I shifted uneasily in my chair. It was hard to ignore the heading. It jumped off the newspaper and came right at me: “Humanitarian crisis looms as Sudanese return home”.
My mind drifted back to the previous weekend. Lual, one of my closest friends, had invited me to join him and other Southern Sudanese to celebrate the preliminary outcome of the referendum. We danced the night away in his small apartment. Between the merriment he turned to me; sweat flowing down his forehead, teeth glittering, eyes white as snow, and proclaimed: “This is what we fought for! This is what the blood was shed for! We are the new generation, and Southern Sudan is ours!”
He then floated across the room like a butterfly, moving in rhythm to the pulsating beats that were blaring from his speakers.
That night, I can swear that I heard in Lual’s voice, I felt in his touch, and I saw in his eyes the hopes and aspirations of the 8 million people who live in Southern Sudan.
According to recent reports from two humanitarian aid agencies, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Oxfam, the influx of returning Southern Sudanese is placing insurmountable strain on local communities who are already facing a shortage of basic amenities like food, water and healthcare. The two agencies reported that the situation is getting worse, and called for more attention to protect and aid civilians.
Susan Purdin, IRC’s country director in Southern Sudan: “We have an unfolding humanitarian crisis. There’s the potential for mass displacement, an upsurge in political and ethnic violence and a larger scale humanitarian emergency.”
In a snapshot, this is the current situation in Southern Sudan: 83% of Southern Sudanese live in rural areas; One out of every two Southern Sudanese lives beneath the poverty line; It is one of the poorest and least developed places on earth; Millions are dependent on food aid; Less than half the population has access to clean drinking water; Maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the world; and One in seven children dies before the age of five.
As the humanitarian aid agencies work hard to address a situation that has seen some of the returning Southern Sudanese arriving with hardly any financial support system and camping in makeshift transit centers, I would like to offer my two cents worth of advice to the policy makers in Juba.
Consider this, as you work towards assimilating the returnees:
1) Sensitize the Southern Sudanese in the Diaspora about the migration services that are available to them:
The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) may want to consider partnering with some of the organizations that deal specifically with the movement of migrants from one country to another. With assistance from these organizations, the migrants could get help with the facilitation of their travel arrangements. This may include free bookings on commercial flights, transit permissions, escorts to transit points, as well as transit and reception assistance and onward transportation services. It is important to note that in some instances, not all migrants are eligible for these services. Restrictions may be set on migrants who, for example, are not asylum seekers in the countries in which they reside. Often, migration experts refer to this program as Assisted Voluntary Return, though this title may change from one organization to the next.
2) Conduct pre-departure information meetings:
Working through their foreign mission offices and/or with assistance from non-governmental organizations that help migrants to relocate, the government could start to conduct pre-departure information meetings for their populations in the Diaspora. These meetings would be for the purpose of disseminating factual, objective and accurate information about the situation on the ground, and the socio-economic dynamics at a micro- and macro-level. It would serve the purpose of taming some of the unrealistic expectations from citizenry who may expect much more from the young government than it may be in a position to deliver. These meetings could also be used to prepare the migrants for such probable eventualities as a rise in the price of commodities in Southern Sudan (owing to the sudden surge in their numbers) and in addition, could be used as a platform to discuss the probable strain in cultural adaptation as the migrants struggle to align the values of their past life in the Diaspora to the heritage that they will find when they return home. This cultural adaptation session may be more critical for the younger generation, some of whom could be returning home for the first time since they were born.
3) GoSS should support the work of the non-governmental organizations that are committed to rebuilding communities:
The ramifications of the two civil wars that ran for over 20 years left little for the region by way of social amenities. Over the years, re-construction of structures like schools, roads and hospitals has started. And now, with the influx of returning Southern Sudanese, the government shall need to step up its efforts to rebuild these amenities. The non-governmental organizations that are already on the ground could help the local population not only rebuild their homes but also their lives, through the provision of livelihood support mechanisms like offering training in short courses tailored to alternative means of survival.
4) Offer medical trainings on outbreak investigation and response:
Poor access to health care and lack of medical supplies contributes to the high risk of outbreaks of communicable diseases like measles, cholera and diarrhea. These and other vaccine preventable diseases should be detected early and reported in a timely and accurate fashion in order to mitigate against high risks of outbreaks. The GoSS should work closely with health partners to offer medical trainings on outbreak investigation and response. Against the backdrop of inadequate medical facilities, this matter should be treated with all the seriousness that it deserves. Furthermore, with the flood of returnees, it is possible that some communicable diseases may be carried across the borders and back to South Sudan.
In conclusion, only the Southern Sudanese know what is best for them. And humanitarian aid workers are only meant to support the work of the ruling government and the will of the local population, not to create parallel systems of operation. These suggestions are subject to the wisdom of the policy makers in Juba.
I wish my friend Lual, and all the people of Southern Sudan, the very best of all good fortune as they embark on this monumental journey. I can only imagine the degree of excitement that you carry in your bellies. Yet I find myself forced to remind you that aspiration is good, but it can not feed a hungry man, clothe a naked child, or take a woman’s child to school. Plan, plan, and plan some more. Plan all the way to the end. And after that, plan even a little bit more.
The author is a humanitarian analyst and she writes on migration. Email her on: msanyu@yahoo.com
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