JAMAM REFUGEE CAMP, South Sudan, September 5 (UNHCR) – It's 8:30 at night and a group of refugees have just arrived in South Sudan's Jamam camp from the border with Sudan. They are hungry and exhausted.

Thirty-one-year-old Grace Aleng gets word of their arrival. Although she is preparing to sleep, she knows the needs of the new arrivals because she has experienced them herself. And, as a UNHCR protection officer, she also knows that food and water may not be available to them until the next day.

Aleng gets dressed, heads to the local market and uses her own money to buy something to eat for the newcomers. By 10, she has fed the group. When she sees them sitting before her it is as if she is staring into a mirror. Like the majority of UNHCR staff here, Aleng was herself once a refugee.

"I have the capacity to help and I know where they have been," she says. "So I have no other choice in my heart but to help."

For Aleng and other former refugees, their memories of flight are the strongest source of motivation. They see their work neither as a humanitarian calling nor a career, but as an obligation that each day affirms their humanity. "There is a level of commitment from our South Sudanese staff who were themselves refugees that can only be described as extraordinary," says Kaweh Hagi Negad, a relocation coordinator at Jamam. "They always go the extra mile."

He knows the feeling. Hagi Negad and his family fled Iran in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war. And while he believes that there is no comparison between his experience growing up in Sweden and that of other staff here who endured their refugee experience in some of the most difficult environments imaginable, he understands the sense of obligation.

"There is a common experience of breaking from roots, leaving family behind and finding yourself in a completely new environment," Hagi Negad says. "You identify with people who have been forced to leave their homes because you know what it's like."

The urge to protect is second nature to Daniel Wuor, who spent 18 years in exile, first in Ethiopia and then in north-west Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp. During a recent mission near the Sudan border, the associate protection officer found himself on the banks of a river speaking with a 22-year-old man who had just fled his home in Sudan's Blue Nile state. The man was stuck on the South Sudan side because he could not swim.

"If he remained there, he would have been exposed," Wuor recalls. "There are hyenas in this area. He could have been tempted to cross the river by himself. I was not going to just stand by. Saving each person is very important."

Wuor, rushed into the water and swam to the other side. Minutes later, with the help of Nathan White, a UNHCR security officer and trained lifeguard, the man was taken to safety along a makeshift rope bridge that the team constructed.

"When I see someone who needs help, I understand that my experience as a refugee was not the only one," the UNHCR staff member says. "I understand that we are many and we are not alone."

It is an empathy that Jamam ambulance driver Ojulu Jodo knows well. During the exodus of 32,000 refugees from Blue Nile state across the South Sudan border, Jodo ferried the sick and injured to a UNHCR transit centre.

"You would see people arrive and they were sick with malaria. They had nothing," said Jodo who lived in Ethiopia's Pinyudo refugee camp between 1990 and 2006. "They would say, 'Look at our children, they are dying.'"

For many of the former refugees working for UNHCR in Jamam, receiving large numbers of people from Sudan's Blue Nile state brings back powerful memories.

Aleng remembers crossing a border to Uganda as an eight-year-old in December 1993. She still has the scars caused by the tall sharp grass that cut her legs as she fled through the fields to escape war.

Christmas arrived a few days later, when they were in Uganda. Aleng remembers seeing a man buy clothing for his daughter. She turned to her father and asked for a dress – something he would do each week when they were in their village in what is now South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria state. When he looked at her with a tear in his eye and said he could not afford it, she first realized she had become a refugee.

By Greg Beals in Jamam Refugee Camp, South Sudan

HIGHLIGHTS

• The pace of arrival of Sudanese refugees has slowed considerably compared with previous months. Some 250 people were reported arriving to Unity and Upper Nile states during the week, down from June and July when an average of 2,000 people were arriving a day.

• Assessments and response continued to flood-affected communities across the country, with Jonglei, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Upper Nile and Warrap the worse affected states.

• Over 2,000 returnees arrived by barge to Juba, from Renk in Upper Nile, where they had been stranded for many months.

JUBA , Sep 5 2012 (IPS) - Police in South Sudan have begun press-ganging every “idle” youth they can find to provide labour on police farms. The State Police Commissioner in Northern Bahr al Gazal state says young men cannot be left to drink tea and play cards all day while food insecurity threatens the country.

“Anyone who does not want to cultivate will be captured and brought to plant for us. Whether you are a soldier, or a policeman, or a member of the prison service … if you choose to put on your best clothes to come and loiter in town, we shall take you to work for us. Whether you want it or not,” State Police Commissioner Akot Deng Akot told IPS.

A staggering 4.7 million South Sudanese – almost half the population – are food insecure, according to the United Nations.

“One million of these people are severely food insecure meaning they can only afford to eat one meal once in two or three days, while the other 3.7 million people are moderately food insecure meaning they can at least afford to eat a meal per day,” the U.N.’s Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Lise Grande, told IPS in an earlier interview.

The countrywide food insecurity is being blamed on a number of factors, including a cereal deficit. According to the U.N. the deficit doubled from 200,000 metric tonnes in 2011 to 470,000 this year. In addition, high fuel prices and a weakening local currency have contributed to the situation.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 80 percent of Northern Bahr al Ghazal’s estimated 790, 898 people are affected by food insecurity.

And it has resulted in drastic measures by state authorities attempting to encourage farming in the region. Akot even warned people against attending local courts dealing with petty disputes.

“This also applies to people who go and crowd at local courts in disputes over ownership of cows. Such courts will not be allowed to operate during cultivation (which lasts from October to December) so that everybody goes to their farms to produce food,” he said.

In fact, some arrests have already been made. A local journalist from Northern Bahr al Ghazal state, Hou Akot Hou, said that police arrested dozens of youth under the orders of a local chief, Atak Awan Anei, who is also the brother of Northern Bahr al Ghazal Governor Paul Malong Awan Anei. The arrests occurred in July in Warwar – a market near the South Sudan-Sudan border.

Some locals are supportive of the policy.

“The government should force older boys who are capable of taking care of themselves and are loitering in town to go and cultivate,” local resident Justin Ayuer told IPS.

