refugee camp in Gicumbi Sector, igihe.com has reliably learned.
The deceased are Paul Mugisha 11 years old, Ingabire Muhoza 13 years old and Denise Nyinawabeza also 11 years old.
A shocked eyewitness who is also a mother of one the deceased Only identified as Nyirakamana 35 expressed grief at the tragic incident: “We escaped death 17 years ago in Congo but now this is another war here in the camp, our people are dying day and night” She is now remaining with only one kid and the husband neglected her three years ago”.
Nyirakamana’s sister, Feza Bamurange noted; “I have to keep a close to my sister otherwise her senses seem to commit suicide.
“The husband neglected her three years ago, her child who has been helping her to survive is gone yet no food to feed the remaining kid, so she is now in the miserable condition” Bamurange lamented.
Thadeo Gatanazi, another parent to a deceased said:”To get to solution to such problems, leaders should always first understand the impact of the decision taken before forcing people to do anything Or they should adopt alternatives and bring for us the sand” he said adding that the refugees have been obliged to paint house with sand yet it is inaccessible.
John Buzizi 63, a grandfather to the one of the deceased kids and also the camp’s zone 8 leaders who has been in the camp since Oct 1997 pointed out: “life here is really worsening as the time goes on and government should help and take us back to Congo where we came from.
“We better die of hunger instead of dying in a refugee camp under such miserable conditions” Buzizi pointed out.
Richard Ndaula, Head of the Field Office in Byumba said; “It’s tragic and quite sad for the incidence but then I wonder why the activity was done by children instead of their parents.”
He added that there are various projects going on in the camp including shelter project where an NGO, the American Refugees Committee is constructing shelter to the refugee and they are supposed to do plastering of their houses.
Ndaula said the policy has been there for over the last 10 years.
Leave a Reply