South Sudan: Present condition of refugee returnees

* By Dr Leo Onek

During the months of February and March 2010, Dr Leo Onek of the Equatoria Civic Fund (ECF), made an extensive tour of Magwi County. In his interactions with the population, the following picture emerged.

INTRODUCTION

In 1986, over 100,000 Southern Sudanese in Magwi County fled to Uganda to take up refuge. They were settled in camps in northern Uganda, notably in Achol-pii, Adjumani, Kiryandongo and later in other camps. Following the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPLA/M and the Government in Khartoum in 2005, thousands of these refugees were repatriated with the help of the UNHCR to their original homes in Southern Sudan. In Magwi County, these homes are: Agoro, Omeo, Magwi, Obbo, Palwar, Lobone, Pajok and Panyikwara. According to the recent Sudanese census, there are 170,000 persons in Magwi County.

PRESENT CONDITIONS

On their return, these former refugees were given basic household non-food items such as tents, plates, pans, blankets and plastic sheeting. They were also given food rations that lasted for three months. Thereafter, the returnees were expected to fend for themselves. The majority came back in 2007/2008 and consequently, they are no longer on food aid. The able-bodied have managed to cultivate and grown crops which include sorghum, sesame, cassava, sweet potato and beans.

A number of NGOs have been contracted to provide some basic infrastructure for the population. There has been a program to set up boreholes in several locations to provide safe water. In some places, old dilapidated schools have been repaired and few new ones have been built. However, there is not sufficient teachers for these schools. Very few primary health care centers have been constructed. Moreover, neither healthcare workers nor drugs have been systematically supplied to these centers. For example, the County Headquarters at Magwi does not have a hospital. The nearest hospital is at Nimule some 200 km away, but no ambulance to ferry emergency cases to it. As a result, there is a very high rate of women dying during child birth. Equally, a lot people are dying from curable diseases such as malaria and diarrhea because of lack of drugs and qualified personnel
YOUTH

The youth of the area are idle; there is almost 100% unemployment. Even those with qualifications to teach, are unable to get jobs with the State government. To keep themselves busy, they nevertheless continue to give tuition in the schools on a voluntary basis. A similar situation obtains in the health sector: some youth are enthusiastic to work in the health facilities but the government does not provide training for them. Those without qualifications are ready to undergo training in skills such as carpentry and masonry. But at the moment, there are no Vocational Training Centers similar to the one run by ECF in Kiryandongo. As a result, there is rising rate of delinquency among the youth as they resort to drinking a cheap and dangerous local brand of alcohol.

Recommendations: There is need to introduce training programmes in teaching, healthcare, agriculture and basic skills for the youth. The provision of recreation and sport facilities in the county will go a long way to staunch the growing cases of delinquency.

WOMEN

There are many households which are headed by women as their husbands have died in the war or due to other causes and they are responsible for supporting them. They try very hard to do business in an area where there are virtually no salaried people. Usually, they sell vegetables and part of their harvest in the local market. The little money they get is used to buy uniforms for their school-going children; part of it is also used to buy the rare and expensive medications.

Recommendations: A microfinance loan scheme should be introduced in the area to assist the market women. With the loan, they will be able to ferry some of their produce to centers such as Torit (State Headquarters) and Juba where they can fetch better prices for their commodities. Better health facilities should be established in the area to look after the health of mothers and children.
THE GENERAL PUBLIC

The roads leading to the area remain in terrible conditions that existed during the war. Consequently, those businessmen who would want to ferry their agricultural produce to market centers are unable to do so. The existing health facilities are inadequate to cater for everybody. Thus, the adult population remains vulnerable to diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. The available boreholes are insufficient to serve the population. There is therefore, the tendency among the people to drink unsafe water from the streams during rainy seasons. This increases the prevalence of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. The people in Isore (Lobone) are suffering an epidemic infection of jiggers; a consequence of unhygienic living conditions.

Recommendation: Feeder roads in the area should be graded to allow transportation to market centers for business people. The existing health facilities should be supplied with medicines for the common diseases and infections and trained staff should be employed. More safe water points need to be established.

CONCLUSION

The people of Magwi are hard-working lot who need a helping hand to support their own efforts to establish a livelihood. The introduction of sustainable programs in health, education, business and rehabilitation of the basics infrastructure will go along way in assisting them to attain self-reliance.