Burundi: “We don't even know the name of the child” – Red Cross struggles to bring families together after the upsurge of fighting in DRC

Tens of thousands of people arrived in Burundi since the beginning of this year, fleeing the escalation of armed conflict in the east of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the chaos of mass displacement and armed violence, thousands of families lost sight of each other.  While many people have reached safety, they continue living with intense emotional anguish, desperately waiting for news from their loved ones.

"I heard that a bomb damaged my house. So, I took the youngest child, and we went home. When we arrived, there was a lot of fire there. There was no way to get in. I asked where my husband was. I had left him at home," says Sylvie Zawadi Miranyo, a mother of four who lives in Musenyi camp in the commune of Giharo in Burundi after she fled her house in Eastern DRC.  "I left messages for him with the Red Cross. So far, no response."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with the Burundi Red Cross Society (BRCS) and the Red Cross Society of DRC (RCDRC), has been providing hundreds of free phone calls, free phone charging, and internet services to refugees and displaced people trying to contact their family members. The three organizations also cooperate to locate people who are reported missing.

"Recently, we registered an unaccompanied child who seems to be only a year and a half old. We don't even know exactly how old this child is because the guardian just picked him up on the way," says Noemie Niyongere, who works as part of the Protection of Family Links program at the ICRC in Burundi. "We don't even know the name of the child.  But we will collaborate with the National Society of the DRC and the ICRC in Kinshasa to find members of this child's family."

Children who get separated from their parents and caregivers become particularly vulnerable in such situations—reuniting them with their families is the most urgent priority for the ICRC and its Red Cross Movement partners.  

For further information please contact:

Alyona Synenko, ICRC Nairobi, +254716897265, asynenko@icrc.org 

Eleonore Asomani, CICR Dakar, +221 78 186 46 87, easomani@icrc.org

LOGLIST

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Shots of the commune of Giharo in Burundi.

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Plan of the entrance to the Musenyi camp in the commune of Giharo - Burundi.

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General shot of the Musenyi camp.

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Shot of Sylvie Zawadi Miranyo entering

the tent.

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Shot of Sylvie Zawadi Miranyo sweeping the place where she is staying.

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Shot of Sylvie Zawadi Miranyo folding her mattress.

Interview Sylvie Zawadi Miranyo, Refugee

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It was on February 23

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that the bomb attacked my house.

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I was at the market with the little boy.

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I often went with him to the market,

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his older brothers and their older sister were at

school.

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It was at the time when the children were

at school.

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By mistake, as I left the market,

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I was told that my house had been damaged by a bomb.

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I took the last child and we went home.

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When we arrive, there is a lot of fire

there.

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There was no way to get in.

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I asked where my husband is.

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They said that because my husband was

sick, he was in pain.

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He was in the house.

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I left him at home.

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He was in the house and didn't get a

chance to leave.

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I left the messages at the level of the

Red Cross.

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So far, no response

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Various shots of refugees in the Musenyi

camp.

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Shot of food distribution in Musenyi camp.

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Shot of Daniela Mapendo Santana putting away her clothes in the tent.

Interview Daniela Mapendo Santana, Refugee

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I have three children, two have stayed

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and the third is the one I carry.

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I left Goma because there is crackling

weapons, people are killing each other,

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there were bombs.

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When we were in Bukavu

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we took the boat.

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We arrived in a neighborhood called Essence

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 and there was a crackle of gunfire, we dispersed

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and I couldn't find my husband and two children.

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What I would like to do is live with my

children and my husband.

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Wide shot of the Burundi Red Cross office

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Shot of a Red Cross agent trying to reach Daniela's family by telephone.

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Shot of Daniela Mapendo Santana trying to call for news of her family in the DRC.

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Shot of phones being recharged in the office of the ICRC and the Burundi Red Cross.

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Wide shot of registration plan for people who have lost a family member.

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Shot of Noemie Niyongere - CICR making recordings of people who have lost family members.

Interview Noemie Niyongere, Field officer - Protection of Family Links - ICRC

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As far as unaccompanied children are

concerned, they are

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children who are alone who find

themselves in a place after

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separation from their parents, especially

when there is conflict.

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Recently, we registered an unaccompanied

child

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who is alone, who seems to be only a year and a

half old.

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We couldn't even know exactly how old

this child was because

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the guardian just picked him up on the

way.

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We don't even know the name of this

child, we just gave him a name.

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But we will try to collaborate with the

National Society of the DRC,

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with the ICRC in Kinshasa to try to find

the members of this child's family.

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We also do the activity of phone calls,

recharging phones.

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There is also the Internet, which is

available to beneficiaries, including

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refugees.

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So phone calls are free, top-ups are

free.

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And Wi-Fi is free.

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These, too, are the volunteers of the national society

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So people are informed that there are

calls.

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If people have phone numbers to contact

the families, to tell them that we have

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arrived safely, we are in Burundi, we are

in Giharo for example.