DanChurchAid
Humanitarian Mine Action
From soldier to deminer
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| DanChurchAid deminers Mayumbu Kamenga nd Mbungu Vangu, DR Congo 2006 |
“We are happy to have become civilians. To be free is the best thing with this demobilisation”, says Myumbu Kamenga who served in the army as a lieutenant and engineer, fabricating bombs to sabotage for the enemy as well as working with demining and demolition.
When a soldier leaves the army in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) he receives 110 US dollars, two pairs of civilian trousers, a tent, a plastic bucket and two cooking pots. After that the ex-soldiers are left to survive on a support of 25 US dollars per month during another 6 months after which the army no longer provides for them.
Receiving "the red band"
The two DanChurchAid deminers have just received the red band on their military service card which signifies that one is demobilised or has left the army – for good. The services of that person can no longer be required by the army.
During the war from 1998 to 2003 they both served the forces of the ex-government led by former president Laurent Kabila. They then served the new national army, in the Brigade of the town of Kalemie in eastern DRC where DCA’s Humanitarian Mine Action Programme is also based. In May 2005, their commander in chief sent a request to DCA that they be trained as deminers. DCA employed them for a trial period and also as an experiment for a future possibility of recruiting more ex-soldiers. Now, having worked with DCA for almost 10 months and knowing that their contract would be prolonged if they demobilised, Mayumbu and Mbungu both felt it was time to leave the army.
Their supervisors had no problems with letting them become civilians. But, Mayumbu recalls:
“Our army colleagues were joking with us the other day, teasing us for becoming civilians, hinting that it was a bad decision.” Mbungu, who was a sergeant and section commander, adds “But, the conditions in the Congolese army are very bad and the soldiers are often famished and do not receive their salaries regularly.”
“The Congolese army doesn’t take into consideration that you have a wife and children to take care of – the soldiers do not receive any kind of support for their families.” says Mayumbo, a father of five, ”The life of the army is mediocre, especially in the army integration centres, where the soldiers do not receive their rations, no medical support, no food and no proper housing.”, he adds.
Now they both hope that the elections in Congo, that are planned for july 2006, will go well. “The Congolese do not like arms – all they want is to live peacefully, to work and to be free.”
Commitment to DanChurchAid
The two former soldiers now turned deminers just want to be seen as ordinary people and to be respected as civilians: “We just want to be disciplined and commit ourselves to the work of DCA. We are at DCA orders now!” they say,very seriously at first, then they both start laughing.
DCA’s demining programme in DRC will now look to recruiting more ex-soldiers, as a contribution to the national demobilisation process.
One of the biggest security concerns in post war DRC is the control of the national army and different armed rebel groups. With assistance from UNs 17.000 person strong peacekeeping mission in DRC, MONUC, efforts are being made at organising the national army, Forces Armées de la République Democratique du Congo (FARDC), and integrating or disarming different rebel groups.
