South Sudan: refugees face dire conditions
“I have never seen so much death in my life,” says Abdullahi Mussa Jardo, one of 30,000 refugees living in dire conditions in Jamam refugee camp in South Sudan.
“There are people and tents all over. There is overcrowding. There is no work, no money and no prospect of making money. Our biggest problems are illnesses – diarrhoea, malaria, eye diseases – a shortage of food, a lack of money and a lack of clothing.”
Heavy fighting and the threat of being bombed forced Abdullahi and his family to leave their village in Blue Nile State, Sudan. They walked for days, in fear of their lives, before getting a lift to the border with South Sudan.
But the conditions they found when they reached Jamam were appalling. Because of overcrowding, poor sanitation, flooding, and a lack of food and medicine, children in the camp are dying at an alarming rate.
Many of the new arrivals in the camp are already malnourished, having walked for weeks with virtually no food. And aid agencies face extraordinary challenges in even reaching the area: heavy rain means that the roads from the south are impassable.
“The camp clinics are trying their best, but people are dying,” says Abdullahi. “When someone goes to the clinic, they don’t return. Back at home people used to die, but not at the rate which we are witnessing here.”
Today, Abdullahi’s wife Jamila has malaria – and the medicine she’s received at the clinic doesn’t seem to be working. Their five-year-old daughter, sharing the same tent, is even more seriously ill.
We want to live in peace
Life wasn’t easy for Abdullahi and his family in their home village. But he cherishes the memory of being able to determine his own future.
“We used to grow our own food,” he says. “I used to have my own goats. But life has changed so much for me.
“I would go home immediately if I could. I would not waste a day. I haven’t heard much about what’s happening back home, except that my brother, who stayed, was killed in the war. People are bombing our villages, but we are not soldiers. We want to live in peace.”
Despite the grim situation, Abdullahi says that he is able to keep going because of his faith and because of the solidarity in the camp: “My greatest strengths are my Islamic faith, prayer and the way the camp residents are helping each other,” he says.
A tragedy before our eyes
CAFOD’s Nyika Musiyazwiriyo says: “This is a humanitarian tragedy happening before our eyes. The conditions that Abdullahi and his family are living in are shocking. Diarrhoea and malaria are rife, and children are dying needlessly from these preventable illnesses.
“Heavy rains have cut the camps off from the rest of the world, so it is difficult to bring in food, medicines and equipment to drill boreholes or build latrines. But despite the logistical challenges, agencies are doing all they can to get supplies into what is now a swampy wasteland.
“Our rapid assessment mission found that providing clean water and latrines is an urgent priority to control the spread of diseases. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to assist the people in Jamam and the other camps in Maban.”
The crisis near the border of South Sudan has been largely forgotten by the world. Please keep Abdullahi’s family and all of those affected in your thoughts and prayers, and please help us by donating to our Emergency Response Fund .
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