ROME, JAN. 20, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Relief teams in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are preparing to receive close to 160,000 refugees fleeing from the area of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano.
The U.N. office of coordination of humanitarian agencies reported today in Kinshasa on the aid preparations in the southern state of Kivu, in the east of the central African republic of 53 million people. About 600,000 people are estimated to be affected by the volcano.
The Catholic bishop of Goma, a city destroyed Thursday by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, was found in a coma today his residence.
Bishop Faustin Ngabu, born in 1935, «was found this morning in a state of coma caused, perhaps, by an emanation of gas,» reported a nun who works with the bishop.
The bishop´s home, located near the Goma airport, was just a few meters from the river of lava that devastated the city. The bishop chose to stay at home to prevent looting, the nun said.
«It is a tragedy that was predicted,» a Goma Xaverian missionary, Father Silvio Turazzi, said of the eruption. «Many vulcanologists had suggested bombing Nyiarogongo´s principal crater, because the lava had no natural outlets. Last week there were strong earth tremors, unmistakable sign of the increase of pressure.»
Noting the hundreds of thousands who have fled, Father Turazzi said: «This exodus reminds me of four years ago, when tens of thousands of Rwandans passed through Goma, fleeing from the fighting in the east of the Congo. It is sad to think that this tragedy comes at a time of relative ´tranquility´ for the border city.»
The tragedy comes on the heels of 10 years of war by the Rwanda-backed Congolese Regrouping for Democracy (CRD), which opposes the central government of the Congo. In recent months, CRD has tried to dialogue with young President Joseph Kabila, despite Rwanda´s disapproval.
The missionary, Father Turazzi, said: «My appeal is to the international community and all those who love the Congo. These people, who have now lost everything, must be helped, and Goma needs help to develop. The city must be reconstructed in a safer area, farther away from the volcano and the border.»
