FEATURE-Forecast for education is gloomy in troubled Rumbek East County

By Manyang Mayom

November 19, 2008 (RUMBEK EAST) — Students show up to class less frequently these days at the renowned Bar-Aliap primary school for the sons and daughters of the SPLA, owing to a morbid atmosphere that has settled on Rumbek East County since clashes last month between the Duor-bar and Duor-chiek sub-tribes, in which five people were reported killed.

Students used to come long distances to attend classes in Bar-Aliap, walking two hours while generally other children only walk for one hour. Bar-Aliap primary school has served the Lakes state community since the war period between the Khartoum government regime and the former rebel army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

Bar-Aliap started classes in 1992 and graduates of the school were among the first to attend the opening classes of Rumbek Senior secondary school in 1998 after the school was recaptured from the former enemy in 1997 by the SPLA.

The students are from both the Duor-Bar and Duor-Chiek clans, which came into conflict last month. These clans are part of the pastoralist Dinka Agar tribe found throughout Rumbek East County in Southern Sudan. They say they are famed for their courageous efforts in fighting against the Arab government, and they did not accept to become a faction during the SPLA splintering of 1991 to 1994.

The inter-clan relations in Rumbek East seem to have been complicated by state-level politics, ever since casualties in September were committed by SPLA soldiers and another political earthquake hit the state parliament. The Lakes state parliament has not yet come together to discuss the new year’s budget to be presented in the Southern Sudan parliament for final approval. There are still political discrepancies among lawmakers and with executives.

From Rumbek Central County to Rumbek East County, there are guns in Bar-Pakeny and Mabor-duong, and they are all AK-47s with youths known as “Gelweng” (a name that came during the war, it means to protect your cow) loitering on the streets. The two pastoralist tribes of Dinka Nuer and Dinka Agaar of Rumbek had fought over cattle while the government was at war with the SPLA, so the SPLM administration decided to give guns to cattle keepers in 1992 to protect their wealth from external enemies.

Bar-Pakeny, a well-known market that served civilians during the war, has become unnatural to the community in Rumbek East, as it is a battle zone between cattle raiders.

Lakes state lawmakers are holding a lot of discussions with the community in different constituencies to enlighten youths to preserve peace and stability in the areas, but it is still difficult to make the youths interested. Rumbek East youths harass each other over cattle thefts and issues related to girls’ pregnancies, making yet more threats of violence within the society of Agaar tribes in Lakes state.

Roads within Rumbek town are properly maintained with support from UNOPS using manpower for the work. However, the ministry of physical infrastructure plans to install an electric power station within Rumbek town, promising to connect Rumbek to electricity within two months.

POSSIBLE STARVATION: MABOR-DUONG AND BAR-PAKENY

In the eastern part of Rumbek Central County, there is speculation of starvation. The community of Rumbek East failed to cultivate the first harvest crop in the last rainy season due to an inter-clan battle in the area. And although the Lakes state Ministry of Physical Infrastructure plans to drill more water hand-pumps, still there are no safe drinking sources in the rural areas, so that well over 1000 of these people use unsafe water.

Current practice along the river of Bar-Naam, Pool-kuc and Pacuok is still for people to stay naked, basing their life on swimming and fishing daily.

MEDICINES

These rural communities receive a little medication support from a Christian organization and from UNICEF. There is a rise in malaria infections observed within the society. Children who are infected by malarial bites are rushed to Rumbek state hospital for further treatment. There has been no clinic in this Rumbek East County since the Lakes state government was established in 2005 under former governor John Lat Zechariah.

Nevertheless, there is a teachers training centre in Ateriu while Adol centre is hosting training of healthcare. The local businessmen in Mabor-duong and Bar-Pakeny village used to sell medicine in an open air market. These people who used to sell drugs are not professional pharmacists but they give one drugs according to one’s demand.

According to Bar-Pakeny businessman Wani Patrick, Bar-Pakeny has suffered in the inter-clan conflict: “We have lost our business of getting enough money for each day, ever since the Duor-bar and Duor-Chiek conflict hit the area. Our customers are not buying very well from us like they usually do, like in the last month. A vast number of customers have fled away from the market centre and they go deep into rural villages. We are just left with customers of salt. (Earnings from) clothes and beer drop into two percent from their original of 99 percent.”

