Until MAG cleared agricultural land in Regeza, villagers were not able to produce as vigorous crops as they had before the war and, as a result, were permanently short of food.
Regeza is a village of 250 inhabitants located 60 kilometres from Pweto on the main road between Pweto and Moba in Katanga, in the south east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
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Contaminated fertile field in Regeza. Note in the foreground the 82mm mortar. |
During the Second Congo war (1998-2003), Rwandan and Ugandan troops took hold of Moba and Pweto, and soon the Congolese troops and the villagers of Regeza were trapped in the middle. In December 2000, the population fled and walked cross-country to Zambia.
The Congolese troops soon decided to follow the villagers into the bush and before leaving Regeza attempted to destroy what they could not carry, so as to prevent the advancing enemy troops from using Congolese weapons against them in the future. This included the destruction of a lorry containing 60mm and 82mm mortars. However, the blast was not big enough to destroy all the mortars and, because of this, much of the area previously used for agricultural purposes was contaminated with widely scattered mortars, some partially destroyed.
Villagers started coming back to Regeza in late 2004 and the majority had returned by July 2007. On their return, the population started to rebuild the village and re-farm the land. Due to the unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination left from the war and the destruction of the buildings, the village could not be recreated in the same place. The houses were built in a location 500 metres further up the road and new fields were created on the opposite side of the road on the lower slopes.
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The village chief, with his son (right) and a villager (left), is showing the newly cultivated fertile fields after they have been cleared by MAG. [photos: MAG DRC] |
However, the villagers soon discovered that this area did not have as fertile soil as their previous plot, which was contaminated by the mortars ejected from the lorry when it was destroyed. They were not able to produce as vigorous crops as they had before the war and, as a result, were permanently short of food.
During a visit of MAG teams to Regeza, the village chief asked MAG to clear the contaminated agricultural land, so that people could safely access the more fertile land and produce more and better quality food to feed themselves and, hopefully, to start trade.
The clearance team removed 53 mortars and 576 miscellaneous items, mostly bullets of varying calibre, and cleared 2,560 square metres of land that was returned to the villagers for agriculture. “We always used to cultivate there because the soil was more fertile. Now we can cultivate there again because MAG has already cleared the land," said the village chief.
A few months later during a following visit, he showed MAG the newly cultivated fertile area: “In this area we are now cultivating beans, maize and cassava.”
In Regeza, as elsewhere in the region, agriculture is the main livelihood and by clearing the land and returning it to the population, MAG is supporting the socio-economic development of the villages and helping the population recover from the war. The removal of the physical legacy of war is also a strong signal that the war is over and helps the population turn towards building their futures.
Links:
MAG's work in DRC is currently funded and supported by: DFID (UK Department for International Development); Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State; Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)
5 September 08
