The author, a youth leader of the Thiang Nuer, calls for relief assistance in his home area in northern Jonglei State and also calls upon the international community to apply punitive measures to those who are responsible for perpetuation of the war.
The influx of the displaced persons (IDPs) from eastern sisterly Pigi County to Old Fangak Payam of Fangak County has been ongoing for the last couple of weeks. This incessant influx was triggered by the recent past clashes in Khorfulus and Canal between the SPLM/A – rebels and GRSS forces, an influx which is now causing looming humanitarian situations there on the ground.
About more than 30,000 people have now come from Pigi and settled in the Southern part of Fangak County in addition to another over 18,000 displaced people from Unity state who came in since January, 2014 at the beginning of the crisis.
As may be widely known, the large part of Fangak County is situated in an island; almost it is a swampy area intersected by multiple small rivers—streams. Thus, floodwater from Phow River and these small streams does easily reach residential areas, so it has now over flooded several villages in and around Toch, Old Fangak and Mareang Payams among others which of cause displaced residents from their homes villages.
These floods as well can pose not only the displaced persons IDPs to be susceptible to water accompany diseases—water borne diseases but also to those living in high pieces of lands near it. Right away, the floods forced some of the Thiang community members to move to Lak’s areas northward, this month, in search of high lands in order to wait there until the months of December comes and then return. Even the cattle on which many people depend are also dying from diseases because they cannot get any medications either.
To round it up, the total number of IDPs from Pigi and floods displaced ones in Fangak county’s Old Fangak Payam and other parts is now estimated to have reached more or less 45,000 internal displaced persons (IDPs). However, these people are in an extreme dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Therefore, we are calling upon the UN including World Food Program (WFP) and all International Humanitarian Agencies (NGOs) to step in, provide and deliver both food & non food items for the displaced persons (IDPs) there in the county. The non food items should include mosquito nets, plastic sheets, blankets, fisher nets, hooks, saucepans, plates, buckets, cooking & all basic needs containers.
Additionally, the provisions of environments sanitations too and medical relief donations to help treat the fatal but preventable diseases affecting the people as well as livestock mostly in Toch and Mareang Payams are urgently needed.
Lastly and not the least, we are also calling upon the International Community to mount punitive measures on South Sudan’s peace blockers who cling on personal gains at the expense of South Sudanese innocent populations, should they fail to bring peace (balanced sharing of powers) through IGAD-mediated peace process in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the next last round of talks.
Let the sufferings of South Sudan’s population across the country, the displaced internally (IDPs) and in neighboring countries from the present catastrophic situation come to an end.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made are the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.