Women who fled to Jonglei State's capital Bor owing to insecurity in their villages say they are struggling with town life and have been pushed into poverty by persistent conflict. Many women shelter in relatives' houses in Bor or live in streetside shops.

Adhieu Lueth Ajak, a 48-year-old mother of three told Radio Tamazuj that she came to town due to lack of security in the villages. She pointed out that the young men who could provide security in the villages have left and have come to town, making them to follow.

“What is facing us is the recent crisis... but before we were in villages, cultivating and raising children but now we are all here and we are poor,” she said. “Right now the children have become thieves and no one wants to work hard to earn his own living.”

Adhieu said, “There are no men in the villages and if they don’t go back, who will protect the villages?”

Ayen Abuol, another woman from the Bor area, expressed frustration at the current situation for her children: “Right now we are here suffering, our children now are not having any good jobs, your child may finish his secondary and university school but has no job... We want our children to get good jobs so that your child will take care of you, we need tenderness, we the mothers who are old.”

Many other women in Bor said that they were facing hunger in the villages, which prompted them to come to Bor. Some are working as tea sellers while others are working in local hotels as cooks. “This is not a work to survive with,” complained one.

After the outbreak of the civil war, many people from outlying villages of Bor our counties farther to the north such as Duk County relocated to Bor due to insecurity. Other civilians in the town are returnees from neighboring Awerial County in Lakes State.

Photo: Women living along the street in Bor