Battling washed-out roads over three days, UNMISS peacekeepers reach displaced families in Liwolo

CENTRAL EQUATORIA – On a slightly overcast Thursday morning, a convoy of 14 UNMISS vehicles leaves Juba. Led by Nepalese peacekeepers and carrying military advisers, UN Police and civilian staff, the patrol team is heading to Sokare in Liwolo payam - the first UNMISS road mission to the area in three years.

This is where more than 35,000 displaced people have sought shelter after fleeing their homes near the border following recent border clashes in Kajo Keji.

The objective is straightforward: meet displaced families and local authorities, assess the security situation and urgent needs, and bring back recommendations for the Government, humanitarian partners and UNMISS leadership in Juba.

Getting there, however, is anything but straightforward.

About an hour outside Juba, the convoy leaves the main Juba-Yei road and turns onto a narrow track heading south.

Four months into the rainy season, the road has been badly damaged. Its rocky surface is carved with deep ruts. Loose rocks and boulders are scattered across the track, while deep, muddy craters can only be navigated in four-wheel drive.

The radio crackles. The convoy stops. One of the vehicles is stuck.

Its engine whines in low gear as the driver tries to free a wheel wedged between two boulders. Inside the tilted vehicle, he struggles to see clearly. Outside, a colleague stands on a large boulder and guides him as he moves the vehicle slowly back and forth, trying to get out of the rut.

Eventually, the vehicle gets through.

About an hour later, another vehicle develops a brake problem. Everyone gets out and waits while the brake pads are replaced. Another hour passes.

The convoy continues slowly, climbing and descending the rough track. The vehicles hit rocks along the way, their rear bumpers clanging as they move through the forests of Central Equatoria.

After 10 hours on the road, the patrol stops for the night and sets up camp in Kaya, near the White Nile.

The following day, after another six hours on the road, the convoy reaches Kajo Keji and heads to the office of the County Commissioner, Wani Jackson Mule.

“Currently, everyone is safe in Sokare,” says Commissioner Mule. “But we don’t have the capacity to provide them with food and non-food items, and we seek humanitarian support.”

He tells the UNMISS team that the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNHCR have provided assistance, but that the needs of the displaced families are greater than what is currently available.

That evening, the team sets up camp in Kajo Keji town. Early the next morning, they leave again.

“We left Juba on Thursday, and it took us almost 17 hours to cover 140 kilometres to Kajo Keji. That’s two days on the road, and this morning we are headed to Sokare, which is four hours away. We were hoping to make it sooner, but this is the reality,” says Col. Clarke Brown, the senior UN military adviser leading the mission.

Around midday on the third day, the patrol reaches the Episcopal Diocese of Liwolo in Sokare Payam, where about 1,000 families are sheltering.

The team meets with Bishop Joseph Aba, one of the first humanitarians to open the church’s doors to displaced families. He briefs them on the conditions facing the people sheltering there.

The UNMISS team then speaks with mothers and other displaced people.

“We have food and crops at home that we cannot harvest again this year. The church has been kind to accommodate us, but we lack food and health services, and my children have missed school for more than five weeks,” says Kila Grace Simon, a displaced mother of five.

Other families raise similar concerns, including food, healthcare, shelter and education.

The team also meets local officials and the Brigadier General of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces to discuss the security situation.

After two hours of interviews and interactions, the patrol begins the journey back to Kajo Keji, tired but happy that their findings will help garner the support needed by displaced families.

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By Robin Giri