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CNN Live At Daybreak

Goma Residents Persevere, Despite Destruction From Volcano

Aired January 24, 2002 - 05:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was one week ago today that a huge river of fire rolled through the Congolese town of Goma, destroying everything in its path. Today the earth still shakes, and the lava still boils. According to the latest U.N. estimates, as many as 47 people are dead, 10,000 families are homeless and hundreds of thousands of people are out of work and in need of help.

CNN's Chris Burns gives us a walking tour of the devastated city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm standing on one of the runways here at Goma Airport. As you can see, the lava flow cut off one end of the runway, and continued to cover the second runway, which you can now see is covered by a smoldering bed of lava. Now, as the lava was advancing, people were desperately pushing some of the planes out of the way, so that they would not be engulfed.

But the lava has cut off, not only this airport, but humanitarian flights, as well as a U.N. peace keeping operation, which is housed in that building back over there with the blue flag. Now, that peace keeping operation had been watching a cease-fire between the Rwandan- backed rebels and the Congolese government troops.

We're just outside the fuel installation of the airport. As you can see, the two fuel tanks are miraculously intact, even though the lava engulfed them from all around. The lava also stopped just short of this little town, this little village here. The villagers here are managing to survive, and they are very, very lucky they're still -- they still have their homes.

Let's walk over this way, you can see the road is also covered by this still smoldering, still radiating lava, and they're picking away at it, trying to open up that road, and they're also trying to fix the power lines that were downed by this eruption.

(voice-over): Then, the volcanic river headed downtown at high speed, killing dozens of residents and sending most of the city fleeing for safety.

(on camera): Imagine a wall of lava, the height of a grown man, barreling down your main street, destroying everything in its path, paralyzing whatever is left, leaving not much more then for scavengers to find what they can to rebuild. Authorities are threatening to shoot any looters on sight.

The lava rolled all the way into Lake Kivu, raising fears that if it went much further, it could stir up deadly methane gas from the bottom of the lake. But the curse of Goma is also the source of its beauty. It's even a building material. This wall was built with pieces of volcanic rock, and this house was built on the foundation of a previous eruption.

(voice-over): In a powerful display of human resilience, Goma is struggling to spring back to life, even though humanitarian aid has been slow in coming. People have waited in line for hours to get a small ration. Aid officials say, more help is on the way.

(on camera): Edu Muhima is an English teacher here in Goma. Edu, are the classes open yet?

EDU MUHIMA, GOMA RESIDENT: No yet. So far, we haven't yet begun. The class, of course, and some of the schools here have been destroyed by this eruption.

BURNS: And also, the street has been destroyed, at least covered by the eruption. But we're seeing people now already walking on this street, using it again, even though this part of town is completely dead. If we walk over this way, we can see that this part has completely sprung back to life. People are shopping. People are walking. People are selling their wares. Doesn't that amaze you, Edu, that things have suddenly jumped back to life?

MUHIMA: Yes, of course. You know about the situation. This lava, it's divided the town into different parts, and so far, you can see some places which are full of activities and other places that they are completely destroyed.

BURNS: Well, you know, it strikes me that this -- Goma has been hit by eruptions over the centuries. The last one was just 25 years ago. It killed 2,000 people, another one back in the early 1900s, another one in the early 1800s. Why do people stay here?

MUHIMA: It's very difficult. You know, first of all, the problem of this country. It's very difficult for us to leave this region, because we don't have another place where we can live.

BURNS: How fearful are you?

MUHIMA: We are -- really we are very, very careful, because of the situation. Myself, my house, it has been (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and now...

BURNS: It's destroyed. It has been destroyed.

MUHIMA: ... yes, okay, it is completely destroyed. And I don't have something to eat. I don't have something to drink, not work and I'm living just in the house of a friend.

BURNS (voice-over): Edu Muhima's situation is typical of many here in Goma. Paul Stromberg is a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

PAUL STROMBERG, UNHCR SPOKESMAN: Well, right now, we have basically the entire population of Goma back. UNHCR is caring for about 7,000 in Rwanda. We've been able to get them aid. They have a health center, latrines, drinkable water; there are others coming back up from Bukavu, where there are about 12,000 to the south in the Democrat Republic of Congo. But most people are based here in Goma now. They've come back, and the aid must follow them.

BURNS (on camera): Chris Burns, CNN, in Goma, the Democrat Republic of Congo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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