Local teenager Titotiek Chour concurred: “We as youth have the energy to produce food. We have a chance to do more and we should use this opportunity to produce food and improve the lives of our people.”

Northern Bahr al Ghazal state is not the only region trying to institute policies to encourage food production.

Since April, in Eastern and Central Equatoria state, officials have given civil servants Fridays and Saturdays off to farm.

Eastern Equatoria state’s Governor Louis Lobong Lojore threatened to cut the salaries of civil servants who do not use the time off to work on their farms. He said that the measure was necessary as some civil servants were drinking, and playing cards and dominoes instead of farming.

Those who did so, he said, would lose two days of pay every week while the programme lasts. Eastern Equatoria state’s Information Minister Felix Otudwa told IPS that he believed the government’s initiative would lead to an increase in food production and security this year.

“These days you do not see people sitting under trees drinking tea or playing cards the way it used to be in the past. Everybody is busy farming, even on weekends. The governor, minister and other senior civil servants are all involved in cultivation these days. This year, we will all harvest in a big way,” Otudwa said.

But not everyone is comfortable with the forced regulations.

Edmond Yakani, the coordinator of local rights organisation Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation, told IPS that the policy was illegal.

“Where is the law that allows them to arrest people simply because they are not on a farm during work hours? Who passed that law and when?” Yakani asked.

He said that it was equally wrong for the government of Eastern Equatoria to cut the salaries of civil servants who do not use their given days off to farm.

“Where is the law that allows them to cut people’s salaries?” Yakani asked.

“A law has to be passed, and this can only be passed by the South Sudan National Assembly so that it becomes obligatory for everyone to farm,” he said.

He said that the government needed to facilitate voluntary farming by improving access to land, tools and seeds.

A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the decision to designate Friday and Saturdays as farming days for all civil servants would affect the delivery of health services and affect patients who badly needed treatment.

But Isaac Woja, an agriculturalist and natural resources management expert, said the initiatives might turn out to be successful.

“I think people are taking farming seriously as compared to previous years. When you travel you see more crops on more farms along the road side, and this means that more people have gotten involved in cultivation this year,” Woja told IPS.

He added that only an assessment after the harvest season would determine whether or not the initiative leads to an increase in food production.

Central Equatoria state’s Agriculture Minister Michael Roberto Kenyi told IPS that the policy of giving civil servants days off was making a difference and that civil servants had to lead by example.

“Leadership in the past used to be that you should have a house, a garden and a granary. A leader must have these things to be considered a leader. As a civil servant, you need to be exemplary to the community and you cannot be exemplary when your granary is empty,” he said.

He said that an assessment would be done by the state after the December harvest.

“We are going to conduct an assessment. We will be asking people to tell us the size of area under cultivation or the acreage, the number of hours worked to and the quantity of produce harvested to determine if there has been an increase in food production due to the new initiative,” Kenyi told IPS.

WASHINGTON, DC, United States, September 5 (UNHCR) – eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam have donated US$500,000 to UNHCR's emergency operation for tens of thousands of refugees in South Sudan.

Pam Omidyar said she and her husband, who created the eBay auction site in 1995, had been inspired to help on a personal level after hearing about a visit in July to UNHCR-run refugee camps in South Sudan by three members of The Elders, a grouping of respected international figures dedicated to promoting peace and human rights.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates, together with Mary Robinson, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, met Sudanese refugees during a visit to Yusuf Batil Camp in South Sudan's Upper Nile state. The distinguished visitors said they had come to show solidarity with the forcibly displaced.

Pam Omidyar said the couple, who have long supported efforts to bring peace to the region, were also compelled to act "at a humanitarian level" by the displacement crisis over the past year in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions.

"Our donation to UNHCR is intended to provide urgent assistance to alleviate human suffering, while we continue to address the root causes of the forced displacement of people," she said. The Omidyars hope their donation will spur further giving from individuals, corporations and foundations.

"Gifts like this have a direct and immediate impact on the lives of refugees on the ground. We are tremendously grateful for the consistent support from the Omidyars. They can be assured that their gift will help save the lives of some of the most vulnerable in South Sudan," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's representative in the United States.

Since June last year, tens of thousands of people have fled fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North and sought sanctuary in South Sudan, which only gained independence last year. Their needs are great and UNHCR staff are working around-the-clock to provide protection and assistance. The health of children is a particular concern, with 15 per cent of those under five in Yusuf Batil camp suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The refugee agency has called on donors to provide US$219 for its Sudan emergency operation this year. To date, only a third of this amount has been pledged, leaving UNHCR with serious funding challenges.

The Omidyars are known for their philanthropy. The couple have contributed more than US$1 billion to causes ranging from poverty alleviation to human rights to disaster relief.

To learn more about their work, go to www.omidyargroup.com

1) Heavy rains have resulted in fatalities and massive destruction in South Darfur, the northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, and Jonglei states of South Sudan. Flooding potential remains as heavy rains are forecast during the next week.

2) Heavy downpours left one dead in the Gambia during the past week. Heavy rains have persisted, exacerbating Cholera outbreak across Sierra Leone and Guinea. Concerns for flooding and Cholera spreading remain as heavy rains are again forecasted.

3) Heavy rains over the Ethiopia highlands have caused the Atbra River to outburst, resulting in flooding that has affected thousands in the Nile River. The continued, heavy rains have also already impacted the Kassala and Gadaref states of Sudan. Ground conditions may worsen as heavy rains are expected to continue over western Ethiopia during the next week.

4) The anomalous northward position of the Inter-Tropical front has favored breeding conditions for desert locusts over the southern Mauritania-western Mali border, central Niger-eastern Mali, Chad, and east-central Sudan. The continuation of above-average rainfall during September could lead to locust outbreak across many regions.

5) Above-average rains over the past few weeks have led to the overflowing of the Niger River, resulting in deaths and impacting a large number of residents near Niamey of Niger. Additional rains could exacerbate the ground conditions.

