Warning: Dis article contain distressing content, including descriptions of rape, from di start.
“E tell me say if I try to escape, e go kill me.”
Pascaline, 22, recall di words of her rapist for one prison for Goma, di largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in di early hours of 27 January.
“I dey forced to let am happun instead of losing my life,” Pascaline tell di BBC.
Im be di second man to rape her for Munzenze prison. Di first attack bin dey so violent to di level wey she faint.
Her attackers come over di wall from di men block and wey dey right next door called “Safina”, she tok.
“We hear noise as dem jump on di water tanks. Dem dey so many, and we bin dey fear well-wll. Di ones wey dey unlucky dem rape. Di ones wey dey lucky go out without being raped.”
Kasala spread through di jail, and di surrounding city. Rwandan-backed M23 rebels bin dey close in on Goma, after a rapid advance through di region.
Most of di prison guards and di city authorities don already fled. Dem dey hear shooting outside di jail.
Hours later, inside di compound, fire dey burn – apparently set by male prisoners as dem try to escape.
By morning, about 4,000 male inmates don break out. But few of the women manage to get away. A total of 132 female prisoners and at least 25 children burn to death, according to two sources.
One UN official tell di BBC say “at least 153 women bin perish”, quoting “reliable sources for di prison”.
Afta one month, Pascaline come back to di destroyed part of di prison complex, wia one empty watch tower still dey stand.
She wan tell her story and dey willing to show her face. She also give voice for di dead.
She waka through di main yard of di women section, dey look at di scorched walls, scattered cooking pots and piles of clothing. Her hand cover to her mouth in wordless horror, and she shake her head.
“At one point I no know wetin bin dey happun again,” she tok. “Na afta I see di odas die na im I begin to pull myself togeda, I go say na God wey wan save me.”
Pascaline, na onion seller, wey find herself for prison here wen her employer accuse her say she tiff.
Nadine, 22, also don come back to di prison for di first time. In her mind, she no fit escape am.
“Wen I sleep for night, evritin I see hia dey come back to me. I see di dead again – as many dead bodies as I see here until I get out. Instead of opening di door, dem allow us die like animals hia.”
Nadine say she too bin also dey raped by two men.
“Dem come wit alcohol,” she tell di BBC. “Dem bin wan drug pipo. Dem take me by force. Dem take all di women hia.”
Di BBC no fit verify how many women bin dey raped dat night, out of a total of 167 wey, sources say, bin dey held.
Nadine dey vex wit di authorities – for locking her up in di first place over debt wey she dey owe, she tok, and den failing to let her out.
“I no think say justice fit exist in Congo,” she tok. “I condemn di way di goment dey run tinz.”
Di DR Congo goment – more dan 1,500km (1,000 miles) away in di capital Kinshasa – no longer dey run anytin for Goma. Di rebels dey in full control and dem kontinu to advance south to di east.
Among di piles of ash wey carpet di prison floor after di fire, dia is a tiny pink sandal, wey dey burnt on one side. Some shiny buttons glitter for di dorti beside am, perhaps from children’s clothing.
Women prisoners bin dey allowed to keep one of dia children in di jail wit dem. Only two children out of 28 survive di blaze in di prison, according to a source. Child prisoners – wey bin dey held in a separate block – bin dey released earlier in di day.
No be just di smoke and di flames wey kill di weakest, according to a detailed account from anoda survivor aged 38, wey no want to be identified. We go call her Florence.
She say “children start to die” wen dem fire tear gas into di women section.
“Di prison bin dey surrounded by soldiers and police wey, instead of coming to put out di fire, bin dey fire bullets and throw tear gas at us,” Florence tok.
“Wen dem drop di tear gas on us, di fire become intense. Our eyes begin pepper us as if dem pour chilli pepper inside. Dia was almost no way to breathe,” she add.
Di fire and di rapes bin dey covered in confusion, as all sides dey eager to blame someone else.
Human rights groups say rape dey widely used as a weapon of war in DR Congo by both di M23 rebels and goment forces.
However, for dis case, Florence say na fellow inmates.
“You fit see say dem be prisoners. Some come without shoes. Wen dem climb onto di roof of di women’s prison, dem be dey call di names of those wey dem know. And none of di attackers bin dey armed or in uniform.”
Florence say she hear “bullets sound” outside di prison from 23:00 onwards, and police bin dey kill di escaping prisoners outside.
“If a prisoner got out, dem go shoot am. Wen di bullets bin dey fly, I dey on my knees dey beg God to deliver us from dis bad situation.”
Some of di prisoners wey break into di women’s section bin dey look for a safer escape route, she tok.
Dem breach one of di walls facing di outside – a place wia police no normally dey stationed. But soon dat gap come dey filled – by di fire.
Florence first see di flames at about 04:00. Den hour afta hour, she rush from body to body.
“Pipo dey die in front of our eyes. I no fit count dem. We try to revive dem by giving dem water. Some women bin dey suffocated by di fire, as well as di gas. Some die of heart attacks,” Florence tell di BBC.
She too blame di Congolese authorities for di loss of so many lives.
“Di state for open di doors wen dem see di fire or come off am.”
Di BBC don contact di goment in Kinsasha and ask for a response to wetin di survivors don tell us but we never received one.
Florence say dem finally open di women’s prison at 11:00 – she no know who open am – and she come out wit 18 oda survivors. Im no give dem any help.
“Even di policemen we find on di road, no even ask for news of di prisoners, or ask if anyone bin dey hurt, or how we dey,” she tok.
By den rebel fighters bin dey parts of di city, as dem enter at around 08:00. Goma dey fall.
Di women no seem to matter – weda in or out of prison.
For one tent on di grounds of Goma hospital, we meet anoda survivor, Sifa, 25, wey one friend pull out from di fire.
She lie down on her left side – any oda position dey too painful. Her right arm dey heavily bandaged, and e get burn marks on her arm and her face. She also get burns on her back. Time to change her dressings di nurses go give her morphine.
But her agony dey more dan physical.
Her two-year-old daughter Esther die for dat prison.
“I bin carry Esther on my back. Wen we wan escape, sometin fall on her. A bomb? I no know. She die on di spot,” Sifa tell di BBC.
She add say Esther just start to waka and dey “without sin”. Sometimes she go play wit di oda children for di prison, but mostly she dey by her mother side.
How Sifa, a peanut seller, wind up behind bars inside a crowded prison wit her daughter?
She bin dey accused say she dey involved in a robbery, wey she deny. She say she dey jail without conviction. Local sources say dat na common tin.
Di full story of wetin happen for Munzenze Prison may neva be known. E be like say those in power no dey in a rush to find out.
Sifa and di oda survivors we tok to tell us say no-one don contact dem to take dia testimony about di horrors of 27 January – not di rebels in control of Goma now, nor di goment in Kinshasa wey used to run di prison.
“No-one go follow [dis case],” Sifa tok. “No-one go dey pursued. It’s already over.”
