“Our children are dying like flowers falling”: A mother’s plea for peace in Bangolo

WESTERN EQUATORIA - At first light in Bangolo, a small village in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State, Charity Fatna begins another day with questions no mother should have to ask.

If her child falls sick today, will there be medicine? If violence returns, will her family be safe? And when will life finally return to normal?

For Charity and many other women in Bangolo, uncertainty has become part of everyday life.

Years of insecurity have displaced families, disrupted education, cut people off from their farms, and left healthcare services struggling to meet basic needs.

“The situation is very difficult,” Charity says. “There is so much sickness. Even at the health center, there is no medicine. We depend on traditional herbs to treat our children, but many of them do not recover completely.”

For this community, peace is not simply a promise. It means lives saved, families protected, and the chance to rebuild.

When United Nations Police Officers (UNPOL) visited Bangolo, they came to listen. Meeting with women from the community, they heard their concerns and discussed ways to strengthen protection and security.

Among those sharing her story was Eva Sitim, whose greatest concern is the future of the village’s children.

“Peace is very important,” she says. “Our children are dying like flowers falling. We are suffering here with our children. We need real peace.”

The impact of conflict is felt across Bangolo.

Nora Joseph remembers losing her home and being unable to safely access her farmland. But her biggest worry is what this means for the next generation.

“We are suffering. Those of us living across the stream had our houses burnt, and we cannot reach our farms. Our children need education. Our daughters are growing up without going to school. They cannot even write the names of their parents.”

Beyond insecurity, families are also facing a lack of essential services. Limited access to water, poor communication networks, and the absence of emergency medical transport continue to put lives at risk.

Raul Yagu describes the daily challenges facing residents.

“Cattle keepers graze their animals on our farms. We have no communication network. When pregnant women go into labour, it is difficult to get them to hospital because there is no ambulance. Sometimes they die. Children are also dying. We have only two working boreholes, and another one is about three miles away.”

Despite these hardships, women in Bangolo continue to play a leading role in calling for peace and protection.

“Once a woman is involved in negotiations and in ensuring there is peace, men listen to them and believe them,” says UN Police Advisor Simpasa Benny. “The women also spoke about the insecurity they face when they go into the bush. They cannot farm or carry out activities outside their homes because of these challenges. UNMISS came to hear and report these concerns so that, together with the Government of South Sudan, the best can be done to protect women, children and civilians in general.”

For Charity, Eva, Nora, and the many women who gathered in Bangolo, the meeting was more than a conversation. It was an opportunity to be heard. Their message is simple: they want to live without fear, send their children to school, access healthcare, cultivate their land, and build a future where peace is not uncertain, but a reality.

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By Denis Louro