Note: Map in 2 pages

Forging greater ties between the United Nations and the League of Arab States to address Middle East turmoil and working closely with their new Joint Special Representative on the crisis in Syria would be among the top priorities of the Security Council in September, the Permanent Representative of Germany, whose delegation holds the Council’s rotating presidency for this month, said today.

“We want to focus specifically on the emerging role of the Arab League as a significant regional actor and contributor to conflict resolution,” Peter Wittig told correspondents at Headquarters during the regular monthly briefing on the Council’s programme of work.

Both United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his counterpart at the League of Arab States, Nabil Elaraby, would address the Council’s 26 September high-level meeting on the Middle East, as would Foreign Ministers and Heads of State of many of the Council’s 15 member countries, Mr. Wittig said. Lakhdar Brahimi, the new Joint Special Representative for Syria, who was expected to meet this week with Arab League officials in Cairo before travelling on to Syria, might also address the Council upon his return.

Although the 18-month-old crisis in Syria would be “very much on our mind”, it would not be among the Council’s formal agenda items, he said, noting that the Council-mandated United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) had expired last month.

In addition to Syria, Mr. Wittig said, the situation in Sudan and South Sudan would be at the forefront of attention, with consultations scheduled for 6 and 20 September on the status of the African Union timeline to resolve outstanding issues between the two nations.

The situation in Afghanistan and the role of the United Nations Assistance Mission there (UNAMA) in addressing the challenges to that country’s transition to self-government would be discussed during a debate scheduled for 20 September, he said. During an open debate on 19 September, delegates would focus on denouncing the use of children in armed conflict and on targeted measures against persistent perpetrators that forced children to bear arms and wage war alongside adults.

On the afternoon of 17 September, the Council would discuss the security situation in Africa’s Sahel region, and the Secretary-General’s proposal to impose sanctions on armed groups that had overrun northern Mali following the coup d’état that had toppled the Government in March, he said, noting agreement among Council members for comprehensive action. Earlier in the day, the Council would hold its monthly briefing, followed by consultations, on the Middle East.

Other highlights of the month, he said, included consultations to follow up situations in Yemen, Guinea-Bissau and Libya, as well as the renewal of mandates of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). On 20 September, the Chair of the 1737 Sanctions Committee would report to the Council on developments concerning sanctions against Iran.

Asked several questions about Syria, he said the situation there, particularly the refugee crisis, “could not be more concerning and dramatic”. Council members were not happy about their lack of unity on how to resolve it, and did not want their 26 September meeting on that subject to be acrimonious and contentious. “We have to find common ground in the future,” he said, calling for meaningful concerted action.

Mr. Wittig said that while the Council was united in its support for Mr. Brahimi, the new envoy was in an “exploration phase” and must be given time to use his vast experience and leverage to “find an opening” to stem the bloodshed. As for military intervention, no one in the Council was advocating that as a solution. He lauded Turkey’s humanitarian support for Syrian refugees, and said the Turkish Foreign Minister’s statement to the Council last week, which included a proposal to set up humanitarian corridors inside Syria, was “clear and speaks for itself”.

Speaking in his national capacity about whether the United Nations was doing enough to prevent genocide in Syria, particularly against Christians, Mr. Wittig said Germany had warned since the crisis’ inception about rising ethnic tensions and the failure of the Assad regime to stop the killing and implement a meaningful transition. For its part, Germany was contributing tens of millions of dollars to global humanitarian efforts to aid Syrians inside the country and in neighbouring States.

Asked about major topics other than Syria to be discussed during the General Assembly’s upcoming general debate, he cited the situations in the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Africa’s Sahel region, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, among others.

As to whether economic sanctions against Iran were effective or were merely causing ordinary Iranians to suffer, he said they were targeted against certain individuals and were not “hitting the population”.

Asked about the Kenyan navy’s shelling of the Somali port of Kismayo to drive out the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, he said the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) had made headway in regaining control of territory from Al-Shabaab, but that it was too early to comment on recent skirmishes.

For information media • not an official record

Jessica Hjarrand has worked at the grassroots on UNESCO literacy programmes in Afghanistan, Iraq (based in Amman) and South Sudan, where she is currently stationed. In an extended interview, the 36-year-old Education Programme Specialist gives us “the stories behind the statistics” on literacy in post-conflict situations.

What struck you the most about literacy in Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan, respectively?

All three countries have left deep impressions upon me.

In Afghanistan, I remember sitting on the floor in a mosque as students took their examinations, some students as old as 80, studying under a teacher who was still in secondary school. The young teacher literally taught literacy in the morning and went to school in the afternoon. And the students praised this teacher as one of the best they had ever encountered!

In Iraq, the impression was how proud people were of the fact that Iraq once had the best educational system in the Middle East, including for women. In the 1980s, it was declared illiteracy-free by UNESCO. Today, with the exile of so many intellectuals and the continued insecurity, Iraq has one of the highest levels of illiteracy in the region. However, there is a strong national memory of the “glory days”, and people I’ve met are determined to restore them. As one secondary-school student in Kurdistan said “We are the culture that taught the rest of the world how to read and write.”

In South Sudan, the passion of Ministry officials in charge of literacy is very inspiring. There is a lot of capacity and motivation – the problem is funding, among other factors that are beyond their control.

On my first week, I visited a vocational training site for women formerly with the fighting forces, run by the International Organization for Migration. It is part of the first Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programme. A group of women were learning cookery skills so they could open small restaurant stalls. They prepared a delicious meal for us and as we ate, formed a line and danced and sang, some with babies strapped to their backs. When I asked my colleague to translate, he said: ‘”They are saying that they used to fight with guns and now they fight with pens and paper.”

What has UNESCO achieved in literacy?

Literacy produces change in people’s lives. It is hard to show a direct correlation - statistics on what literacy has achieved - but we know that it is a significant contribution. I could say that we trained 40 trainers on teaching HIV and AIDS through literacy, who will then go on to train 10-20 instructors each, who will then go on to teach hundreds of learners. Or that we implemented literacy programmes across Afghanistan aimed at reaching more than 100,000 men and women. Or that the literacy component of the DDR programme will reach 150,000 ex-combatants. That is one way to present our achievements. But for me, as someone who enjoys finding and sharing “the story behind the statistics”, what we have achieved is best told in stories.

