“I was working in my garden when I heard loud gun shots. I rushed to pick up my three-month old baby who was sleeping under the tree and we ran for our lives.”
Twenty-four-year-old Betty explains how she fled her home in panic along with thousands of others during an incident involving the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces along the border with Kajo-Keji in South Sudan.
“I had no choice but to leave my other son and husband behind. I still don’t know where they are.”
Mother of five, Kiden Agnes, has a similar story after her village in Nyainga-Muda was subjected to shelling.
“I was in the hospital receiving antenatal care when I heard guns firing in the distance. People were running everywhere,” she recounts.
She joined those fleeing to Kajo-Keji town, leaving behind everything she owns. She now relies on the support of her 16-year-old son who collects water from a stream and sells it to customers in local restaurants. This meagre income allows them to buy enough food to survive.
Kiden has also not heard from her husband since the day she ran away, despite trying desperately to reach him by phone and through friends and family.
“I’ve even reported him missing to the local authorities and International Red Cross, but there is still no information about his whereabouts. We miss him terribly.”
These testimonies reflect the immense harm caused by outbreaks of violence in this region of South Sudan. These families, not only suffer from the trauma of the incident, but are physically torn apart from each other for long periods of time and forced to rebuild their already fragile lives each time violence strikes.
Dawa Dudu had only returned to her home in Bori village from the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in neighbouring Uganda three months prior to the outbreak of violence. After fleeing the village, she says there is no way she can go back.
“I’m totally confused. I have nowhere to go, and I feel I have no reason to be alive.”
Despite significant challenges, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan is doing its utmost to support the devastated communities, conducting regular peacekeeping patrols to deter violence and facilitate the safe delivery of the little aid that is available.
“We are endeavoring to protect civilians and provide reassurance to the affected communities, particularly the 15,000 people who have been displaced,” says UNMISS Civil Affairs Officer, Lawson Mbetah.
“It’s critical that the violence stops and peace is restored so that people can return home to live safely, reconnect with family, and rebuild their lives.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).