THERE was a real danger that the international community would lose interest in Rwanda now that the need for an international force seems to have been averted, the chairman of the relief agency Trocaire, Bishop John Kirby, warned yesterday.
He stressed that Rwanda needed an injection of resources with the integration of former refugees from Zaire. He suggested that the funds which would have been spent sending an international force should now be diverted for humanitarian aid and redevelopment.
Bishop Kirby was speaking in Dublin on his return from a visit to Rwanda and Zaire during which he witnessed the mass return of hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees from the Mugunga refugee camp near Goma. The sight of the mass exodus within the past few days "will stay with me for the rest of my life".
"Surely the massive resources that had been ear-marked for the international force should be devoted to efforts to rebuild Rwanda and put it back on the road to development? This is a prerequisite for any long-term settlement in the country," he maintained. Refugees would need food to tie them over, they would need help to rebuild their homes, they would need seeds and tools, health care and educational resources to enable them to resettle in their homeland.
He felt it was remarkable, despite the fact that this was one of the largest human migrations in recent history, there was no violence, no hostility, no aggression towards the returning refugees.
"We must not fall into the usual western response to Africa of believing that once the refugees are back in their home communes that the crisis is solved. The return of the refugees is only the beginning of an eventual solution - it is certainly not the end of the crisis," Bishop Kirby said.