What achievement are you proudest of?

We developed a toolkit at UNESCO Iraq on teaching about HIV and AIDS in literacy programmes. At first, I was sceptical. Talking about sex and sexuality education in Iraq? But at our last workshop with Ministry officials, literacy managers and NGO staff, the participants and said time and time again how thankful they were for the experience, although they too were sceptical at first. Some of the participants travelled to the workshops from all across Iraq - Kurdistan, the south, Baghdad - and through very questionable security situations. What made the project a success was the feeling of camaraderie, shared vulnerability at taking on such a controversial topic and learning how to agree to disagree with each other. They said they felt like a family, asked for more money to keep the work going and even started a Facebook page to keep in touch.

Iraq was, and is, teetering on the edge of further civil conflict. There was a lot of mistrust between government and the civil society. But we were able to facilitate and ultimately produce this kind of experience.

The other achievement I’m proud of is the storybooks that we produced for International Literacy Day, which contain simple stories written by literacy learners in a variety of government and civil society-operated literacy programmes, one book for Iraq and one for Afghanistan. We are now working on one for South Sudan. The books allow the learners to let their stories, and their voices, be heard. It is one thing for us to advocate for them. It is another to let them do it for themselves. That is empowerment.

What approach do you find works best in face-to-face encounters?

Finding points of common reference, and trying to develop relationships around them – and finding out people’s stories. In those stories, there are strong people with hopes for the future. They may be victims in one sense, but they are not weak. Women in Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan have been portrayed as victims, and in many ways they are. But they should not be defined as victims. There is an important difference between empathy and pity. Literacy provides both women and men them an important tool to be able to share their opinions, thoughts and wishes with a wider audience. Through these testimonies, they show their strength and their hopes for the future – that is what we want to support through all of our upstream work.

A participatory approach has also proven to work best – our partners appreciate that we create space to bring people together, engage in cross-sectoral efforts that allow new partnerships to be formed and engage them in all aspects of the process. We excel when we do this. UNESCO may not have its name stamped on backpacks and t-shirts, but we are invisibly stamped on all aspects of education within a country where we work.

“In Afghanistan, we shipped literacy textbooks on the backs of donkeys”

How does UNESCO work in post-conflict situations? How do individuals work for UNESCO in post-conflict situations?

It depends on the country. In Afghanistan in 2009, UNESCO conducted a pilot for directly implementing the Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA) programme with the government, and also with NGOs on some components, such as skills training. In Iraq, UNESCO is supporting the two Ministries of Education in planning, curriculum revision and material development, as well as mobilizing and building the capacity of civil society organizations who are delivering much of the literacy programming. In South Sudan, UNESCO is working directly with the government and civil society, including setting up mechanisms to ensure better coordination, as well as working directly with the DDR Commission on implementing an integrated literacy programme for ex-combatants, the largest single group of illiterates. It is a landmark programme for UNESCO.

UNESCO’s programming often involves remote management, which has specific challenges. Remote operations involve a great deal of solid partnership-building and trust. The partners are “our eyes and ears” since we simply cannot be everywhere due to security and/or weather-related situations. Success depends on the capacity of partners to deliver quality literacy programming, and our capacity to monitor and evaluate them.

In such contexts, your creativity is challenged daily because the normal infrastructure simply isn’t there. In Afghanistan, for example, we shipped literacy textbooks on the backs of donkeys through remote provinces. In training sessions we showed literacy facilitators how to use whatever materials are available, since simple teaching supplies aren’t there. There is a need to learn (and teach others) how to overcome challenges through creativity and innovation. This is, in many ways, a global issue facing education. In my schooldays we made books that were hand illustrated and written by students using sticks as bindings. The students loved those books, and it’s a technique I’ve tried to pass on to others.

So, how do we work in post-conflict situations? Creatively, innovatively, patiently and persistently…..and very cooperatively!

Working in post-conflict situations can be difficult. Is being a woman an additional challenge?

Some of us joke that being a woman in post-conflict situation is sometimes like being a “third gender” – you look like a woman but you act like a man. “Acting like a man” means you can move about freely and have relative control over your own life. Because I’m relatively young, I feel I have to work extra hard to prove that I have something to offer as well. For the most part, I have unlimited freedom, and that is not the case for the vast majority of the people I have worked with.

I try to see if from the perspective of others. How would I feel if a young woman from Iraq came and told me how to fix my education system? Would I listen without being sceptical? I don’t generally feel scared to work in the places where I’ve worked, but I’ve felt that other people are curious about why I would make this choice.

Can you give concrete examples of peace-building through literacy in post-conflict situations

The HIV and AIDS group in Iraq provides a clear example of this.

In South Sudan, we are working to create linkages between literacy and other sectors, such as health, agriculture, labour. We’re trying to show that in a country with a 27% literacy rate, change will not come if it is only seen as an education ministry problem. It has to be seen as everyone’s problem. We’re advocating with the Ministry of General Education and Instruction to set up an inter-ministerial committee to draft a Literacy Policy for South Sudan that recognizes that all sectors and their respective ministries need to unite to address the literacy challenge. The Director-General of the Alternative Education System warned that “Medicine in the hands of an illiterate person can become poison if they cannot read the directions.” He is right, and it’s our job to support him in spreading this message.

The leadership of a country sets the tone in many ways, and when the leadership says literacy is a problem that we all need to focus on, then the country will listen. South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world, and has suffered through decades of a brutal conflict, with inter-ethnic fighting still raging in some states. One Ministry partner said that the word “peace” in every language in South Sudan is translated as “no war”. So, we all agreed that one of the slogans for the National Literacy Conference this year will be: “In South Sudan we no longer have war. But do we have peace?” They are conceptualizing peace as the absence of the conditions that can create conflict, and this has direct linkages to development of their nation. Peace-building, if it is to be sustainable, takes a long time.

