Seasoned travellers are fond of declaring that the journey is in fact the destination, or at least the most important part of any trip. Had they embarked on the road, well, path, from Tonj to Romich after heavy rains, they would, literally speaking, have had a field day. Just ask the drivers of several cars along the route, helplessly stuck in mud, or in potholes of previously unknown depths.
But needs must, and these were plentiful for the patrolling peacekeepers.
They had set out to find out, for themselves, what the security situation of the area was like, following both a declaration of emergency and a disarmament campaign, the result of persistent and often cattle-related intercommunal violence. There was also the small matter of attempting to repair a faulty Radio Miraya transmitter to reconnect remote communities with news from the world beyond.
“It is currently calm here, but who will protect us if anything happens? There are not enough security forces around, says Paramount Chief Mathiang Deng as the team from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan reaches Thiet.
“How can our youth give up their guns under these circumstances? Disarmament without grievances being resolved and without accountability for crimes, that is hard for people to swallow,” he adds.
Trust in the process, it seems, is in short supply. Tonj South’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission Coordinator, Maruon Bol, explains that some 4,000 households who fled from earlier clashes are yet to return. Floods are currently displacing hundreds more, and those staying behind are ill-equipped to cope.
“Malaria cases are increasing. Families have no mosquito nets, no shelter and precious little to eat. There has been no humanitarian assistance since May, so communities feel abandoned,” he says, with almost impassable roads making access to villages extremely difficult.
“Who will make sure we are safe if not even security forces can reach us? At the same time, we are told to hand in our weapons. It makes no sense,” affirms Kuol Maker, an elder from a nearby community.
But anywhere near Romich, the UNMISS patrol team came not, as the mud and floods proved too tough to navigate. They did, however, make avid Radio Miraya listener James Bol, a happy man: Mere minutes after rain-drenched technicians had managed to fix the broadcaster’s broken transmitter, he got in touch.
“Weeks without Miraya, it has not been easy. Listening to it is part of my everyday life, and without it, I have felt cut off.”
Sometimes, as Mr. Bol would agree, an aborted patrol can be a successful patrol – and the journey more important than the destination.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
