Atem Dut is Plan South Sudan's Communications Officer.
When I left Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya where I grew up, I was returning 16 years later to a country I had left running for my life. I was excited to be in South Sudan again and have my dreams of getting a decent job and education abroad fulfilled.
However, will it similarly work out for thousands of former Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now returning in masses from Sudan to their communities in South Sudan?
Food aid
In mid December 2011, I visited Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, to find out how the returnees were adjusting to life. I attended a food distribution supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) at the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRC) compound. 96 households were waiting to receive a one-time supply of food aid - with the expectation that returnees would integrate into their communities and be self-sufficient after 1 month.
Clothing for food
James Jok, the SSRC’s Jonglei State Coordinator, told me that since food prices in the market have skyrocketed returnees are selling their belongings to buy food and medication.
Ayen, 30, said the food she was collecting from the WFP would not last for 2 weeks with her 5 children. Her husband is not working and has almost sold all his clothing to buy food.
At the distribution site I also met Madol, 48, and his wife. Madol like the other returnees was happy about returning to his homeland, telling me that he now shares the same rights and privileges with me as a citizen of the Republic of South Sudan. He has come from Juba to collect the food aid for his family as they do not yet have anywhere to live in Jonglei.
Safe villages for resettlement
Land is a key issue affecting Madol and the other returnees. Madol and his family need a piece of land to start their new life. The Jonglei State government has allotted land for the returnees at Mathiang, a rural town about 100km north of Bor. Sadly, returnees are unwilling to relocate there due to the insecurity in that area.
In December the area was afflicted by cattle raiding which resulted in deaths and left the residents in constant fear that their children could be abducted. Until the security can be improved the state returnees are generally unwilling to return to their villages and continue to crowd into Bor.
Manhan, a mother of 4, who was also waiting to get food for her family, told me that she was lucky to get accommodation near Bor in a tukul (grass thatched hut) belonging to relatives after returning from Khartoum. She felt that they are squashed like chickens in the limited space. She hopes that her family will soon be able to settle in their community.
Rebuilding communities
Plan South Sudan’s projects in Jonglei State include school lunch programming, borehole rehabilitation and Community-led Total Sanitation programmes to end open defecation.
After visiting some of the villages around Bor I hope that the returnees can soon safely integrate into their former villages so that they can earn a living, their children can attend school and they can fully begin their new lives.
Atem Dut