day thirty: road-a-phobia

my conflict baseline analysis journey

So six State Government Officials, a Russian and a Scot take a wander through the Counties of Eastern Equatoria… Seven days, nine hundred kilometres and engagements with umpteen Chiefs, Commissioners, Women’s Committees and Youth Leaders later; we’ve heard the same story of land dispute, just from different perspectives.

When war began some indigenous left, some people became internally displaced (IDPs for the acronymically insensitive) and encroached onto their land.  War (kinda) finished.  Indigenous came back to their land to find the ‘squatters’ won’t leave.  The classic “what you doin’ in my home?” vs the “where were you when I defended it?” spat begins… add cheap Ugandan booze and a Saturday night oot on the town then ten men’s clubs are met by one man’s gun.  Welcome to the most common nature in the indigenous conflict of South Sudan.

You dancing?

You wouldn’t think land would be an issue when you first take a wander through Eastern Equatoria.  The country is as infinite as it is green with the enormous opportunity to develop the natural resources.  So why don’t the internally displaced go home?  Well, in most cases, there simply isn’t a worthy road to get you there, whether reason be potholes or landmines.  Day one alone saw landmines quadruple our journey to Magwi from Torit.  Unless your home is on the way across trading links, nobody seems interested in fixing these problems either.  The majority of roads are still under construction thanks to the companies only concerned with making sure cargo can cross international borders; while the Government makes laborious the effort in linking these to the isolated communities.  You should be careful who you carp these frustrations to; you have every right to moan to the stranger whose laptop you'd agreed to help fix... it’s just sometimes they turn out to be the Director General of the Ministry of Transport (where's Sasha's knowledge on roads when you need it!?).

In Kwotos, vast valleys are bounded by volcanic mountains that glitter the countryside

Either way, this extensive country is populated only near the limited extent of roads (78% in fact – I made a map).   Only here will you find the provision of basic services close at hand… which is a shame, because the more rural you go, the more beautiful the country gets.  Apart from the repeated stories of cattle raiding and unnecessary killings that is… but despite the vision that South Sudanese are all ‘brothers and sisters of one country’, the remnants of conflict are still perpetuated in their hearts.  Too used to food aid, too shocked by environmental change; tough times have exacerbated the problem.  It seems a new age of perennial poverty and violence is appearing.

Nimule Payam on the White Nile

 Is it as simple as poor agricultural practice from an era reliant on charity, and idleness amongst the youth…?  It screams out the need for vocational training to economically reform the country but it appears every aspect of a decent livelihood is lacking for the majority here.  

Outside the Nimule Administrative 'Office'

After my week’s worth in the field, I have returned to Juba in preparation for my departure to Khartoum.  Who knows if seven days is enough to gain a sense of the underlying factors to Eastern Equatoria’s conflict… My task in Khartoum is to make sure the UN’s Crisis and Recovery Mapping Analysis (CRMA) tool reflects as much.  I should start working on my ‘cattle raids’ and ‘border dispute’ icons now then…if all else fails, at least it’ll look good.