Emergencies

Goma suffers as Congo unrest continues

Goma suffers as Congo unrest continues

Seven people killed and 255 houses burnt down in rebel attacks in North Kivu, eastern Congo. The news to come from Caritas Congo yesterday was bleak, like it has been for months. First there were stories of conflict and displacements, then the stories of child soldiers and rapes. Even a volcano may now erupt near Goma in ...

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Unprecedented human tragedy in Sri Lanka

Unprecedented human tragedy in Sri Lanka

Caritas says innocent civilians are dying in Sri Lanka due to indiscriminate bombing by both the army and rebels with thousands more wounded and suffering. Caritas says the country is facing a humanitarian crisis with at least 250,000 people trapped in the conflict zone in Vanni in the northeast as government forces battle Tamil rebels ...

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Zimbabwean refugees abused in South Africa

They escaped with their lives from a country in collapse. They fled often with nothing. They came to the region’s richest and most powerful nation looking for protection. However, they have been welcomed with abuse, discrimination and a blindness to their plight. Approximately 3,000 Zimbabwean men, women, children and babies are trapped in dire conditions ...

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Inside Sri Lanka’s camps

Inside Sri Lanka’s camps

Close to a quarter of a million men, women and children have arrived in camps in the north of Sri Lanka. They’ve fled months of heavy fighting between government and rebel forces, endured a lack of food and medicine, and witnessed unimaginable suffering. Caritas is one of the few international aid agencies with access into ...

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Urgent appeal for Congo

Urgent appeal for Congo

Caritas needs US $12 million to provide the basic needs of 400,000 people caught in escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The conditions have sharply worsened for over one million people because of an increase in fighting between foreign militias and the government’s army. The militias include the FDLR militias (Democratic Forces for ...

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Rape destroying Congo’s communities, says Caritas psychologist

Rape destroying Congo’s communities, says Caritas psychologist

Some of the rape victims who are brought to Caritas Congo are as old as 70. One of the youngest to require help was just three months old. “Some of the women who come to us are so badly damaged by the rape that they can no longer walk,” says Ange Mbala, a psychologist for ...

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Conflict in Pakistan: the Caritas response

Fighting in Pakistan has forced over 2.5 million people from their homes. There are huge gaps in meeting the needs of these people. Caritas members on the ground are already delivering aid, and are now looking to expand their operations as the humanitarian crisis grows. At least 85 percent of the people who have fled ...

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