South Sudan: Death, distress – and a baby born in a canoe – as Akobo evacuates

 

Children having to sit next to their dead parents, and a woman forced to give birth in a canoe, are some of the heart-wrenching stories of terrified evacuations now emerging from South Sudan’s Akobo County.  

One Save the Children staffer who was caught up in the violence has told a harrowing story of suffering and survival, following the repeated evacuations of towns across Akobo County in eastern Jonglei state since the start of the year [1].

Escalating violence has forced the withdrawal of aid agencies from key areas, triggering mass displacement and leaving families stranded and without essential and life-saving services. 

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have fled Akobo town to Ethiopia since the start of March, according to UNICEF, while some 267,000 people have been displaced by conflict in Jonglei state since the end of last year. 

Reath James Nyaluak*, a Save the Children worker, was displaced from Walgak to Akobo town in February, and describes the terrifying journey: 

“As we were moving out of Walgak, I saw a lot of people suffering. I saw children seated next to their deceased parents –an unimaginable situation. I saw pregnant women, some of whom had to give birth in the forest. I saw elders dying. 

“During the journey from Walgak to Akobo town, a former colleague left his children with his brother, who then used another road to reach safety. However, his brother and the children were attacked, his brother killed, and four of the children were abducted. Until now, we don’t know if the kids are alive or not.” 

While helping families evacuate Akobo town following a government-issued evacuation order on 6 March, Reath helped a woman deliver her baby in a canoe: 

“One family – an expectant mother, a blind older lady and a 6-year-old child – were stranded at the Akobo East side of the river. I could see the woman was in some distress. I decided to swim across the river, get a canoe, and cross the river again to bring the family to safety. The family got in and then while crossing back over the river, the woman gave birth to her baby in the canoe. It was a baby girl, who she named “canoe” in the local language.”

Save the Children was forced to suspend all humanitarian operations and relocate staff from Akobo East earlier this month following an uptick in violence.

At the time of withdrawal, Save the Children was providing critical health, nutrition, education, child protection and water and sanitation services to about 100,000 children in Akobo town, who are now going without these essential services and facing increasing violence. More than 45 staff have had to relocate.

Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children’s Country Director in South Sudan, said: 

“Reath’s story underscores the human cost of violence in South Sudan. We aren’t talking about numbers, we are talking about people whose lives are being completely torn apart by attacks, displacement and fear. 

“There is next to no humanitarian assistance reaching the tens of thousands of people displaced by this violence. Families are absolutely desperate, eating whatever they can find, sleeping under trees or out in the open. One can only imagine the kind of psychological impact such a situation would have on a vulnerable child. 

“South Sudan needs a meaningful peace. Current tensions risk pushing South Sudan back into conflict just eight years since a peace agreement was signed, and a few months before the country marks its 15th year of independence. Children deserve better – they deserve a future free from fear and violence. They deserve safety, education, healthcare. They are getting none of this in Akobo.”

Save the Children calls on all parties to the conflict to prioritize the protection of civilians, respect international humanitarian law, and ensure safe, sustained, and unhindered humanitarian access to already affected communities. 

Save the Children strongly emphasizes that humanitarian organizations are neutral and impartial actors whose sole purpose is to provide lifesaving support to children and communities in need. Restrictions or forced relocation of humanitarian personnel and operations risk leaving thousands of vulnerable people without access to essential services at a time when needs are already acute.

Save the Children has worked in South Sudan since 1991, providing children with access to education, healthcare and nutrition services, and supporting families with food security and livelihoods assistance.

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Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.