Update from Dane Smith
On May 16 12 civilians were killed in Abyei, the special administrative area on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. The Government of South Sudan has accused Sudan of assisting the Misseriya Arab militia in the violence. The incident sparked a sharp rebuke from the Episcopal Primate, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, who told the BBC, “I strongly condemn such barbaric attacks and call for an end to this senseless violence by the Misseriya tribe against the innocent Dink Ng’ok people.”
A troubling report from WHO indicates that the Government of South Sudan will give back COVAX 72,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine before their upcoming expiration date. The vaccine rollout has been complicated by the hesitation of health care workers to get vaccinated, a lag in training vaccinators, and the delay of Parliament in approving vaccine use.
Meanwhile, President Salva Kiir has initiated a key step in implementing the 2018 peace agreement (R/ARCSS). He presided over a ceremony to begin drafting a new constitution, attended by representatives of the African Union, the UN, and Western donors. He also commented archly that implementation of the R/ARCSS is very difficult, particularly the unification of the armed forces, because the UN embargo on arms sales to South Sudan has led to the absence of “proper arsenals” for the new army. (A UN official commented at the time that South Sudan was awash in weapons.) Cantonment of forces from the militias covered by the agreement has practically collapsed because of lack of food and organization. This past week the UN Security Council extended the arms embargo against South Sudan by a vote of 13-0 with two abstentions.
French President Macron presided over a major conference on Sudan in mid-May. IMF member countries agreed to clear Sudan’s arrears to the institution, eliminating a final obstacle to wider relief on Sudan’s external debt of at least $50 billion. The World Bank subsequently announced new credits amounting to $2 billion, raising hopes that an early flow of funds will provide relief to a population beset by inflation and food shortages.
Jerome Tubiana, perhaps the leading Western expert on Darfur and Chad — and a former colleague of mine — has written in Foreign Affairs that the violence in Darfur, which had calmed after 2010, has taken sharp turn for the worse in 2021. The revolution in Sudan which overthrew President Bashir induced non-Arab Darfuris to agitate for the return of their homelands and the eviction of Arab settlers who had usurped them. That led in turn to Arab attacks on displaced persons camps in West Darfur where Masalit were the majority. Since then, the Masalit have armed themselves and have been imposing heavy casualties on the Arabs. The Transitional Government in Khartoum appears unable to deal with Darfur, in part because Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), a former Janjaweed leader and now commander of the Rapid Support Forces, is a member of the Sovereignty Council.
Best,
Some Background to AFRECS’ Work in Trauma Healing
By Dane Smith, Executive Director, AFRECS
Since 2019 AFRECS has been partnering with the faith-based organization Five Talents to introduce trauma healing instruction into the activities of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Trauma can be defined as an emotional response to a terrible event like domestic violence, sexual abuse of children, rape, a war massacre, a natural disaster, or an accident. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, aggressive actions or emotional numbness, strained relationships and physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, back pain, and chronic fatigue. The South Sudanese people have been in a situation of collective trauma for most of three generations. It began with the resistance war against Northern control which started in the late 1950s. It intensified with the renewal of civil war in the early 1980s. Then, after independence in 2011, it exploded with the civil conflict which broke out in 2013. Terrible events faced by South Sudanese have included bombing of villages, massacres of civilians, and more recently, lethal tribal vendettas and massive rape of women and girls.
Trauma healing efforts began in South Sudan about a decade ago through the programs of the United Nations and some bilateral donors like the United States. Only in the past few years have such activities been taken up by the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. With the encouragement of Bishop Joseph Garang Atem of the Diocese of Renk (newly consecrated as Archbishop of Upper Nile), Five Talents organized separate groups of male youth and women in and around Renk to undertake small business activities. These savings groups began meeting regularly to receive training in literacy, numeracy, and microfinance, while mobilizing very modest levels of savings for small business activity. Into that mix of training Five Talents and AFRECS introduced trauma mitigation presented by two skilled trainers, Amer Deng Ayom and Ajak John Manyang, who traveled to Rwanda in 2019 to complete a special curriculum. The program trained 319 participants in 2019 and 235 in 2020, when COVID paused the training for several months. The program is expected to expand from Upper Nile to Central Equatoria later this year.
Where does this attention to trauma come from? Trauma as a product of war was largely ignored by the U.S. military in the aftermath of both World War I and World War II, despite its substantial costs to individuals. It first received systematic attention in the US as a result of the experience of Vietnam veterans and, more recently, to deal with the impact of sexual abuse on children. Internationally in the past 25 years there has been a focus on trauma in places like South Africa, where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission attracted much attention, and in Rwanda, where community courts called gacaca tried genocide perpetrators, while promoting reconciliation.
