Over 3,000 South Sudanese returnees arrive in N. Bahr el Ghazal, complain of neglect

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.

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.

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)