IDPs UNMISS Camp Option has Consequences
By Malith Alier
Choices and options have consequences at least in relation to those who have chosen to be in UNMISS camps in Juba, Bor, Bentiu and Malakal.
To begin with, every State capital and other major towns in the States have camps especially designed to accommodate UNMISS personnel particularly the peacekeepers and UN Police (UNPOL). Any other people to be accommodated there are a supernumerary.
The UNMISS and the government of South Sudan are aware of this simple fact. However, the UN now boasts of this as having discovered something new first branded as Emergency Accommodation (EA), later rebranded as Protection of Civilians Site (POC). The country now has these POCs majorly in the above mentioned cities most affected by the current upheaval. The IDPs, UNMISS and the government are parties to this new approach never seen anywhere before. The IDPs and the UNMISS are not entirely to blame for these concentration camps imposed by circumstances beyond their capacity.
Some people in the camps think that being under UNMISS compound is the lesser evil than being outside like ordinary citizens. This perception is highly controversial because there are enormous problems of immeasurable proportions facing the IDPs in displaced camps.
Competition for space and other resources
It has been mentioned time and again that the UNMISS camps were not meant for large numbers of people like what is there now. Putting people in a small space first of all causes congestion or overcrowding. A human being needs enough space to turn around and breath. He needs space for shelter and exercise. In the UNMISS compound, there is shortage of water, toilets are few and worse, contagious diseases may break out and affect all families.
There are stories of several deaths in those camps as a result of preventable diseases under normal circumstances.
Lack of space may cause infighting as already witnessed this week in Juba. Violence broke out between rival clans and many people were injured some critically. Violence begets violence. The Nuer tribe may resort to sectionalism because tribal menace is eliminated by the self imposed isolation away from the rest of South Sudanese.
Resentment by other South Sudanese who remain outside protection sites
This is particularly the case when no apparent danger poses to those who choose to be in the camps. The UNMISS is there to keep peace or protect all of us in case of impending danger.
The government, UNMISS and ordinary citizens have tried in vain to persuade the IDPs particularly the ones in Thong piny, Juba to come out and go to their homes since there is relative calm in the city. Their refusal means that they have other agenda other than insecurity. This is confirmed by celebrations when the rebels score victories on the battle front.
The IDPs in Thong piny vigorously protested the secession of hostilities agreement and celebrated the capture of Bentiu by the rebels together with those in Bor UNMISS camp, a matter that angered those outside the camps. The resentment by outsiders rolled on to the streets in Bor and turned violent leading to butcher of over fifty IDPs and demonstrators. The IDPs do not know how to control their behaviour in the face of this huge calamity brought about by war described by many as senseless.
Dependency syndrome in UNMISS camps
The ones who choose to stay in camps are not productive but depend on handouts by the world body. Some of the ones currently residing in the camps were once productive members of the community. They use to feed their families and pay tax to the government through employment either in public or private sector. However, residing in displaced camps brings all this to naught. Previously employed IDPs on some occasions tried to go and receive their salaries from former places of work but no one wants to pay for no work performed, not even the government.
The world body has recently appealed for more funds to handle the IDPs and the predicted famine. As mentioned earlier around, the IDPs need heaves of short term and long services. They need toilets, shelter, food, medicine, schools and many more.
Anxiety and psychological torture
Congestion, anxiety and all sorts of thinking can definitely cause mental problems. Not everybody is the same. Some are easily affected by crises more than others. Children, women and other vulnerable groups are the most affected in any crisis. Children who are two years or more and are able to speak usually ask their parents about certain changes they observe.
For example a child may ask parent why they left their home to be in such place as the UNMISS camp which is congested and looks like a prison. What does the parent tell the innocent child that there is a war between Dinka and Nuer? This will not be forgotten by this child for life. This is a long lasting impression on both sides of the conflict especially when towns exchange hands and stories of suffering are narrated particularly to children who are the next generation to managed and coexist in the country.
Many of those in IDPs camps are rebel supporters who are waiting for the rebels to triumph and that is the only time they will come out and join the triumphal forces. This is the mental anxiety everyone is seeing from IDPs.
The IDPs should come out of IDPs UN camps and return to their original homes because the consequences of not doing that are detrimental to their existence. Relief handouts are minimal and cannot satisfy individual needs leave alone those of family members and close relatives. It is now clear that the rebels will have a long time to have their way under the current circumstance so it is not worth waiting for them under prison like situations. Please come out!
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