Mingkaman is one of the many places where the Southern Sudanese displaced by conflict are hiding. It is a small village along the west bank of River Nile in LakesState.
On the other side of the river is Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. The most intense fighting has taken place here. As a result, the town and the nearby villages have all emptied. Most people have fled across the river.
In Mingkaman, the west bank of the Nile, a population of over 75 000 people, mostly women and children, has sought refuge. It doesn’t feel safe here. Every so often, the rumbling of what sounds like exploding bombs interrupts conversation. Then the unmistakable burst of machine gun fire. It sounds really close. It is only 20 or 30 kilometres away. This is too close to the frontline.
Every person that I spoke to had a harrowing tale of how they escaped the seemingly indiscriminate violence in Jonglei. The people here are mainly Dinkas, escaping the wrath of the Nuers. They say they are being targeted because of their ethnic descent.
I met with a group of three men and four women who had arrived just three days ago. They were still visibly shaken.
One man told me that when his village was attacked, armed men indiscriminately shot at the people. Some of his relatives were killed. He made it to the east bank and hid in the river grass for two days before he could find a canoe to ferry him across.
The journey across the river costs between 100 and 300 South Sudanese Pounds, per person, which is between 25 and 70 euros. Not many can afford this fee.
Jonglei state has not enjoyed peace for the past two years. As a result, most people are very poor, and more so those coming from rural villages north and south of Bor. These outskirts of Bor remain out of reach for humanitarian workers. The extent of destruction and needs is not yet known.
It is heartrending to think – in fact to know – that the poorest and most vulnerable people are still stuck on the other side of the river… at the mercy of the guns.
All along the meandering river, families have camped in small groups, fighting for the little shade that the scanty trees can provide. Some have stayed on small islands in the middle of the river, where the vast water mass gives them a sense of security. They are all sleeping under the open skies. There is no shelter.
Humanitarian aid agencies are working hard to give these families some household items, food, clean drinking water, latrines, and primary health services. Blankets, basins, straw, mosquito nets, pots and pans have been given out, together with food rations to about 10 000 families.
The Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission ECHO is providing assistance by funding a number of international humanitarian agencies aiming to provide health care, clean water, sanitation, food and meet other basic needs of the people.
But accessing distressed populations is nearly impossible with the unceasing fighting. Protecting civilians from atrocities still remains a huge challenge. Men and women narrate harrowing tales of targeted killings, mass graves, executions, destruction of property, looting, rape, and all manner of human rights violations.
We as humanitarians need unhindered access to the populations caught up in the conflict. Armed parties must respect our role; the role to save lives. Unfortunately, most humanitarian assets in the conflict hot spots have been looted.
In Bor, motorbikes and cars have been stolen, the hospital vandalized, warehouses looted, and property destroyed. This has to stop.
The families in Mingkaman are living a temporal life. They are unsettled, with those who can afford it moving further south to Juba. Those staying express the hope of returning home soon. Most will return to nothing. They have lost everything.
And the bombs keep on going off across the river. It is a surreal feeling.
By Ludovico Gammarelli, European Commission’s Humanitarian Advisor, Juba