Who Will Listen to the Cry of Your Children?
By Lawrence N. Mutunga, SJ
A year has passed since the guns roared in the city of Khartoum, drawing the attention of the world. The war that began there has since spread throughout the country, touching nearly every corner. It has caused the deaths and displacement of many people, bringing long suffering and a lack of hope to those affected. The world seems to have normalized the war, forgetting the countless lives lost daily and the people being displaced. The conflicting parties continue to assert their dominance, seemingly indifferent to the continuous suffering caused by their political and philosophical ideologies.
This month began with an influx of refugees and returnees—cars, tractors, and farm machinery—from Sudan. In less than a week, the two reception centres in Renk were overstretched, with many people putting up makeshift shelters outside the compounds and in a school near Renk town. This surge was caused by fresh clashes between RSF and government forces in Sinjah and Sennar towns in Sudan, which are spreading towards Rabak and Kosti. These towns are approximately 250 kilometres from Renk, the first town in South Sudan from the Joda border point.
There has been severe overcrowding in the transit centres for some time, with around 12,000 individuals in facilities meant to accommodate only 5,000 people. By last week, Friday, over 4,000 more had crossed due to the current situation, with many more unrecorded as they use their own vehicles and different routes to Renk. Additionally, there has been no relocation of refugees to the camps in Maban or Malakal. These further strains the already limited services and pressures on partners, as most budgets are designed for a transit period of not more than three days.
The situation is getting out of hand with the increasing number of individuals and vehicles in the town centre. To make matters worse, the prices of commodities have increased fivefold, making them scarce even when people have money to buy. It might get worse as many of the recently arrived refugees, who brought their farm equipment, are large-scale farmers who used to supply their products to Renk town.
This is also the month when the rainy season begins in this region. Refugees fleeing from war now find themselves in another devastating situation. It is heartbreaking and sad to see people drenched in rain with no shelter, surrounded by mud and dirty water. This is the current situation in Renk, and it is worsening as more refugees and returnees continue to arrive despite the insufficient facilities and services to support them. The only hope is their resettlement in the Maban refugee camps, which become completely inaccessible during the rainy season. Let us continue to pray for peace in Sudan and in our province; oh Lord, who will listen to the cry of your children?
