Josephine Machozi, DRC "I am silent today, but life is very hard here"

Josephine Machozi is a 60-year-old ethnic Lendu woman. She was driven out of her neighborhood in Bunia town following clashes between the Lendu and the Hema.

“Life here is very difficult. Some of us sleep on cardboard boxes. You see that empty oil can? That is what we cook in. We have no cooking utensils, no plates and no pots or pans. We lack enough blankets to cover ourselves and our children.”

Josephine has been looking after four of her grandchildren, since their mother (her daughter) died.

“My house was burnt down and my family had to flee Bunia town by foot. The house in the Ruwambuzi neighborhood belonged to me and now there is nothing. I used to hold a job with the city council.”

Nevertheless, Josephine smiles as she greets the passersby.

“I am silent today, but life is very hard here. I do not have any hope of returning to my neighborhood. There is nothing left there.”

“I just spent the whole day with my hand on my cheek [doing nothing]. If only I could get some work, even some menial job such as mopping the hospital floors or something, I would be grateful.”