Bessel Van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, currently a New York Times best-seller — and a captivating read — provides enormous insight into the trauma process and into modes of healing. In the 1990s much attention was given to the use of medications, particularly Prozac and Zoloft, as well as tranquilizers like Valium. However, drugs cannot “cure” trauma. They only help to control feelings and behavior. In fact, they may inhibit healing by blocking the systems that regulate engagement and motivation. Trauma changes the brain, making the victim hypervigilant, while continuously repeating self-defeating behaviors, incapable of talking coherently about the story behind the trauma, and unable to learn from experience. Continued secretions of stress hormones generate feelings of agitation and panic. Van der Kolk writes,
Trauma robs you of the feeling that you are in charge of yourself…. The challenge
of recovery is to reestablish ownership of your body and your mind — of yourself.”
The victim must “reestablish executive functioning.” Activities which may assist in the process of recovery include a focus on breathing, yoga exercises and meditation, massage, and touch, chanting and dance, and active involvement in a group, such as a religious or trade association. Ultimately the traumatized person needs to recover her/his story. “If you’ve been hurt, you need to acknowledge and name what has happened to you.” That can happen in a group focused on a common enterprise, particularly if the process is facilitated by other supportive activities.
That is what we believe has been going on in our trauma mitigation activities in Renk, which is now relatively calm, but where women and young men have had extensive exposure to inter-tribal attack, murder of family members and episodes of massive sexual assault. Growth of trust within these small groups facilitates the sharing of trauma stories and ultimate healing.
News and Notes
ALERT!!! Beginning with our next issue, our publication date will be Thursday rather than Tuesday. So look for the E-Blast on Thursday, June 17 and every other Thursday after that.
Hard Won Day
By Anita Sanborn, AFRECS Board Member
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| Anita Sanborn, AFRECS Board Member and David Mayen LLM at his graduation | Pagan Amun and David Mayen LLM at his graduation. |
What does one do when you can no longer return to your country of origin, the country whose independence you fought for and where you served faithfully until your ethics and moral code forced you to speak out thus endangering your life and those of your family? Even under the real potential of becoming a man without a country, one asylum seeker made the most of the past two years.
David Mayen is a former South Sudanese government official who became an outspoken critic of the Kiir regime. Several years ago, his life was threatened, and he saw that others, including journalists and leaders in civil society were being disappeared or imprisoned. He made the difficult decision to publicly resign his position and once in the United States he applied for asylum. David arrived in Denver, CO where he had relatives, friends, and academic colleagues. (He had earned a Master’s Degree in International Security from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (DU)some years earlier.) His court case is still ongoing due to delays in hearings being postponed due to the Corona virus pandemic.
Nevertheless, he determined to acquire the credentials to improve his chances of earning a living and supporting his family, who remain in Africa. He was admitted to the Sturm College of Law at DU. With the help of AFRECS friends and advisers, Buck Blanchard and Ken Scott, David earned his Master of Laws in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy and was awarded Outstanding Graduate in his program This is an accomplishment which speaks to personal sacrifice, dedication to family and unwavering desire to contribute.
With limited opportunities for work until his case is settled, we ask for your prayers for the successful outcome of his application for asylum and for his wife and children who have been separated from him for many years now. Thank you to the many American friends associated with AFRECS who continue to advocate for David.
Wrestling for Peace in South Sudan
Report from the African Center for Strategic Studies
AFRICA South Sudan, young people are using sports to build peace and mutual trust among warring tribes engaged in cattle rustling. For decades, South Sudan has been ravaged by political conflicts as well as intercommunal violence related to cattle rustling and abduction of women and children. Through the Wrestling for Peace Initiative, South Sudan Wrestling Entertainment— a local organization founded and led by young South Sudanese—is using the indigenous sport of wrestling to promote peaceful coexistence across South Sudan’s many tribes, especially in restive Jonglei, Lakes, Eastern and Central Equatoria States. A short documentary by VICE Sports shows the impact of this initiative in promoting peace at grassroots levels. The initiative mobilizes wrestlers from cattle camps and brings them to Juba for a month-long competition. Aside from the tournament itself, side-meetings are organized between youth leaders and chiefs from different communities. The spectators who come to watch the matches are charged ticket prices, which helps fund the initiative. Through engagement in this program, the youth from rival communities have forged long-lasting relationships that have contributed to conflict resolution and management at the local level.
Other News from Various Sources
From the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect: Atrocity Alert – 05262021
BBC South Sudan – 05202021
Al-Arabiya – 05232021
Sudan Tribune – 05252021
Eye Radio – 05212021
Radio Tamazuj – 05252021
Attacks on aid workers and food assets in South Sudan
Despite the 2018 Peace Agreement and the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity, for the past year South Sudan has experienced a steady escalation in violence, including localized conflicts and civilian killings. In recent weeks there has also been an increase in attacks targeting humanitarian workers and assets.
