The refugees had gathered by the river.
The general's convoy continued on to Minova, another 18 miles south along the lake shore, where some 30,000 refugees have gathered in recent days.
The first fifty refugees gathered at the top of the ladder, waiting for the boat to take them ashore.
Upon approval, the refugees gathered at the dock clutching plastic bags with their few possessions.
In Goma, where more than a million refugees have gathered, the camps were filled with hundreds of bodies.
Most women and children in the area had moved into a nearby valley, where more than 10,000 refugees had gathered outdoors, seeking safety in numbers.
They are children of the suburbs, Spielberg-land, where refugees from the East Coast gather to begin new lives in the sun.
Diplomats and refugees gather, eat caviar, gossip and play while speculating about which side will win.
Whenever the shelling begins anew, the human refugees gather in a damp concrete bunker.
In one village, where United Nations officials thought as many as 30,000 refugees had gathered, hundreds of bodies were found.