PIGI COUNTY – Careful not to collide with passing local canoes as they navigate the dangerous waterways connecting Malakal to Pigi County, peacekeepers from Bangladesh’s Force Marine Unit are determined to reach the isolated community in Canal after receiving reports of a dire situation.
“We came to build trust and engage with communities, but also to observe the situation they find themselves in which is increasingly challenging as we have come to see,” shared Nader Couchene, an UNMISS officer with the United Nations Police (UNPOL).
What they encountered exceeded any challenge they had previously observed.
Impacted by extraordinary flooding and persistent insecurity, around 46,000 community members face a multitude of threats.
Previously flourishing farmland has been submerged by rising waters.
“If we still had our farms, our community could cultivate crops, and even a widow or single mother with her children would be able to farm in the area, but there is no dry space to do farming as there is water everywhere,” explained Canal women’s leader, Veronica Nyalok.
The situation for those expecting is just as bad as they face a lack of medicine and qualified midwives. Even worse, if an emergency occurs, their isolated location prevents them from accessing much-needed medical assistance.
“We don’t have good health facilities, and women are suffering, especially when pregnant or in labour as they can’t deliver their children safely. If the condition is serious, an ambulance speed boat should uplift them and take them to hospital in Malakal, but we don’t have a boat stationed here in Canal,” continued Nyalok.
By providing a protective presence and understanding the needs of those they serve, UNMISS is demonstrating that communities, even in the most remote areas, are not forgotten or alone.
By Samson Liberty