TRANSPORTATION

Bar-Pakeny and Mabor-duong communities use SENKA motorbikes and bicycles. There are no good roads at all within the areas. There are more road accidents committed by motorbikes with bicycles, but there are no traffic police to investigate these case. There are many vehicles within Rumbek town but the majority are UN cars and government officials’ cars. There is public transportation connecting three other states with Rumbek, the capital of Lakes state, including routes from Wau, Yambio, Warrap and others within Lakes that include Wulu, Bar-Pakeny, Yirol, Akot, Atiaba, Cueibet and Maper county.

In 2006, the President of Sudan Omer Al-Bashir promised in a public rally at Rumbek Freedom Square that he would build a road from Khartoum to Bentiu and Maper county, but that promise has not been effected. He also promised to build Rumbek University and to open a professional hospital, but both promises are downplayed within the presidential palace in Khartoum. Lakes state travelers usually pay their transport cost according to the distances and taxes are high. There are fixed prices for travelers. Over one hundred youth and old men use motorbikes as a faster transport system, but it causes more people to get injured since roads are still bad.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS

These communities of Rumbek like to keep cattle. Rumbek hosts one big auction that brings together all eight counties of Lakes state to sell off their first- and second-class cattle. Without cows, it is very difficult to marry in this Dinka society. Thus in this territory of the Dinka Agaar, there is much reluctance to kill a cow. There are a lot of goats and sheep in this area with high prices in the auction of Rumbek Central County. The prices of hens are lower than cows and goats, so many people like to eat chicken meat.

MAINTAINING SECURITY

Although inter-clan conflict has overcome Rumbek East County since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, the government of Lakes state has tried to quell insecurity despite difficulties in bringing justice to cases of inter-clan conflict. After the wounding of seven people in September by SPLA members, the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) minister of interior affairs and SPLA chief of staff intervened to pull out SPLA Divisions Four and Five, telling them to withdraw from Rumbek East and Rumbek Central. The Lakes state police took over the command and deployed riot police into the area but there are still complaints about a stream of violence committed by riot police.

A youth who asked not to be named was beaten in his left eye after he crossed a riot line. He said, “I was told to stop and I did it. Immediately riot policemen start beating me randomly until my left eye got this serious injury. I am not sure whether I will see again with this left eye again in the future.”

A policeman said that they are going to move three cattle camps of Pool-kuc, Bar-Naam and Pacuok into toch territory (a grassy lowland). He said that there is speculation of conflict expected between these three cattle camp. They even harass local businessmen’s trucks coming from Rumbek Central County to Rumbek East County on their way to the three greater Yirol counties. “We are not going to allow them to stay there any longer. They must move to toch,” he said.

A 70-year old man named Yep Malual Monydit said that Bar-Pakeny for the first time faces business difficulties.

“I had been a military man for 22 years out of 48 years of my life inhabiting in this Bar-Pakeny village. Youths are our problem nowadays because they don’t listen to elders. These youths like to take revenge without forgiveness. We elders of this Pakeney community have been undermined by our children and this is out of our norms,” he said.

Monydit added, “our norm can allow spear masters to separate conflict but nowadays, it is not happening anymore. Youth term elders as their enemies. They usually called us spy. These young cattle raiders see policemen as weak mouth and weak hand that can not conquer youth into justice.” In October the commissioner of the Lakes state police was quoted as saying that police do not have enough cars and ammunition.

The Lakes state government is making efforts to quell insecurity but the situation remains difficult.

COMMUNICATIONS

Rumbek town has four networks for communications systems: Canar, MTN, Gemtel and Zain. It is easy for businessmen to communicate for business while out in the countryside.

A man at work can now easily communicate with his wife at home. A small boy herding cows into the forests can still be in touch with his family at home. Thousand of South Sudanese youths who had not been oriented to use mobile telephone communication have now become Zain users. It is an improvement over the traditional communications system in rural areas of Lakes state, since rural people used to rely on sending messages by ordering a strong young man to run to another community.

(ST)