UNESCO is also an implementing partner in the DDR programme in South Sudan for ex-combatants. We are developing a comprehensive literacy, life skills and vocational training programme for ex-soldiers, hoping that having fought for their independence, they need to engage in another fight – to build the nation they have suffered so long to have. We hope that this will contribute to a lasting peace.

International Literacy Day is on 8 September. What message would you like people to receive?

Literacy is at the core of the human right to education. Creating motivation for literacy creates people who invest in themselves. Investing in yourself sends the message that you are worth other people’s investment as well. Pro-active action on your own behalf, to change a situation that you no longer want in your own life is the foundation of democracy. Of all the things that a nation can give its people, one things that can never be taken away is literacy and education. As one woman said about illiterate women working in her small business, “South Sudanese women learn things, they put it in their mind. And once it’s there, they carry it with them everywhere.”

5 September 2012 - Prisons were moving away from punishment to rehabilitation of detainees, a top official in South Sudan’s prison service said today in Juba.

Speaking at a one-day workshop, Abel Makoi Wol, director general of the National Prisons Service of South Sudan, told participants that agriculture should be a part of prisoner reform.

“Human beings can only be respected when they work,” Mr. Wol said. “We have enough…land, timber, and water suitable for industries.

”If the country’s over 6,000 prisoners were working in farming or industry, prisons would soon become self-sufficient and the number of felonies would drop, the director general added.

UNMISS Corrections Officer Jeduah Mahama said detainees should be also equipped with life skills like carpentry, tailoring, blacksmithing, dressmaking, and masonry to reduce idleness, become self-sufficient, and take on government contracts once they left prison.

“The prison industry holds a great potential for tapping the large pool of prison labor to assist in national development,” the corrections officer said.

Attended by prison directors, the workshop aimed to identify areas needing attention in the prisons service and suggest remedies. These included lack of segregation in detention cells, forced labor, training, arbitrary arrests, and prolonged detention periods for inmates.

UNMISS Corrections Advisory Chief Richard Kuuire said prisons should focus on improving agriculture and establishing a broad-based advocacy programme if prison living conditions were to be improved.

An advisor in the Interior Ministry, Agacio Akol Tong, said military culture was deeply rooted in people’s minds because of the war, encouraging crime. The reform movement aimed to bring about psychological healing by removing embedded traumatic stress.

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

September 5, 2012 (BENTIU) - Unity State health officials and the World Health Organization are struggling to contain an outbreak of Kala azar, a disease spread by sand fly bites, in Koch County, 90 kilometres south of the state capital Bentiu.

Since 1 September, nearly 200 people are believed to be contracted Kala azar, with 84 being treated in Koch County Hospital for the potentially fatal disease that has already killed one person, Dr. Santino John Tabang director general of the state Ministry of Health told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

There was a previous Kala azar outbreak in Unity State in late 1980 during the civil war between Khartoum and former rebels who now govern the independent Republic of South Sudan.

South Sudan’s largest state, Jonglei, normally has the most Kala azar cases. After the current outbreak, Unity State is now ranked second.

Authorities are concerned about the spread of the disease, transmitted by sand flyies which live in bushy acacia trees, which are common in South Sudan. The World Health Organization has transported drugs to Koch County to help treat victims but there are a lack nurses and ward space to cope with the number of patients.

Unity State health officials say they are working to put up more tents.

“We can’t say if the cases are still on rise, so the capacity will be limited so we have a plan to put up tent in future so to accommodate if people are still going and the cases are still going and in term of human resources, we have human resources but we are thinking to send more teams more staffs so as to help”.

Dr. Tabang urged people to move away from bush areas in order to limit the transmission of the disease and encouraged people to use mosquitoes nets at night and in the evening to decrease the risk of being bitten.

The symptoms of Kala azar include fever, weight loss, and loss of appetite. Without proper treatment the mortality rate for kala-azar almost 100 percent.

(ST)

HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 16,000 people have been displaced by fighting between the SAF and SPLM-N forces in the El Moreib area in South Kordofan in recent weeks, according to HAC.

• In North Darfur, 95 per cent of the 25,000 people who fled from Kassab IDP camp in Kutum have returned.

• In Kadugli, South Kordofan, food distribution for 32,000 displaced people has begun.

In this issue

• Floods overview P.1

• Recent displacement in S. Kordofan P.2

• Wheat prices increase by 52 per cent P.3

• People on the move in North Darfur P.3

The El Niño/La Niña–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Alert System is currently on “El Niño Watch” status, with all leading Global Climate Centre’s (GCC’s) indicating increased likelihood for its occurrence by October - September 2012. The El Niño would be expected to continue into early next year.

The consensus Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF32) seasonal forecast indicated the increased likelihood for the occurrence of a mild-moderate El Niño event coupled with weak but positive trends of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) during the October – December seasonal rains in East Africa.

Monday July 9th 2012 marked South Sudan’s first anniversary as an independent state. But one year down the road, what is there to celebrate for this newborn polity? Faced with political stability and enduring external and domestic threats to its security, the nascent state of South Sudan has evolved into a patronage and crisis management tool for the ruling elite, putting the benefits of governance well beyond the reach of the majority of the population.

There is little doubt that continuing conflict with Sudan, extreme underdevelopment and dependence on oil revenues will ensure that South Sudan remains a state in emergency for years to come. In many ways the characteristics and uses of this emergency dominate domestic political calculus. Essential institutional reforms have been postponed, as has any real democratic opening. Until a measure of calm in South Sudan’s relations with Sudan is achieved, donors will have to look for areas of engagement where their objectives do not interfere with the short-term interests of a government that subsists on a war footing. In this regard South Sudan’s decision to suspend oil production and the subsequent need to generate alternative revenues may offer new opportunities.

This report is part of a series that analyses the future of the state in eight cases. The series is coordinated and co-published by NOREF and the Dutch Institute of International Relations Clingendael. It is coordinated by Clingendael senior researcher Ivan Briscoe.

