Families relocated by the DRC volcano report a lack of government support for Volcano News

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been criticized for the growing humanitarian crisis in the east of the country, as thousands of people who fled Goma after a volcanic eruption lack shelter, food and water.

Mount Nyiragon exploded on May 22, and lava fell down a hill, leaving a trail of destruction and killing dozens of people.

In Goma, the DRC’s eastern capital in North Kivu province, nearly 400,000 people have been forced to flee.

While many fled to the north in Rutshur and Minova in South Kivu province, a quarter went to Sake, about 30 km (18 miles) northwest.

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF) told AFP that between 100,000 and 180,000 people have taken refuge in Sake, adding to the surrounding 70,000 inhabitants, and that it is at risk of cholera because of efforts to impact the area.

Many who sought refuge in the village of Sake complained of a lack of state support and said they wanted to return home, even though it was dangerous between the constant earthquake and the risk of further eruptions.

“Life here is not easy. I have been ill for two days, I have no one to express my grief to, let me return to my city, ”Claudine Sinziyimana, a widow who escaped a volcanic eruption, told Al Jazeera.

“Better to die with volcanic gas here than to starve to death [the town of] Sake, ”he added.

President Felix Tshisekedi said on Saturday that the situation in Goma is “serious but under control”.

He advised those who had fled not to return yet, after a week of replication.

“There is an underground lava flow that can occur anywhere in the city,” Tshisekedi warned.

“Lava is no longer in the crater, but the volcano remains active, so we have to be careful and that’s why we don’t want to rush things back to the populations,” he said.

A report by the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG) on Saturday said 61 earthquakes had shaken the area in the previous 24 hours.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said the eruption destroyed more than 4,500 homes after the eruption, affecting about 20,000 people.

While many of the displaced in Sake are housed in places of worship and community centers, many do not have any shelter.

“Our house was burned by volcanoes. We also lost business because of the volcano. We are spending the night in a 19-person house with other displaced people, ”Clarice Matofali said.

“We are suffocated [feeling suffocated] because it is a large number in a small house. If the government can’t give us food, at least give it to us to sleep here, ”he added.

Clarice Matofali, with her baby on her back, after a family discussion about how her husband and grandmother leave Sake village [Esdras Tsongo/Al Jazeera]

MSF said they have expanded to address water shortages, bringing supplies and distributing water by tanker truck, but that more is needed and cited food, shelter and medicines as a primary need.

“This crisis requires support and immediate intervention,” Magali Roudaut, head of MSF’s Goma mission in the Goma, told AFP.

The army has said aid is on its way to the region. Many displaced people question why they have not yet received government support a week after the eruption.

“We haven’t had any support since we left the rubber. We are eating with difficulty. Here is a special meal porridge. Our children will starve to death, ”Kabugho Malimingi said.

“I have seven children, two of whom are already diarrhea because of the bad water in this town. Let the government help. Either give him food or encourage him to come home, ”he said.

Kabugho Malimingi, left, a person displaced by a volcanic eruption [Esdras Tsongo/Al Jazeera]

International aid organizations are already very present in Goma, where 30 years of violence have plagued many armed groups, many of them the legacy of the two regional wars from 1996 to 2003.

Adding to the trials of the displaced, hundreds of children were separated from their parents in the exodus – humanitarian organizations are in a hurry to deal with the situation.

Additional report by Ezra Tsongo Sakean.