Over 3,000 South Sudanese returnees arrive in N. Bahr el Ghazal,
complain of neglect
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By Julius N. Uma
August 17, 2011 (AWEIL) - A visibly excited 100 strong crowd gathered
at Aweil railway station in Northern Bahr El Gazal state on Saturday
to catch a glimpse of the latest South Sudan returnees to arrive in
the newly independent nation from Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
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South Sudan returnees, after setting up camped after their arrival in
Aweil, N. Bahr el Ghazal, August, 13, 2011 (ST)
The 3,000 returnees, the majority of whom were women and children,
looked frail and exhausted after the long train journey that went via
Kosti.
At one of the terminals where a train had been packed, some mothers
remained seated in the wagons perhaps pondering their next move. They
occasionally stared outside hoping to see a close relative.
The older children, meanwhile, played with each other. To them, it was
just another phase of life in a different location.
According to officials from the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission (SSRRC) at the state level, the batch consisted of over
3,000 returnees, destined for the various states across the new
Republic of South Sudan.
A UN humanitarian report on August 11 said that “the cumulative number
of new arrivals to South Sudan since last autumn now stands at over
328,000, with estimates of an additional 12,350 in transit within the
country.”
As soon as these returnees arrive, an official told Sudan Tribune,
they are registered according to the respective states to which they
belong after which they are sheltered and provided with food rations
for three days.
“We expect [returnees] to be united with their relatives and a
resettlement package is usually given to them at the certain
designated terminals. Already, we are working in close partnership
with state officials and the national government to repatriate these
southern returnees,” said the SSRRC official who preferred anonymity.
Most of the returnees interviewed said they faced lots of difficulties
on route to South Sudan, with constant attacks and manned road blocks,
which they largely blamed on the northern Messiriya tribe.
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A section of the train which transported South Sudan returnees to to
Aweil, N. Bahr el Ghazal, August, 13, 2011 (ST
After being registered by aid agencies, these returnees are issued
with white cards in anticipation for their next phase of the
reintegration and resettlement process. Some returnees expressed
frustration at the process.
“We are totally confused. When we came here, were told to register and
later give[n] these white cards. Does the government expect us to eat
these white cards with our children?” said a visibly disappointed
woman holding a white card.
She appealed to the South Sudan government, through its state
departments to immediately intervene to help returnees, some of whom
were headed for Wau, the capital of Western Bahr el Ghazal a few days
later.
The Northern Bahr el Ghazal state minister for information and
communication, Bona Makuac Mawein, told Sudan Tribune that his
government was committed to addressing the needs of the returnees.
“We have formed an integration committee that developed proposals on
how best the state can handle the plight of southern returnees.
However, as part of these proposal[s], we agreed that upon return,
these returnees will be registered after which they are given food
rations for three days,” said the minister, who heads the committee.
He added, “Additional food rations expected to last for three months
are later given to each of these returnees at their respective
terminals.”
Mawien completely denied allegations that government was negligent
towards returnees, and instead he blamed some of them for refusing to
comply with set rules and regulations.
In Northern Bahr el Ghazal, the minister revealed, crimes committed by
returnees reportedly top cases filed at the state’s central prison.
(ST)
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