September 6, 2012 by Paul

This past week Conciliation Resources helped bring together civil society leaders comprising the Regional Civil Society Task Force, which includes members from four LRA-affected countries, to a meeting in Bangui, CAR. The task force released nine resolutions and recommendations focusing on the disarmament of the LRA, rehabilitation of those affected, and reconciliation for the region. Our friend Sister Angelique Namaika, who you might remember from her visit to DC in June as she testified on the LRA to members of Congress, was present in the group. We’ve listed their resolutions below – all of which we fully support:

1 . To continue a collective pursuit to engage policymakers in the respective countries and advocate for peaceful strategies for resolving the conflict.

2 . Engage our Governments and Parliaments to be more present in LRA affected areas that are isolated and far from the capitals with negligible services, security and communication infrastructure.

3 . In light of the LRA’s known record of reprisals, we call for no offensive operations against the LRA without effective measures taken to protect civilians.

4 . Call for response to the needs of the affected communities in terms of humanitarian support, psychosocial services and income generating activities.

5 . Commit fully to our moral obligation to save lives of many innocent children abducted against their will, and do what it takes to facilitate their safe return and reintegration in their respective communities.

6 . Call on national government and internationals to support community centers that can contribute to psycho-social healing of returnees and affected communities particularly women and young people.

7 . Impress on our respective governments to put in place the necessary legislation to grand Amnesty to the defectors and promote reconciliation.

8 . Recognize the intertwined nature between the Mbororo and the LRA conflict and contribute to addressing this issue peacefully on a regional scale.

9 . Undertake activities in our respective countries and regionally to:

a.) Collect pertinent information relating to the LRA conflict, document, disseminate and archive for posterity
b.) Reach out to the LRA in order to encourage their safe return into the communities
c.) Reach out in solidarity to the affected communities
d.) Contribute to the issue of protection of civilians in a holistic way. Ensure that it becomes central to response strategies
e.) Continue advocacy efforts at local, national, regional and international levels

Sudan and South Sudan are engaged in a final round of talks to settle the outstanding issues of Abyei, border disputes and demarcation, security arrangements along the border, and citizenship. In the previous round, the two parties provisionally agreed to an economic deal.

By Amanda Hsiao | Sep 6, 2012

Sudan and South Sudan are engaged in a final round of talks to settle the outstanding issues of Abyei, border disputes and demarcation, security arrangements along the border, and citizenship. In the previous round, the two parties provisionally agreed to an economic deal. This deal, and the resumption of oil shipments from South Sudan through Sudan, should be implemented when the two parties reach a comprehensive agreement on the remaining issues. A comprehensive deal continues to be the only means of securing sustained peace between the Sudans.

The dynamics of the upcoming round will differ from previous sessions. With the provisional oil deal on the table, the two parties—South Sudan in particular—will have less leverage in negotiations over the remaining issues. The amount the South will pay in transit fees and in financial assistance to the North has been provisionally fixed, and can no longer be leveraged to strike a bargain on the disputed border territories and Abyei. Since Khartoum and Juba have tentatively come to an agreement on the size of the financial package both parties have less of an economic motivation to reach a comprehensive deal in the upcoming round. The outcome of this round will be influenced in part by which country is more in need of the revenue derived from the resumption of oil shipments.

The negotiating dynamics of the next round will also be determined by the level of interest both parties have in resolving the remaining territorial disputes and the status of Abyei. Khartoum politically benefits from maintaining the status quo of administrative limbo in Abyei rather than from the situation’s resolution. For Juba, territorial integrity remains a priority, but perhaps not at the expense of continued economic stagnation and the political threats sparked by austerity measures. Neither Juba nor Khartoum faces serious domestic pressures to resolve the border disputes in this round.

The international community is eager for the oil to flow again since the resumption of oil production will likely stop the ongoing damage to both countries’ economies. Therefore, the international community is unlikely to maintain the unified resolve that was a hallmark of the negotiations over the oil impasse. As a result, elements of both parties and the international community could be tempted to move forward with an oil deal and avoid addressing the politically challenging issues of Abyei and border disputes. Nevertheless, a timely and comprehensive agreement is fundamental to ensuring an end to conflict and long-term stability between the two Sudans. Both Abyei and disputed border areas have been sources of recent tensions and fighting. These areas are of economic and political significance to both Juba and Khartoum because of the mineral wealth and importance of key constituencies found in these territories.

In its last communiqué, the African Union Peace and Security Council set September 22, 2012 as the date by which the facilitating African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, or AUHIP, should present its final report. To increase the chances of a comprehensive agreement, the interested international actors should treat September 22 as a hard deadline by which the two parties should come to agreement on all outstanding issues or face potential consequences.

Contents:

1. SITUATION UPDATE

2. LOGISTICS COORDINATION

3. TRANSPORT SECTOR

4. STORAGE

5. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT/ASSESSMENTS

SITUATION UPDATE

• The influx of refugees continues, although the flow is slower than during the dry season, it is expected to have a significant increase as soon as November. The current number of refugees residing in South Sudan is over 200,000.

• Significant flooding over the course of the month of August has led to many displaced, increasing the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to 164,331. The flooding in Jonglei State is of grave concern, having caused a reported 17,000 new displacements in the areas of Bor South, Ayod, Pochalla, and Nyirol Counties.

Security

• Criminality remains high throughout South Sudan. The disarmament campaign in Jonglei is on-going and tensions are high in the area, specifically Likongole. Border tensions remain high and clashes within the Republic of Sudan continue.
  Infrastructure

• Most of the roads in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Upper Nile States remain closed due to the rainy season. All major road access into Yida, Unity Stat, has been closed. Additionally, a section of the road from Juba-Rumbek has been cut off between Yirol and Aluak luak and the road from Rumbek to Bentiu is also cut off. The alternate routing via Juba-Mundri-Mvolo is also impassable due to trucks stuck on the road.

• UNOPS is continuing to work to retain access to Maban, Upper Nile State, as well as the critical airstrip in Yida, Unity State. Due to the poor road infrastructure leading to Yida refugee camp, it is inaccessible expect via air transport. Due to poor airstrip conditions, equipment and engineers from UNOPS were rapidly deployed to begin repairs.

