|
Malnutrition takes deadly toll on Zaire refugees
April 9, 1997
Web posted at: 6:15 a.m. EST (1115 GMT)From Correspondent Catherine Bond
KISANGANI, Zaire (CNN) -- Their ribs, displayed on their small chests like ill-deserved badges, are the result of the current rebel uprising in Zaire.
As battles rage elsewhere, there has barely been time to build feeding centers for the thousands of Rwandan children suffering in Zaire.
(1.8M/48 sec. QuickTime movie)
WARNING: Graphic content
A pink bracelet indicates severe malnutrition. Their feet swollen and their paper-thin ribs, arms and legs reflecting months without food, most children have either protein or carbohydrate deficiency or both. They need eight small meals a day. They get three.
Stark examples are Innocent and Francoise, brother and sister. One, at age 5, weighs 33 pounds; the other, at age four, weighs 24 pounds.
The hospital where they are staying has more than 60 patients, most ill with malnutrition or malaria. Many more are in worse conditions than medical workers have previously seen.
"I think it is the most terrible that I have seen, because so much of this population is so exhausted and have gone for months and months without food. For me, it is the first time I have seen people in such a worse condition," said Pascale Delchevalerie of Doctors Without Borders.
Aid desperately needed
Food aid has arrived, but there have been problems distributing it.
Food is so valuable, in fact, that one young refugee collects peas that have fallen during distribution into a nearby leaf to cook in the ashes of a fire.
Zaire's rebel alliance says misunderstanding led to delays in getting aid to the refugees.
"The problem is that the (United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees) was lacking means of transporting those people back to their country, and as you know, they want to put camps there without moving people to where they belong, so there was a sort of misunderstanding," said Zairian rebel leader Laurent Kabila.
Filippo Grandi of the UNHCR disagrees.
"I do not think there's been any disagreement on the fate of these refugees. I think that there's been a discussion. There is an ongoing discussion on the best way to repatriate them to Rwanda, but everyone agrees that the repatriation is the solution for those 100,000 people," Grandi said.
The longer the refugees stay, the more often they risk more random acts of violence. One man had skin ripped from his back as punishment for stealing food from Zairian villagers.
The rebel alliance has given the go-ahead to airlift these refugees out. But it could be some time before the weakest can travel.
"People for the moment are not in condition to travel," Delchevalerie said. "Most of them if they try to travel they will die. They are not in condition to move."
Repatriation by air could mark a final chapter in the refugee saga of the past few years. But even that won't heal the wounds suffered by refugees whose families are now missing or dead.
Related stories:
- U.N. report: Zairian rebels massacred refugees - April 8, 1997
- Zaire soldiers use tear gas, batons to end march - April 7, 1997
- Zaire refugee airlift faces obstacles - April 6, 1997
- Zairian prime minister offers to share power - April 3, 1997
- The roots of Zaire's unrest - April 2, 1997
- Zaire rebels: New prime minister changes nothing - April 2, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Doctors Without Borders USA (Medecins Sans Frontieres USA)
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Crisis in Central Africa
- Official web site of Zaire
- Zaire Watch
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.