A Voice to the Voiceless and Vulnerable As Violence Breeds Violence in South Sudan

By Teresa Sfeir

News

According to the most recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (GIEWS country brief of South Sudan), food resources in South Sudan continue to grow less available. The figure of people suffering from food insecurity in South Sudan has risen from 4.8 million to 6.33 million within the February-April 2018 period. This makes up 57% of the total population. Moreover, prices of main food products are 75% higher in March 2018 than they were in March 2017.

In addition to the famine, about 4.3 million people have fled their homes since the war started in mid-December 2013, ending up as either internally displaced persons or as refugees in neighboring countries. In Uganda, more than 60% of the South Sudanese refugees are children (under 18). Over 75,000 of these children were separated from their parents. While many join-up with relatives, many others are matched with foster families.

Analysis

50,000 people in South Sudan face dire food insecurity conditions, and there is a genuine concern for them. At the peak of the lean season, from May to July 2018, it is anticipated that 7.1 million people will be facing food insecurity.

As to the children seeking refuge in Uganda, they are left susceptible to exploitation and abuse, and they have little psychosocial support to help deal with trauma. Basil Droti, who is in charge of child protection at one settlement for the Danish Refugee Council, warns that these unaccompanied children need stability and education; otherwise, “we can actually lose that generation.” Something then must be done to prevent these children from carrying this trauma into adulthood. After all, violence breeds violence. An angry son becomes an angry father. A victim becomes a predator. This cycle, a heritage of hurt, must be broken.

Certainly, the local churches of Uganda stand by the South Sudanese refugees. ABTS first-year student, Awad from South Sudan, shares, “I have been in Uganda since 2012. Through my church, the South Sudanese International Christian Fellowship, I visited several refugee camps in order to provide them with medical and material aid. I remember how happy the refugees of the Adjumani camp were when we visited and offered them clothes.”

Theological Reflections and Recommendations

It is good for the Church to see to the material needs of the South Sudanese by providing aid and food resources. It is also good for the Church to stand by them and lead them on a journey towards finding healing in Christ. It is not enough, however, to stop here. We are required to speak up on their behalf – to be a voice to the voiceless.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8,9)

According to the International Press Institute, “Authorities in the country regularly close and block news outlets, and arrest journalists in response to reporting on the war.” When journalism is censored and discredited in South Sudan, and the atrocities are not given due attention on an international level, would we then be willing, as a global Church, to give voice to those whose voices have been silenced?