Displaced “Kumase” people threatened by diarrhoea diseases

Since they have been displaced by the administration from “Kumase” place, they have neither food nor comfortable shelter. Some of them are suffering from diarrhoea diseases.-By Diane Uwimana

Dwellings of the displaced people. ©Iwacu

Since 16th March 2014, 120 cases of people have been suffering from diarrhoea diseases since they were displaced from the former “kumase” place near Lake Tanganyika on 22February 2014. “We are suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and malaria. The majority is formed of children”, says one of their representatives.
Women often think that only visible dirtiness or smelly hands are potential sources of unhealthiness despite a tap and loos installed at their disposal. This comes out from people living at Carama area at Kinama Commune in Bujumbura City Council along Bujumbura-Bubanza road, where hundreds of newly built huts and families resetlled in an unsafe place on the right side. Those huts were built by small and thin trees covered with plastic bags and grasses. One hut covers an area of 1,5m out of 1,5m with 1m high. Cynthia Akimana aged about three is suffering from diarrhoea and has been vomiting since 3 March 2014. “She hasn’t got any medicine to cure her. She can pass away if I can’t find any drug to her ailment,” states her mother. The same situation occurs to Emelyne Manirampaye, four years old. “Two weeks ago, she suffered from malaria but she didn’t get any drug”, notes her mother. She indicates that she has tried to consult a doctor but in vain, due to the lack of money. “At the Health Center, it is recommended to present some documents, but these latter have all been burnt at “Kumase”, in our former dwelling place,” she indicates. For her, Good Samaritans’ hearts can help them to overcome the situation. “If nothing is done, we are going to perish in that area due to the dirty hands’ diseases”, he adds. “We call upon the administration authority to solve our problem; otherwise, epidemic diseases will strongly affect us without any doubt”, underlines the Chief of these internal displaced people.

“They have refused to be registered”

Zacharie Niragira, Kinama Administrator, states that people from that area do not want to be helped. “Since they have arrived in that locality, we have many times begged them to register but in vain. We can’t do anything without knowing how many they are”, insists the Administrator. According to those people, they have already addressed their identification to the Ombudsman Institution, and if the administration wants to help them, it may use the list dropped there.”While the administration officials fill out the identification forms, they want to insert our origin provinces. We don’t want to go back because what has caused our displacement is still there,” points out one of the displaced people. “It is impossible. We must take into account of people we see in front of us. We are not sure about what they have addressed to the Ombudsman institution. If they want to be helped, they must accept to be registered once again”, highlights the Administrator.