Solidaridad con Sudán del Sur
Estas son las últimas noticias de Solidaridad con Sudán del Sur enviadas por el Hno. Bill Firman, Director Ejecutivo de Solidaridad con Sudán del Sur y Hermano Cristiano de Lasalle, quien actualmente reside en Juba.
La corteza de una buena tarta parece firme y estable cuando la miras desde afuera. Es así que yo veo a Sudán del Sur en este momento. Desde donde me encuentro, la vida parece transcurrir con calma y normalidad y fácilmente podría olvidar todo lo que está sucediendo en otras zonas del país. Pero ¿qué se esconde realmente debajo de esa corteza? Sabemos que, a excepción de los soldados, no queda prácticamente nadie en Malakal y que aún hay cuerpos insepultos en las calles. Los informes de Malakal y de otras áreas de conflicto son vagos y, en algunos casos, contradictorios. Hay peticiones y reconvenciones. En las últimas semanas todo ha estado relativamente tranquilo, a mi parecer, pero a pesar de ello, aún ignoramos si la corteza está por romperse. ¿Será que solo hay algunos pocos puntos dañados bajo la corteza o acaso la masa entera se está descomponiendo? ¿Quién puede brindar el antibiótico necesario? ¿Quién hace qué, a quién y con qué propósito? Realmente no lo sé. Lo que sí sé es que las vidas de muchas personas inocentes se han visto sido completamente afectadas no solo por la violencia en Sudán del Sur sino también por las continuas luchas en las regiones aledañas. Temo que la llegada de la estación de lluvias pueda acelerar el deterioro de la corteza. Quizás la protección de la ONU sea lo suficientemente amplia como para abarcar toda la corteza, pero por qué la misma ONU está siendo tan atacada por los políticos? Lo siento, pero no puedo contestar estas preguntas. No puedo ver más allá de la corteza misma. Tal vez yo no sea Salomón, pero de una u otra manera mis instintos me dicen que este no es el momento de pinchar la tarta con mis dedos.
A continuación podrán encontrar más información en inglés sobre la situación de Sudán del Sur.
The latest estimates now speak of more than 20,000 killed in the recent conflict within South Sudan and more than one million displaced. Who really knows? What we do know is that the wet season is coming, that many people will not be able to plant crops and that it will be a hungry time for too many. There is a developing concern that those states in South Sudan that have remained stable may be drawn into the conflict by an invasion of very hungry people from the areas of conflict seeking food. We read that ‘United Nations World Food Programmed (WFP) and its partners have so far provided food and nutrition assistance to nearly half a million conflict-affected people in South Sudan…. WFP is using a combination of airlifts and airdrops to reach tens of thousands of people in remote, hard-to-reach areas.’
The humanitarian crisis within South Sudan, however, is not confined only to South Sudanese but also involves people fleeing from their homelands in the north to places such as Maban and Yida. Maban was a small town in South Sudan but now houses 122,000 refugees in four large camps. Most have fled from another ‘forgotten war’ the attack by the Khartoum government on the people of the state of Blue Nile, technically part of the north (Sudan), but ethically aligned with South Sudan. It was disturbing to read in an article in the Sudan Tribune yesterday:
‘Blue Nile refugees are in critical situation and need the protection and support of the United Nations agencies, as they are asked to evacuate their camps in South Sudan’s Maban county…. the Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile state are facing a difficult choice as the host community of Maban county in Unity state, which is controlled by the South Sudanese government, asked them to leave the area… Tensions between two communities started early this month, as a result of accusations of livestock theft and cutting down of trees has aggravated their situation.’
Sudan is bombing the Nuba Mountains area, where the people are also ethnically South Sudanese but part of another one of the Sudan states, South Kordofan. Many people have fled from this conflict and there are some 82,000 people in Yida in South Sudan. 25,000 of them are school age children. It is also reported by WFP that “Nearly 85,000 refugees (from South Sudan) have arrived in Ethiopia, many in very poor condition with alarmingly high levels of malnutrition”
Further, there are many thousands of South Sudanese who have fled into Kenya and Uganda – and some families, have been moved there out of harm’s way, by those ‘big men’ who can afford to do so. As always it is the ordinary people who suffer the heavy burden of war while those, who cause the conflict, side-step direct involvment and negate any impact on their own families.
In the east, the Darfur region of Sudan, well publicised a few years ago because of the conflict there, continues to be an unstable area. The rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) describes itself as ‘a force representing the interests of the Darfuris in dissent against the government’ in Khartoum. The JEM joined the South Sudan Government troops in the attack on Leer, a Nuer town in South Sudan. After looting and burning, the JEM returned to Darfur, probably well satisfied with their spoils. War always has its own reward for some – and tragedy for others.
Like many of the protagonists in the diverse conflicts of Sudan and South Sudan, the JEM try to claim the high morale ground. The JEM spokeperson says that JEM ‘is ready for dialogue and coordination with any political force’ which sounds reasonable until you read the rest of the sentence, ‘to overthrow the regime…’ In South Sudan, Riek Machar describes his rebels as the ‘pro-democracy forces trying to overthrow the Dictator in Juba, Salva Kiir’– who is actually the elected leader.
Does all this sound messy and confusing? I think it does and it is! Solomon where are you?
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Br Bill