UNITY – Thousands of South Sudanese people who escaped the current conflict in neighbouring Sudan are once again on the move, displaced in a homeland they either fled years ago or never knew at all.

Since early April, when armed conflict began in Sudan, the United Nations estimate that more than 130,000 fleeing people - most of them South Sudanese - have arrived in neighbouring South Sudan.

A few days ago, a group of between 7,000 and 11,000 returnees arrived in Koch County by boat from Renk, courtesy of a rescue operation jointly organized by the South Sudan government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The objective is to move people from border areas to the interior of the country, back to their ancestral homes in the counties of Koch, Leer, and Mayendit, where they may, or may not, have family to reconnect with.

While returnees have escaped the inherit dangers of war, their future remains uncertain.

 “I left for Khartoum 15 years ago, but since then a lot has happened, there have been many conflicts and floods. How do I know where my family is, or if my home is still there? I hope we can find a safe place where we can belong,” says Elizabeth Nygaruch Manory Liah, one of the new arrivals, after a gruelling journey from the Sudanese capital.

“Twenty-five days to the border, then another six on a boat. In our group, we lost 20 people to sickness and two more died when we arrived,” she recounts.

The thousands of returnees, many of whom fled to Sudan during the 2013 and 2016 crises in South Sudan, are arriving in an already struggling country, where the massive influx of refugees from across the border has made efforts to provide everyone with basic services even more difficult.

“Since 20 April, Unity State alone has welcomed almost 30,000 South Sudanese coming home, via the Ruweng Administrative Area or by river transport. Public utilities like water, healthcare and schools are becoming more and more overstretched, while security issues and rain-drenched roads present other problems,” explains IOM representative Miriam Mutalu.

Humanitarian actors and UNMISS peacekeepers are working tirelessly to provide the former refugees, currently internally displaced persons, with what they most need, with safety for both returnees and aid workers crucial.

"We were told by the government that thousands of people would be returning, which is why we are here, patrolling the Nyeroup port. We are doing what we are asked to do as peacekeepers, and that is to protect civilians, not least to make humanitarian assistance possible,” says Lieutenant Baffour Osei-Agyemang, one of the Ghanaian Blue Helmets normally based in Leer.

Despite dire circumstances, local authorities are welcoming, with Leer County Commissioner Stephen Taker Riek explaining that any South Sudanese are welcome back, urging his compatriots to “come home”.

Nyamal James, having travelled with her grandmother and younger siblings, feels that she has done exactly that.

“We will not go back to Khartoum. We are home now, and safe from violence.”