The majority of displaced people who have sought refuge in a UN base in Bor, Jonglei State, feel emotionally unwell and anxious, according to a recent assessment of the psychosocial conditions in the camp.
The report, which was prepared before the latest attack on the displaced camp, stated that the cause of the anxiety was ongoing conflict, overcrowding, a sense of entrapment and separation of families.
The report on ‘psychosocial needs’ at the Bor camp published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was based largely on an assessment mission carried out by the report’s authors from 20 to 28 February.
The researchers concluded there is “an overwhelming need for more attention to the psychosocial support in the country’s displacement sites.”
Researchers said the majority of people they interviewed (80 percent) in the Bor protection site felt emotionally unwell and uncertain about the future. The unhappy respondents attributed their negative emotions to the signs of the ongoing conflict (33 percent), and to a lesser extent the separation from their family (17 percent) as well as the lack of freedom to move outside the UNMISS site (17 percent).
Medical officers running the camp clinic reported that at least 20 percent of their regular patients come with complaints of a psychosomatic nature. The people mostly cope with their feelings by praying or going to the church (33.3 percent), the research found.
The report identified several additional actions needed for promoting the psychological well-being of the people, proposing recreation activities for children, adolescents and adults, psychosocial counseling and facilitating communication with separated family members.
Most residents of the camp in Bor are part of a substantial Nuer minority that lived in the majority Dinka town prior to the December conflict.
Photo: South Sudanese displaced in the UNMISS site in Bor town (IOM)