13 January 2014 - When Rebecca Gak heard shooting on 18 December, she ran from her small restaurant in the Jonglei State capital Bor, picked up her infant son and two daughters and fled.

Her husband would follow later, she hoped.

Somewhere in the bushes, Ms. Gak realized that her five and eight-year old daughters were no longer running with her. She’d lost them. Knowing it was pointless to turn back and not knowing where to find them, she continued with the child she had.

She tried to call her husband, but his phone was off – and has been ever since. In a matter of minutes, her family of five had been reduced to two. After days of traveling, Ms. Gak arrived in Arua district in Uganda and was taken to the Rhino Camp.

“I cannot believe I am in a camp again,” said Ms. Gak, who was a refugee in Kenya in 1991 before returning back to South Sudan after independence. “It is difficult to sleep at night. How can I, when I don’t know where my children and husband are?”

Ms. Gak is one of several women in the camp who have no idea where their husbands are. Some were soldiers and involved in the fighting, but with no contact, it was unclear if the men were dead or alive.

A distinct feature in the camp is the absence of adult men. It is composed mainly of older people, women, younger men and children.

While many of the other women were lucky enough to arrive with all their children, there are still many unaccompanied children in the camp, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) officials said.

UNHCR Officer Salome Ayikoru noted that people in the camp had divided themselves into smaller groups. “I think it is a natural thing that people will live with people from similar groups, but that’s what we have here.”

According to Ms. Gak, who was seated with other women from her Dinka tribe, it was something that just happened and not in any way a reflection of theories that the conflict was ethnic.

“When we need help, it is easier to turn to one of your own,” she said. There is no fighting in the camp – the only time we fight is for food and water.”

As a restaurant owner, accustomed to having more than adequate food for her family, fighting for food made her cry, she said. Every meal was a reminder of the life and children she had lost.

The government of Uganda, overwhelmed by the numbers of refugees, has been assisting the refugees with the support of partners.

“In Arua, we have 6,147 refugees, which is far lower than the number in Adjumani,’ said John Aliniatwe, a government senior settlement officer. “Humanitarian agencies will tell you that they can only start to provide assistance when they get to a certain threshold. We haven’t reached the numbers they need to justify the aid, but that does not take away the challenges refugees are facing.”

Mary Achol, a 25-year old woman who gave birth on her way from Jonglei to Uganda, said the lack of food and water was affecting her ability to breastfeed her newborn.

“I have had no (post-natal) drugs since I gave birth,” she said. “I am afraid of what diseases we will pick up here.”

According to Mr. Alinaitwe, the Ugandan government was continuing to appeal to aid organizations to assist refugees and there had been positive responses.

Asked what the refugees’ appeal to the South Sudanese government and rival factions was, Ms. Gak shook her head and said she had none.

“Even if it became peaceful now, I wouldn’t have peace of mind not knowing where my children are,” she said. “All those fighting need to understand that as mothers, that’s what’s important to us. We just want to be with our children and give them food without fighting. That is all that concerns us.”