Budding journalists in South Sudan need training driven by the needs of the media of Sudan, rather than the interests of the international community, a study supported by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) finds

Author: Tine Johansen07.09.12

The study, carried out by the Swedish journalism training institute FOJO in collaboration with the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) and supported by IMS and Norwegian People's Aid, states that journalism training in the world’s youngest country often is too brief and sporadic.

“Despite that the nation of South Sudan has existed for only one year, there is already a fatigue among South Sudanese journalists towards what they call “brief case trainings” –international trainers that fly in, produce a two-day workshop, and fly out. This has so far been standard procedure, providing a multitude of short, similar trainings with no progression in time,” the report finds.

“The South Sudanese journalists argue that the best way to build a sustainable and professional media sector is by providing coordinated, long-term training opportunities, based on their own needs and with the objective of building professional national capacity.”

The journalists and editors interviewed in the study, recommend that the following is prioritised in future training:

1. Investigative reporting

2. Writing skills

3. Basic journalistic skills

4. Media management

5. Newspaper design

6. Conflict sensitive reporting

7. Radio editing

8. TV editing

9. Media ethics

10. Video filming

See the full report

Sometimes a single factor means the difference between hopelessness and optimism; between stagnation and development – and for many between life and death. In the village called Ajuong in South Sudan the factor is a dike.

07.09.2012

Ajuong is situated in Jonglei state in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, which celebrated its first birthday on July 9th this year. It is a harsh area with an extreme climate.

In the dry season the temperature often reaches up to nearly 50o C and access to water for both people and animals can become very difficult.

The rainy season in Jonglei is, on the other hand, wet – very wet. Not only must the earth absorb water from daily rains that would make headlines in the papers and flood all the basements if they happened in Denmark, but when the White Nile, that runs through the country from South to North, and which forms Jonglei’s western border, really begins to flood, the water from large parts of East Africa comes pouring across the flat plain and covers enormous areas under the surface of the water.

A pessimistic community

Earlier, a dike was built along the river to ensure that it only floods to the west, where no one lives, but when I visited the town last year in the dry season we could see that the dike now was less than one meter high, and that after many years’ neglect during the recent chaotic decades, it had big holes.

That time we were met with pessimism when we arrived to hear what the inhabitants thought about our nature conservation project that both promotes planting trees, cultivating new crops and improving the local dikes around fields, wells, houses etc.

The people told us that all those activities sounded very exciting, but as long as the big dike along the river hadn’t been improved, everything else was useless. When the next flood came everything would be lost anyway.

A brighter future for the area

Today the atmosphere has changed completely. People are optimistic and for the first time see a brighter future for the area.

DCA’s partner, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), that is implementing the project, contacted the local authorities hurriedly and together with them started inspecting the dike and planning its renovation.

The work is still going on and it has to be done fast now because the rain is already starting and the water reaches up to the edge of the old dike in some of the stretches that aren’t finished. But everyone is confident that the team the company has sent out can, with the help of a serious excavator, renovate 500 meters of dike a day.

The risk of waterborne diseases

Today I have the pleasure, together with my colleagues from LWF, to have a meeting with Ajuong‘s Flood Task Force. It is a group of men of various ages in the village who organise the repair of holes in the dike.

There was heavy rain yesterday and the ground is still muddy in some places, but as the rainy season has just started, the earth can absorb the water fairly quickly. When I ask what the floods mean to them they answer quickly, “Our crops die, our huts fall apart, our animals get sick or die of hunger and we also get sick.”

Jonglei is a malaria area, and the mosquitos have already now, early in the rainy season, begun to bother people and animals. If in addition you get the typical waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and typhus, illnesses that especially hit children under five years hard, and hunger after a poor harvest, it is clear that a flood will inevitably result in death for some of the inhabitants in this area.

Furthermore, the floods mean that the roads are impassable for several months every year and the inhabitants are therefore cut off from medical help, markets and almost everything else.

An area cut off from the rest of the world

When the Nile stays within its banks, the earth is, on the other hand, extremely fertile, so the inhabitants can potentially earn money by selling food to the towns.

The last serious flood was in 2008, and the local people shake their heads and sigh at the memory of that year, but there have also been problems since.

It is, all in all, hard to get economic and social development going in an area when it is cut off from the rest of the world for up to six months of the year and when the inhabitants every couple of years loose more of their possessions and cattle and have to start all over again – in that situation there aren’t many who dare to start new initiatives like businesses up.

Doesn't dare to have the children at home

Mary lives with her husband and has five children. Two of them are married and have left home, but she has had to send the remaining three to her sister who lives a long way away, in another state. She doesn’t dare to have them at home as long as the annual floods threaten their lives.

The Dinka are cattle herders and her husband has to be away with the cows to find grazing most of the year, and Mary is unhappy about not being able to have her children with her. Both because she misses them, and because together they could cultivate more land and earn some more money that way.

Last time the area was flooded, in 2010, the family’s cowshed collapsed (we’re talking about a shed of woven grass), that protects the animals from mosquitos, and the family ended up losing 24 goats and 50 cows, of which many had been given away as dowry when the two daughters got married. In addition the family lost three tukuls in 2011 – the local version of the round African mud hut.

Hard to build up a sustainable future

Under these circumstances it is hard to build up a sustainable future for the family, but when I ask Mary what changes she envisages when the dike is finished, I can hear that she has long since made plans;

“First of all I will bring my children home, so we can be together. That way we can cultivate more land and earn some money. Maybe we will start a kitchen garden and grow some vegetables, and then I will get a loan in the local micro-finance group and start a little shop up.”

It makes me really glad to hear about these plans for the future because they are exactly in line with some of the other activities in our project with LWF that are financed by the EU’s development office, EuropeAid.

In addition to improving the dike we also support development of agriculture in the area and diversification of crops. Micro-finance groups have also been started up with support from the project.

Theresa lost 41 goats, 48 cows, 24 chickens and her hut

As for Theresa, her story is similar. She is married and has three children living at home as well as three married daughters.

