The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Warrap State’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) have trained 50 people in Kuajok of South Sudan’s Warrap State on how to receive and reintegrate displaced communities that fled floods, communal violence, and the civil war.
Women and youth representatives, chiefs, local government officials, and representatives from the state’s six counties attended the two-day workshop which concluded on Wednesday.
Annin Ngot, Warrap state minister of parliamentary affairs said this was a good step to prepare for the return of refugees and IDPs.
“Our government has to make sure that people like you are prepared to reintegrate our refugees and IDPs because we have peace in the country,” he said. “Now we are on the implementation of the roadmap and people are coming back so we have to prepare and you are the one doing that at counties level.”
Janice Nankaayi, UNMISS representative of the Warrap field office urged the participants to implement the action points developed in the workshop in the counties.
“I urge you to go back and implement your action points, they are very many but I will summarize them into what I call context analysis on return and reintegration because that understanding of the environment will tell us what to do next. And sharing of information can also help support returnees,” she said.
Some participants say the workshop benefits them as it focused on how to welcome displaced persons home.
Ignatius Achuil Bak, a representative of the youth said the training made him understand that returnees must be protected as they reintegrate into their former communities.
“The workshop focused on the return and reintegration of returnees the Internal Displaced persons (IDPs) and what the UNMISS and state government should do to protect those who will come back after displacement, so the mandate of UN is also explained,” he said. “The training touched on the issue of landmines as they can also endanger the lives of returnees and communities. “
“I understood how coordinated approaches can help people or actors to achieve the aimed goal and objective and now I can help returnees to reintegrate into the community by telling them how and where to get protection in case of anything that might happen I can show them police station and health centers,” he further explained.
Paulino Cyer Rehan, another beneficiary of the workshop, said: “I have understood the Protection of Civilians (POCs) UNMISS has been talking about and the voluntary return of IDPs and refugees to their original places and how returnees adapt to the economic and political situation in the area. I learned that when refugees in Uganda or Sudan or IDPs wanted to return, they should be audited first and be informed about the security and political situation of the area they want to return to.”