Description

Mass rape has become a weapon of war in the Congo. Martha Mawazo’s world was turned upside down as she fled the conflict. Her husband and their four children were with her. As a result of the rape, Marthe was left pregnant, infected with gonorrhea, and alone with four children with no roof over their heads. Some villagers lent her the use of an old house.

Transcript

Surviving Sexual Violence in Congo Narrator: The Ritsoro Town Health Center was ransacked during the fighting and still only barely manages to function. Theophile Niagije: This is the consultation and observation room. Men and women are mixed in here. It’s all the space we have. Grace Kodindo: What happens in the case of birth complications such as hemorrhage or convulsions? What do you do then? Theophile Niagije: We immediately refer them. Grace Kodindo: So how do you get them to the hospital? Theophile Niagije: We fill in a form. Grace Kodindo: But apart from the forms how do you get them to the hospital? Theophile Niagije: By ambulance. Grace Kodindo: And how long does it take? Theophile Niagije: About an hour or so. Grace Kodindo: So within an hour the patient is on her way to hospital? Thank you. Who helps with the home births? Theophile Niagije: No one. Grace Kodindo: So it must be the traditional midwives who help with home birth? Theophile Niagije: Yes. Grace Kodindo: What if a rape victim comes in? Theophile Niagije: Yes! We’ve got PEP kits Grace Kodindo: Can I see? I see you have anti-retro-virals and do you have the Morning After Pill? Theophile Niagije: Yes. Narrator: Mass rape has become a weapon of war in the Congo. Marthe Mawazo’s world was turned upside down as she fled the conflict. Her husband and their four children were with her. Marthe Mawazo: Some soldiers grabbed hold of me and raped me. I needed medical treatment. Then my husband said he didn’t want me any more. When I got home, my house was burned down. Narrator: As a result of the rape, Marthe was left pregnant, infected with gonorrhea and alone with four children with no roof over their heads. Some villagers lent her the use of an old house. Grace Kodindo: This is where she’s living now. You can see that the roof is almost out. So during the rain, water is just flowing over her and her children. The story of this poor woman with her four children, and the fifth on the way, can just conclude the whole tragedy that people in this area of conflict are going through. Now she finds herself with a sexually transmitted infection, and a pregnancy with no means to live on. It’s really unjust for one person to go through this whole tragedy. It’s really unjust. Narrator: Faced with the sheer scale of sexual violence against women, the clinics here offer therapy programs to help repair broken lives. These women are learning to sew which can also help them earn a living. Grace Kodindo: Well done. Good work. Narrator: To the West, is Birambizo, an area that’s even less secure. Thousands of displaced people are in camps huddled for safety around the UN bases. But even here, armed groups make a point of harassing them. Grace Kodindo: All these displaced people are congregated near the UN forces for their safety. Last night at about one in the morning, some rebels have shot to intimidate the people and to show them that the UN people cannot always protect them. This shows how sensitive the situation is. Narrator: The population of three displaced peoples’ camps as well as the local village of Katsiru, are served by a makeshift health centre. Grace Kodindo: How many people are served by this clinic? Anvier Bazirutwe: With the camps, there are 17,000. Narrator: With so many displaced people, the clinic is struggling to cope. Women in labor have to share a room with people with all kinds of diseases. In the delivery room, Leonia is about to give birth. She’s praying there’ll be no complications Grace Kodindo: What happens if she has complications – say she hemorrhages or has eclampsia? Anvier Bazirutwe: The villagers make a stretcher and carry her to another clinic. Grace Kodindo: How far is that? Anvier Bazirutwe: Twenty kilometers. Grace Kodindo: Twenty kilometers? Anvier Bazirutwe: This is the pharmacy. Narrator: This tiny cupboard contains the clinic’s entire stock of medicines. It serves the medical needs of seventeen thousand people. Grace Kodindo: How many cases of rape to you get here in a month? Anvier Bazirutwe: At least twenty rapes a month. Grace Kodindo: Do you have PEP kits and The Morning After pills? Anvier Bazirutwe: We don’t have any. Grace Kodindo: Can you give antibiotics? Anvier Bazirutwe: No. Grace Kodindo: There are none? Anvier Bazirutwe: We only have tiny amounts. Grace Kodindo: So you’re not medically equipped for this situation? Anvier Bazirutwe: No, we are not equipped to deal with it. Grace Kodindo: For the sexual violence situation? Anvier Bazirutwe: That’s right. Grace Kodindo: So, you can’t run HIV checks to prevent mother-to-child transmission? Anvier Bazirutwe: No, we just don’t have the means. Grace Kodindo: You don’t have the means? Anvier Bazirutwe: As you can see, we don’t have the means. Grace Kodindo: You don’t even have sterile gloves? Nothing? Anvier Bazirutwe: Not even delivery kits. Grace Kodindo: You don’t have delivery kits? Are there any female midwives working here? Anvier Bazirutwe: There was one but she left. She told us she’d prefer to work somewhere else because of the lack of equipment, she left. Grace Kodindo: What do you do if a woman gives birth but the placenta doesn’t come out properly? Anvier Bazirutwe: I try to get it out with my fingers. If that doesn’t work, we’ll refer her. Grace Kodindo: Can I see your stock of condoms? Anvier Bazirutwe: This is our stock of condoms. Grace Kodindo: Okay. So these are all the condoms in the clinic, just three? And what about oral contraceptives? Can I see what you’ve got? You have Ovrettes? Narrator: Ovrettes are a contraceptive pill prescribed for mothers who are breast feeding. Grace Kodindo: This is the only type you have? Anvier Bazirutwe: Yes. Grace Kodindo: That’s not enough. Anvier Bazirutwe: We only have a few. Grace Kodindo: You only have a few?