In the last flood she lost 41 goats, 48 cows and 24 chickens as well as her hut. She lived closer to the river then, where her family has their farmland, but they had to move away from it so she could be safer with her family.

That means that for the time being they have to walk several kilometres to get to their land when they work on it. If the floods stop, she will move back she says.

That way the family will have more time to cultivate the farm and it will also be easier to catch fish on the other side of the dike to sell and to eat.

By Søren Tuxen Faber

ACORD is implementing various livelihood programmes in South Sudan's Lobonok, Terekeka Central, Tombek and Muni Payams. The areas are characterised by fertile soils and good rainfall making it a good location for planting cassava, sorghum and ground nuts. In order to improve food security in the various Payams, ACORD has been supporting the establishment of farmer groups and strengthening existing ones. So far, 12 farmer groups comprising of 360 farmers in 3 Bomas of Nyarubanga, Kit and Karpeto in Lobonok Payam have been successfully formed and establishment of 3 additional groups is under way.

Some of the beneficiaries of these interventions include returnees from both Uganda and Kenya and the Internally Displaced Persons from Juba and Khartoum. While implementing projects, ACORD also builds capacity of farmers in agriculture policies, principles and practices, leadership, management and book keeping.

The idea behind this approach is to help provide technical advisory services to farmers' groups and to enable them manage their activities effectively and in a sustainable manner. In Tombek and Muni Payams, farmers have received agricultural inputs such as farming tools, varieties of sorghum seeds, cassava stalk and ground nuts. With funding from Mani Tese, ACORD has planned to increase cassava production and also set up cassava processing unit in Lobonok Payam.

Cattle Rustling in Terekeka

Terekeka is one of the counties in South Sudan which has been greatly affected by inter-communal violence since cattle rustling is culturally considered a means of earning a living and social status. Young people have in the past been at the centre of this practice. But thanks to ACORD's interventions, opportunities to earn a decent living are opening up. Young people are finding themselves in gainful employment and are getting incomes which enable them to access basic necessities.

Also read about:
ACORD in South Sudan

Sat, 8 Sep 2012 22:16 GMT

By Justyna Pawlak

PAPHOS, Cyprus, Sept 8 (Reuters) - European governments must wield their influence and engineering skills more effectively to prevent conflicts over water supply that could threaten global security, the European Union's policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

Read the full article on AlertNet

Christian Jepsen (07.09.2012)

Thousands of Sudanese refugees have been forced to flee their homes for the second time. They are now facing extremely challenging conditions in camps in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, where humanitarian actors are working overtime to provide lifesaving assistance.

NRC’s Rapid Response Team has recently assessed the refugee situation in Upper Nile.

One of more than 100,000 Sudanese refugees in Upper Nile state in northern South Sudan is community leader Sila Mousa Kangi. There is no optimism or hope in Silas’ voice as he explains the current situation for refugees originating from Blue Nile state, across the border in Sudan.

“I am 54 years old and I have only seen peace in very short doses. I fear that our children will suffer the same fate,” says Sila Mousa Kangi, sitting in front of his shelter made from straw and covered by a piece of plastic sheeting. “We want sustainable peace so we can live like other people with a house and a livelihood. It is not good for people to keep asking for assistance. Many here have lost all hope.”

A large proportion of the over 40,000 refugees here in Doro camp fled the conflict in Sudan and spent decades displaced to Ethiopian camps before returning to Blue Nile state, after a peace agreement between the north and south of Sudan was signed in 2005. The agreement brought promises of a peaceful future, but in the Blue Nile state the peace was short-lived. In September 2011, heavy fighting erupted between Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Blue Nile, Sudan. Fleeing the advancing forces, thousands of civilians embarked on a long journey on foot, often lasting several weeks with extremely limited access to food or water.

Dying on the road

“When we fled, we were a total of 155 people in our group, but ten elderly people died on the road of starvation”, says 47 year old Issa Simat, a local leader, from the Baow area in Blue Nile. The exhausted group arrived in Yusuf Batil camp on 23 May this year after a 15-day journey on foot. Several of his 13 children were extremely weak when they reached Upper Nile and have suffered with malaria and diarrhoea since then. Fortunately all of them are now in a better condition thanks to the health facilities in the camp, Issa Simat confirms. He has no expectation of being able to return to Sudan in the foreseeable future due to the lack of peace and stability.

Humanitarian agencies have been overwhelmed by the massive influx of refugees – not all needs have been met in time. In July and August Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) brought attention to alarmingly high levels of malnutrition related deaths amongst children. The humanitarian agencies are, however, involved in a relentless and constant race against time to provide lifesaving assistance in this remote corner of the world’s newest country. Step by step, the refugees are provided with tents; food is distributed; malnourished children are fed with high-protein supplements; new wells provide safe water; latrines are being dug and clinics provide much needed medicine and treatment. All of this is taking place in one of the harshest environments imaginable.

A challenging operation

The environment in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state has greeted its newcomers with extreme challenges. Relentless rains sweep the whole country from May to November and the subsequent flooding completely cuts off remote areas from any road access during that time. At the same time, lack of barges, helicopters and cargo-planes has turned the refugee response in Upper Nile into one of the most logistically complicated humanitarian operations in the world. And the struggling may be far from over.

“We fear that intensified fighting in Blue Nile after the rainy season may lead to a major new influx of refugees later this year”, says Shaun Scales, NRC’s Senior Emergency Response Coordinator. “Such a development would severely challenge the existing capacities of the camps and of the humanitarian actors. Therefore agencies and donors need to act now to be able to exploit the road access in the dry season from October to May and prepare for the next rainy season in 2013 with substantial stockpiling of food and materials”.

NRC is currently not operating in Upper Nile state and is now reviewing the findings of the assessment to decide if and how the organization may respond to the refugee crisis. NRC is responding to other on-going crises elsewhere in South Sudan and supports returnees, internally displaced people and displacement-affected host communities with programming in education, food security and livelihoods; information, counselling and legal assistance, emergency shelter and school construction, and water, sanitation and hygiene. NRC also responds to new crises and displacement in current areas of operation and recently assisted people displaced by border clashes in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state.