In January, an aid worker with Joint Aid Management (JAM) was shot dead near Bentiu, which is also in Unity state.
On May 12, a humanitarian worker was killed in Budi in Eastern Equatoria when gunmen ambushed a clearly marked humanitarian vehicle on the road from Chukudum to Kapoeta in Budi County.
On May 21, Louis Edward Saleh Ufew, a South Sudanese doctor working for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), was killed at a health facility in Ganyliel village, Unity State. In response, the IRC has suspended its operations in South Sudan’s oil-rich Unity State.
During April, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported separate incidents in Torit, Eastern Equatoria, where youths physically assaulted staff from a UN agency and an NGO. The IRC also reported an attack on 24 April in the Ruweng Administrative Area, during which youths entered their compound and physically attacked staff.
On May 20, UNICEF says reports confirm that since violence started on 7 May in Pibor more than 2,000 cartons of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food have been looted. According to UNICEF South Sudan Representative, Hamida Lasseko, the life-saving food is enough to treat 2, 000 children with severe acute malnutrition.
The World Food Program (WFP) reports, “Some 550 metric tons of food, enough to feed 33,000 food-insecure people for one month, were looted or destroyed in Gumuruk in Greater Jonglei in the first two weeks of May during the latest bout of violence. The food included cereals, pulses, cooking oil, and nutrition supplements for the treatment and prevention of malnutrition in children and women.”
https://www.globalr2p.org/
https://www.bbc.com/news/
https://english.alarabiya.net/
https://www.sudantribune.com/
https://eyeradio.org/unicef-
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/
From Radio Tamazuj – 05/21 and 23/2021
Schools facing issues as classes resume after COVID closures
The boarding section of a secondary school in Hiyalla Payam of Torit County in Eastern Equatoria State has been closed due to lack of a feeding program, an insufficient number of teachers, and insecurity in the area. The school has now been forced to operate as a day school and is unable to accept students from outside the local area. Alfred Ajayo, the Headmaster, told Radio Tamazuj that the school cannot manage students in the boarding section. “It is feeding that made the school collapse as a boarding. A few students succeeded in collecting food for themselves, but currently, we don’t have any food for the,” Ajayo said. He lamented that besides lack of food and shortage of furniture, many teachers have deserted their jobs at the school due to insecurity.
In Warrap State, adolescent girls at Kuajok Girls’ Primary School say they lack sanitary towels which makes them face challenges during learning. Many adolescent girls in South Sudan drop out and fail to complete their education because they do not have access to sanitary pads. In additions, the girls report that there is a shortage of face masks. The Headteacher of Kuajok Girls’ Primary school, Adior Salvatore Athian, said that feminine hygiene and sanitation in the school has been a challenge since the reopening of schools.
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/
Eye Radio – 05272021
Activist urges government to consider the growing intercommunal violence as a national crisis
Edmond Yakani, who is the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization or CEPO, is calling on the unity government to declare the inter-communal conflicts across the country as a national crisis.
There has been a surge in inter-communal and cattle-related killings across the country particularly in the Bar el Ghazal region. Between 11th and 18th this month, Eye Radio recorded at least forty-two people killed across South Sudan. Most of these deaths are related to communal clashes, road ambushes, and banditries. The killings happened in Lakes, Central, and Eastern and Western Equatoria states, and Ruweng Administrative Area.
https://eyeradio.org/govt-
From Radio Tamazuj – 05232021
7 people killed; 200 cows raided in Ayod County
At least 7 people were killed, 4 others injured and about 2000 herd of cattle raided during an attack by a group of armed men on the southern outskirts of Jonglei State’s Ayod town on Wednesday, a local official said. Speaking to Radio Tamazuj over the weekend, James Chuol Jiek, the Ayod County commissioner, said: “Gul cattle camp in Pagoung Payam was attacked by suspected cattle raiders on Wednesday morning. In the clashes, we lost 5 youth while 4 others were injured. And from the side of the attackers, 2 people were killed.”
He added, “The attackers went away with about 5800 cows, but our local youth managed to recover 3800 cows, so only 2000 are still missing.” The county official blamed the attack on suspected cattle raiders from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) and called on his counterparts there to intervene.
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!
We are grateful that contributions from you, our supporters, continue to nurture AFRECS in expanding our impact. You make a difference in the essential peacebuilding work of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. We hope you will consider another generous gift — or whatever you can afford in this time of COVID — to continue our vital work. You can contribute online at https://afrecs.org or send a check made out to AFRECS to P.O. Box 3327, Alexandria, VA 22302
Please Note: AFRECS’ former address c/o Virginia Theological Seminary is no longer valid.
This issue of the AFRECS E-Blast was compiled by Board member Caroline Klam.