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FEATURE: 'The Peace Will Take Us Back to School' - 'When?'


From "Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>
Date Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:24:32 -0600

FEATURE: "The Peace Will Take Us Back to School" - "When?" Others Ask
Religious Delegation to Southern Sudan Pleads for People's Basic Needs

RUMBEK, Southern Sudan/GENEVA, 30 March 2005 (LWI) - When the scorching
midday sun strikes Rumbek in southern Sudan, it often finds
seven-year-old Ayen Chol drawing water from a well drilled next to
shells of destroyed brick buildings.

Since the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement, signed in
neighboring Kenya between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement /Army
(SPLM/A) and the Khartoum government, these children have found the
freedom to move and play in the open. It is hoped that the accords,
reached after nearly three years of negotiations, will end the
two-decade long war, Africa's most protracted

"The peace is good," says Chol speaking through an interpreter, as
other children and women at the well observe. "It will take back us to
school. It will bring clothes and books. We shall now eat well."

Born during the war, and growing to this age as soldiers from both
sides fought each other, forcing populations to move from battlegrounds,
she receives the new developments with optimism, just like Rebecca Ajok,
a mother of four who survived the 21 years of war.

Ajok delights at the knowledge that government planes will no longer
drop bombs from the sky. She hopes to start a small business and attend
church without fear, with her husband who has since signed up for adult
education.

"You can see what has been happening to us. It was difficult to do
anything with war," she says, pointing out at what was once the
residence of the Anglican Bishop of Rumbek, which was reduced to a shell
in past aerial bombardment campaigns by Sudanese government forces.

However, expectations such as these, which have since accompanied the
signing of the peace accord are proving larger than the scarce
resources available for Sudan.

In towns across the Rumbek, visited by a team of religious leaders
drawn from Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and from southern and
northern Sudan, March 14-19, local communities, church leaders and SPLM
representatives express their frustration as they try to confront the
new challenges brought about by the agreement.

"We have seen and heard from the people. The needs of the citizens are
overwhelming. Support has to come quickly," says Rev. Macleord Baker
Ochola II, retired Anglican Bishop of Kitgum, northern Uganda, who led
the Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) delegation on the
solidarity visit to Sudan.

The IFAPA process was initiated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
in 2002, with the goal to actively engage African religious leaders in
conflict resolution and peace building efforts on the continent. Under
the mandate of its October 2002 constituting summit of religious leaders
in Johannesburg, South Africa, and plan of action, the Nairobi
(Kenya)-based secretariat has organized similar visits to the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Liberia. An exchange visit between landmine
survivors is taking place in Northern Uganda at the end of March.
Sudanese delegates will take part in the IFAPA summit, in Johannesburg,
April 18-25.

Southern Sudanese expectations', as expressed to the delegation, range
from the most basic such as food, water and clothing to infrastructure
construction, including roads and schools. Already some officials of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) caution that these expectations
could easily turn into disappointment if the returning refugees and
internally displaced persons find no humanitarian response on the
ground.

"They could easily work against the peace. If they find nothing at
home, they could start regretting why they returned," says Taban
Emmanuel, a program officer with the Catholic Relief Services in
Rumbek.

Needs are Greater Than Resources

Southern Sudan had indicated it would need about USD 500 million, for
immediate humanitarian needs, but only USD 24 million had been received
by the start of March.

The war in Sudan has killed an estimated two million people.
Humanitarian organizations estimate that four million Sudanese have been
displaced internally or were forced to leave the country. Mary Biba,
Secretary of Yambio County in the south, explains that some returning
refugees from Uganda lost their children to disease.

"We tried to help where we could, but with the limited resources, we
had to bear this sight. It wasn't pleasant," she adds.

On 9 March in Nairobi, the Sudanese government and SPLM/A released a
recovery and development plan entitled "Framework for Sustained Peace,
Development and Poverty Eradication", an outcome of the Joint Assessment
Mission organized by the United Nations and World Bank, in which they
indicated they needed USD 7.8 billion to fund an initial post-war
recovery and development plan for the country. The international
community would be asked to contribute about a third of the total funds
required. The Sudanese parties indicated most of the local money would
come from domestic oil revenues, but some leaders in the south are
opposed to this idea.

"The support cannot come from oil revenues only, because our needs are
greater than what we are going to get from the oil," says Kauc Nak,
secretary of the Rumbek County.

Administrators in the south say there is an acute shortage of
medicines, water and food, and a possible strain on education resources,
due to the huge numbers of children expected to return to school now
that there is peace.

Schools under Trees the Best Option?

"The good thing is that these schools are under trees, so they can
admit as many children as possible." But, as Nak asks, "is it the best
way of doing it?"

Muyek Makoi a teacher in Rumbek Secondary School struggles with
thoughts about classes under trees. "It's usually windy and you can
imagine the suffering of these children," he adds.

Nak is categorical: southern Sudan cannot even talk of development
before meeting the people's most urgent needs. "We are talking of the
provision of basic services. If we have such necessities, I don't think
anybody would take the option of going to war," he says.

The local administration says one out of every three injury-related
cases at the hospital in Rumbek occurred during conflict over water.

However, in a country where the life expectancy is 42 years and only a
quarter of the population is literate, the southerners are telling
visitors to "tell the world that your brothers and sisters in Sudan are
suffering and they need support."

The urgently need healthcare, food, water, shelter, clothing and
education. (1,062 words)

(Contributed by Nairobi (Kenya)-based journalist Fredrick Nzwili, who
traveled with the IFAPA delegation to Southern Sudan.)




(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

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