Each South Sudanese refugee in Uganda faces different sets of challenges particular to his/her own life, circumstances, and the time spent as protracted refugee. Since the beginning of October, more than 2,500 refugees arrived in Uganda facing food shortages, inadequate shelter and land to grow crops.
The outbreak of violence in the capital Juba last July created a humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda as thousands of South Sudanese sought refugee there. For other refugees who have been living in Uganda for years and up to a decade, their hardships are a manifest of their struggle for self-reliance.
Veronica Simon, 40, from Nimule, arrived in July to the recently-built Pagarinya refugee settlement in Adjumani district, northern Uganda. Inside the camp, the conditions are adverse. "We don't have enough food and blankets," said the mother of six. More than 85 percent of the refugees in this recent influx are women and children. Simon is responsible for her family as her husband "refused to leave," she said. She has lost communication with him.
Nimule is a border town about 50 kilometers from Pagariyna and Simon did not have to walk far with her children into safety. However, she was only able to flee with few household items. "I need cooking utensils," she explained outside her small two-hut compound made from crooked tree branches and tattered UNHCR tarps. "Only the UN can help us," she added. "The community can't help; your sister can't even help you," she said.
Veronica Simon arrived from Nimule in South Sudan
With the large influx of refugees in July 2015, relief agencies had to implement stringent food rationing in the refugee settlements. The international humanitarian organizations lack the necessary funds to meet the needs of the more than 200,000 refugees. The World Food Program (WFP) had to cut rations to stretch its resources citing a budget shortfall of about $27 million (24.5 million euros) in the next six months as reasons. Around 200,000 refugees who arrived in Uganda prior to July 2015 also had their rations cut in half.
The WFP gives refugees the option of choosing between food or cash assistance as a way having more flexibility. "Access is the problem," said Lydia Wamala, a communications officer for the WFP in Uganda. "Refugees have low purchasing power."
In the older, more established refugee settlements like Ayilo, which opened in 2014, a small market economy sprouted among refugees and with the local community. Refugees who choose cash assistance receive 28,000 Ugandan Shilling ($8.15) per month.
But since August, refugees have not received cooking oil, a source of grave distress inside the settlements. "We get beans, sorghum, but we don't get oil," said Veronica echoing their frustrations. Some households sell a portion of their food ration inside the camp and buy commodities they are lacking, such as cooking oil, vegetables, and fuel. "Food insecurity is one of the main reasons people flee," explained Wamala. This is an important factor that persuades some refugees to return to South Sudan.
Wojia James left South Sudan in 1989, built a business and is now a Ugandan citizen
South Sudan joins the list of countries that have produced over one million refugees, along with Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan. Uganda, its southern neighbor, has historically welcomed South Sudanese fleeing war throughout the decades. For refugees who have been in Uganda longer, time and the country's progressive refugee policy has granted them some opportunities to start their own businesses and aim towards self-reliance.
Wojia James, 51, from Central Equatoria State, fled to Uganda in 1989 when he was twenty years old. He ran away from the violence brought by Sudan's civil war. James spent two years living in a transit centre in Uganda and two more years inside a refugee settlement before he could start making a living on his own. "I was surviving from food rations," Wojia explained from his small grocery shop in Adjumani town.
At the beginning, James rode a bicycle from town to town to sell firewood and charcoal, through which he managed to have capital to start a business. As the years went by, Wojia's small business grew. He earned enough money to rent a space in the market and move out of the refugee camp. He is now a Ugandan citizen.
Yom Riak, 42, from Jonglei State, is also a businesswoman. She owns a small shop inside Ayilo refugee camp to support her six children. She sells okra, sugar, peanuts, oil, among commodities that refugees don't receive as part of their food rations.
Yom Riak, who left South Sudan in 2014, sells scented wood to make ends meet
Riak arrived in 2014 when a civil war broke out between forces loyal to President Salva Kirr and those supporting former vice president, Riek Machar. Riak began her business by selling scented wood. Three years later, she began earning about 20,000 Ugandan Shilling ($5.82) a month from her business.
"It is not enough to feed the children," she explained in the dark confines of her small shop. While some international organizations like the Lutheran World Foundation provide business support in the form of micro-loans and vocational training, most refugee business owners have a hard time building the capital to invest and expand. Riak's income manages to cover extra expenditures, such as medical expanses and baby formula. But it is not enough to save and invest.
Back in Pagarinya refugee settlement, Veronica sits behind her sawing machine. She is trying to earn some money as a tailor but a few months after arriving, her shop is still empty. Her finished products lay in piles on her sides.
"I want our future leaders to avoid persecution and will stay here to give life to my children," she said. "Unless peace comes [in South Sudan], I will not go back."
Newer articles:
- South Sudan monitor says cease-fire violated almost daily - 19/10/2016 10:58
- UN peacekeeping chief pleads for South Sudan arms embargo - 19/10/2016 09:16
- South Sudan conflict: Ex-VP Machar 'has no role' in politics - 18/10/2016 16:12
- An unwarranted attack on South Sudan - 18/10/2016 15:05
- South Sudan's second largest city scorched by renewed fighting - 18/10/2016 09:05
Older news items
- 'I'm going to return to South Sudan' says Riek Machar - 18/10/2016 05:53
- At least 60 killed as fighting surges in South Sudan - 17/10/2016 05:49
- South Sudan is bleeding itself dry - 16/10/2016 16:12
- Fighting around South Sudan town of Malakal kills 56: government - 16/10/2016 14:33
- South Sudan: Exclusive - I Want to Meet President Zuma, Says S Sudan Rebel Leader - 16/10/2016 08:23
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan needs ‘civic education’ before elections, says bishop - 16/01/2025 16:42
- South Sudan parties set to resume peace talks in Kenya - 16/01/2025 16:39
- Abandoned but not forgotten – the invisible crisis in South Sudan - 16/01/2025 16:35
- The SAF has committed barbaric atrocities against South Sudanese refugees in Wad Medani - 16/01/2025 16:27
- Syria 2025: The historical Syrian project: From revolution to a modern inclusive civil state - 16/01/2025 16:10
Random articles (all categories):
- Riek Machar launches anti-AIDS campaign in Yambio - 17/09/2009 17:57
- South Sudan joins Global Network to launch Accelerator Lab and Human Development Report 2019 - 12/12/2019 00:42
- South Sudan: Security Council Extends UN Peacekeeping Force in Abyei Through February 2015 - 15/10/2014 07:24
- RPT-UPDATE 3-Sudan's Bashir orders stoppage of South Sudan's oil - 08/06/2013 16:22
- Russian helicopter attacked once again in South Sudan – source - The Voice of Russia - 10/01/2013 01:38
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 61788 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22309 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21498 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19064 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 18830 times