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------Original message------ From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> To: "Group" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 10:57:46 AM GMT+0300 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] More bombing in the Nuba Mountains 1. From a source on the ground in the Nuba Mountains: On September 28th 2011 the Antonov dropped 5 bombs in Abri and 2 in Tongoli, at 2 – 3 pm. In Abri 4 killed: 1 - is called Nattat 41 years old - male, he is disabled, moving with wheel chair. The shrapnel cut off his head and was buried without his head. “They searched but couldn’t find his head”!!!. 2 - is called Janjawied, 22 years old - male. 3 and 4 - are kids one 13 years old - male and the other is also male and is 12 years old. The injured are 6. Three of them are from Hamid’s family; the bomb was dropped in the house. On Sep 30th 2011 in the evening hours the mig jet fighters bombed the area between Sabat, and Tojor in Delami locality, but lucky enough only goats were killed that evening. Stay blessed. 2. Stranded in Sudan: "I want to be a cow" Published on : 3 October 2011 - 8:55pm | By Koert Lindijer Radio Netherlands Worldwide RNW’s Africa correspondent Koert Lindijer was stranded for almost four weeks in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. He had gone to the region to cover an almost forgotten war but when the annual rains began, he couldn't leave and get back to his base in Nairobi. He spent his days sunk in lethargy: “I began to wonder if the sun would ever shine again." Eventually he sent us this report: I don't want to start writing this story. I've been stuck in a rebel area in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, surrounded by hostile government soldiers, without any way to reach the safety of the outside world for several weeks now. I feel smothered by lethargy. Hope leads to hopelessness. Writing takes energy but energy creates expectations. In order to get through this I have to put my feelings on standby. A new war has broken out in Sudan. In 1955, the black South Sudanese started a rebellion against domination and exploitation by the Arab people of northern Sudan. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended decades of fighting and eventually led to the independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011. But the CPA didn't solve Sudan's fundamental problem: is this an Arab or a black African nation? Bomb the civilians The black tribes in the Nuba mountains and neighbouring Blue Nile State, as well as in the western region of Darfur, continue to resist marginalisation and Arab domination. Civilians are the main target in the Nuba mountains; in order to cover this vicious conflict, I have to be here where it's happening and so here I am. The resistance is being led by the Sudan People's Liberation Army–North (SPLA/N). Everyday, government bombers fly overhead. The Sudanese government is using the same tactics it used during the first war: bomb the civilians in the rebel areas into submission. Tens of thousands of Nuba people have fled into the mountains to escape the bombs. Watching insects They can't do much farming and the blockades around the cities mean that trading has stopped as well. Students don't go to school because the bombing is indiscriminate. There is no medicine because foreign aid organisations have been prevented from entering the area. A few weeks ago, a pilot took a chance and flew me in. It's been raining since then and the landing strip is just a mud pool. There is no way to tell one day from another and sometimes I wonder if the sun will ever shine again. I want to be a cow and just endlessly chew and chew. Watching insects is a way to pass the time; sand flies during the day, mosquitoes in the evening and fleas during the night. Ants bite me anywhere they can and leave nasty red bumps behind. Tonight I'm going to imitate the goats: they climb up a rock-face and then slide down, scraping insects and bites off their hides. I want to scrape away the itching and the pain. Sugar with everything Julud was a mountain village during the first war. After 2002, the thousand inhabitants came down the mountain and created a new village; first there was a little shop, then a market with ten little shops and then more houses. Every day I go and eat my plate of beans at Arafa's, she’s an attractive young tea lady. She serves beans with sugar or beans with crumbled cookies and sugar. She also has milk with sugar and tea with sugar. People in Sudan like sugar with everything. Arafa brings Adam some cucumber and sour milk. When fighting broke out in the regional capital Kadugli four months ago, Adam fled to the rebel-held territory. “President Omar al-Bashir's government wants to wipe out us Nubas," he says loudly. Government soldiers ransacked his house in Kadugli; anything that had any value was taken, including the furniture, the roof, the toilet and the kitchen sink. Then the soldiers brought in a bulldozer and flattened his house: Adam has nothing any more. His long political tirade in Arafa’s teahouse betrays a deep hatred of ‘the Arabs’. “It’s a genocide of the Nuba people.” Toothpaste and lollies Adam tells about a bombing that took place yesterday, some ten kilometres up the road. Two women were killed by shrapnel wounds to the stomach. Exhausted rebel fighters stumble into Julud from the front lines; the government troops went on the attack but were intercepted, eight people dead. The SPLA/N commander decides to move me to a safer area, further away from the front line. It's cheaper in Tima; smugglers have managed to bring goods in from the besieged towns. There are tubes of toothpaste and lollies on the dusty shelves of the little shops and on market day, even a few bottles of fizzy drink. The richest person in the village has a teaching diploma and a television. In the evening, the silence is broken by a police siren screaming on a TV show. Free, home There’s excitement in the air the following evening; the fighters welcome a man, they clap him on the shoulders and embrace him: “SPLA oyé,” they say jubilantly. He escaped from the nearby garrison town of Logowa and, after a two-month trek through hostile territory, finally made it to SPLA/N territory. He laughs, “I'm free here, I'm home." Will I ever get away from here? Will this ever end? I haven't got anything left to read and there's nothing else to do. I'm even running out of paper to write on. http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/stranded-sudan-i-want-be-a-cow END2 END1 3. Field Dispatch: Journey into Uncertainty Sep 29, 2011 By Nenad Marinkovic, Enough Project Bentiu, Unity State, South Sudan – The escalation of the conflict in South Kordofan between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army – North, or SPLA-N, is continuing to force many residents of the region into displacement. Over 70,000 people are estimated to have been displaced since the first days of clashes in early June.