Volcano kids desperately seek families

By Arnaud Zajtman

Associated Press

NKAMIRA CAMP, Rwanda – Tired, bewildered children displaced by a volcanic eruption in neighboring Congo waited in camp Saturday, intently eyeing passing adults in hopes of recognizing a parent or relative.

Merveille Similie, 4, remembers fleeing “the fire that came from the mountain.” With her 2-year-old sister Safi on her back, she trudged across the border into Rwanda, only to realize they were separated from their parents.

Then someone put the girls on a bus for the 20-mile ride to Nkamira. Since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the camp has provided a temporary haven and gathering place for hundreds of thousands of refugees, displaced people and lost children.

The most recent arrivals showed up Jan. 17 when the lava lake inside Mount Nyiragongo 12 miles north of Goma washed over the town of about 500,000, sending Merveille and hundreds of thousands of others fleeing to Rwanda.

The lava flow destroyed up to 40 percent of the city and about 80 percent of the business district, officials said. Parts of the city are covered by up to 10 feet of lava.

Most of Goma’s residents have returned home, but at least 500 children remain separated from their families.

“We comfort the children one by one so that they tell us their story,” said Rose Bubuya, who works at Nkamira camp with the Save the Children organization. “We try to get hints where they come from and who their parents are, but it’s difficult.”

The United Nations is providing the children with shelter, food and vaccinations.

UNICEF child protection officer Mahimbo Mdoe said the children are encouraged to participate in impromptu theater to explain what happened to them.

“We are still in the process of identifying the missing children,” UNICEF regional press officer Madeleine Eisner said, adding that the next steps involve radio announcements and putting up posters in Goma with photos of the children.

Beatrice Fouraha was already “a little happy” Friday after finding one of her three missing siblings in the camp.

“A neighbor told me that my little sister was here,” said Fouraha, tears running down her cheeks.

The house in Goma where she and her two children lived with her five brothers and sisters was reduced to ashes by the lava. But Fouraha said they would find someplace else to stay.

“The important thing is that I find my other two missing siblings,” she said as she and her sister set off on foot back to Goma.

In Goma, efforts continued to pack down some of the lava flows so vehicles could move more easily through town to distribute food.

On Friday, authorities opened the part of the regional airport’s runway that had not been covered with lava, and small planes began flying in and out.

In New York, the United Nations said Friday about half of the city’s water distribution system was functioning, with the rest expected to be operating within 10 days.

Ross Mountain, U.N. deputy emergency relief coordinator, said international support would be needed for a significant time to rebuild Goma and provide jobs. At least half the inhabitants lost not only their homes but their livelihoods because most of the business district was destroyed.

In Washington, D.C., President Bush said he directed experts from the U.S. Agency for International Development to assess how aid can be distributed most effectively.

He also ordered two relief flights to carry blankets, shelter material, and water storage equipment to the area, and said USAID is providing $25,000 for relief agencies operating in the stricken area.