DRC: Displaced Pygmy community struggles far from the forest

In Beni, eastern DR Congo, families from the Indigenous Pygmy community are living in extreme hardship after fleeing rebel violence. Since May 2026, they have found refuge in Boikene, far from their forests and traditional means of subsistence. But they are struggling to survive and hoping to one day return home.

In Boikene, in the northern part of Beni, the nights are long. Under makeshift shelters, families from the indigenous Pygmy…