[i] While the majority of people have moved north, many others have moved southward into the newly independent state of South Sudan. The Yida refugee settlement, which emerged in South Sudan’s Unity State following the start of the crisis, offers at least some feeling of safety and shelter, yet the journey for many of these people will not end there. Yida village is in the northernmost part of Unity State in South Sudan, around 11km from the border with the north, and is now home to around 10,000 people displaced from South Kordofan. The latest OCHA report, which was based on registration figures by the UN Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, estimated the number to be 9,200. Only in recent weeks, this number has reportedly risen by a few thousand people and is continuing to grow as more people arrive in search of safety.[ii] Yet the Yida settlement is considered by some to be in an unsafe area. At only 11 km away from the Sudanese border at its closest point, it is too close to the conflict zone by UNHCR’s protection standards.[iii] International agencies share the belief that the settlement’s location near the conflict zone is a serious issue, though the displaced individuals are willing to remain in proximity to the border, according to INTERSOS’s Country Director. Antonov bombers from the Sudanese Air Force have been seen flying over Yida on reconnaissance missions at very low altitudes, some as low as 1,000 feet, according to a relief worker who spoke on condition of anonymity. Adding to the overall feeling of unease by international relief workers is the fact that the nearest SPLA base is only 2.5 km from the settlement. UNHCR and the government of Unity State have therefore identified an alternative location for a refugee camp 75km from the border that the UN argues would be more accessible to relief agencies, far from potential threats. Its location would also allow for the allocation of arable land for farming to the displaced individuals, [iv] thus lessening their future dependence on relief operations. The humanitarian agencies, led by UNCHR, recently assembled a six-member committee made up of displaced individuals to take part in a ‘go and see’ visit to the new location, which is located north of Bentiu. Mahdi, a Nuban and community traditional leader was one of the six-member committee. He went through a tremendous struggle to get his family to safety, out of the conflict zone in South Kordofan. In fact, he and his family found themselves in Kadugli when the clashes erupted and his recollection of events during the first days of the fighting is very disturbing. Mahdi recalls, for example, seeing people shot in the streets for being alleged SPLA-N supporters. He and his family quickly decided to hike alongside some 150 people who were moving toward the town of Al Hamera. After sixteen days of long walking, SAF Antonovs started bombing the convoy of people, forcing them to run for cover. Mahdi says that in the flurry of activity, the families in the convoy were scattered across a wide area and it took days for some of them to reunite and resume their walk, which finally ended three days later in the town of Reqa. Mahdi’s hopes of finding safety in Reqa were short lived, however, as SAF was continuously shelling the town with Antonov bombers and MIG fighter jets. After weeks of fear and desperation he made a resolution to take his family across the border into the territory of South Sudan, and finally arrived at Yida in Unity state. With a glimpse of a smile on his face, he said, “we are finally safe”. Yet he and his family may soon have to undertake yet another journey. There is no unanimous decision among the displaced on UNHCR’s plan to relocate the refugees to Nyll, though some have admitted that it may be the only way to improve living conditions and access to services. Some 600 youth and teachers will voluntarily relocate to the site within a month, which the UN hopes will encourage others to follow. UNHCR and its implementing partner INTERSOS are working on providing the conditions for them to settle down and continue attending school, as some 900 children and youth are now attending makeshift schools in temporary structures. According to one Enough Project source, opposition to the relocation idea is very political in nature, as many of the displaced are unwilling to move far from the border for fear that it will not only make eventual return more difficult but will also open the door for those who would rather see the Nuba remain in the South. Others in Yida, who have family members still in South Kordofan, do not wish to move even further from their relatives. Also, according to some Enough Project sources, life in Yida settlement has gradually developed into a routine—there is small marketplace set up and some traders have managed to find ways to bring food and other items to sell, though often at soaring prices. There is an acute need for better services in Yida settlement. While food is being provided by WFP, water is being shared by local Yida residents who, while welcoming, have been quite overwhelmed by the large number of the displaced. Water and hygiene both remain problematic, with women and children having to wait up to one hour to get water. Alternative sources of water are being planned, but limited access and threats of water contamination are still serious concerns. Additionally, levels of malnutrition among new arrivals are increasing. As OCHA’s humanitarian bulletin reports, “Humanitarian assistance therefore focuses on providing food, inclusive of therapeutic feeding, when needed.”[v] Despite these efforts, the situation continues to be uncertain. Given the current situation, all parties must urgently find a sustainable solution to the displacement crisis caused by the conflict in South Kordofan. Relocation seems to be the preferred option of the Unity State government and UNCHR, but many of the displaced continue to resist the idea for various reasons. According to the latest OCHA humanitarian bulletin, leaders of the displaced are negotiating with humanitarian agencies while UNHCR is setting up wait stations along the route to the new site in preparation for movement. Whether the displaced will ultimately choose to move again, however, remains to be seen. [i] OCHA, “Statement on south Kordofan by Under-Secretary –General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos,” 21 June 2011, available at http://ochanet.unocha.org/p/Documents/South%20Kordofan%20ERC%20statement%2021%20June%202011.pdf. [ii] Enough Project interview with representatives of the displaced and UNHCR, Bentiu, Unity State. [iii] Norwegian Refugee Council, Camp Coordination and Camp Management Handbook, 2008, p. 193, available at http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9293559.pdf. [iv] Bonifacio Taban, “Over 5,000 Refugees from South Kordofan Arrive in Unity State for Settlement,” 06 August 2011, available at http://reliefweb.int/node/439415. [v] OCHA, Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, 22 September 2011, available at http://reliefweb.int/node/448878. http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/field-dispatch-journey-uncertainty END3 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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