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The way home is peace

October 5, 2006

By Charlotte Brudenell, ACT-Caritas field communicator

El Daein, South Darfur,Sudan --For some of the internally displaced people living in camps in Darfur, it is now safe to go home. However, those who can go home are not Darfurians; they are the displaced from southern Sudan who, two decades ago, fled fighting in their homeland.

For the last 19 years, Mary has lived in Khor Omer camp on the outskirts of El Daein town. She is one of thousands of internally displaced southern Sudanese living in the camp.

"Tell the world," says Mary. "After the rains, nobody will stay here." The southerners are going home.

Mary's story is harrowing. While trying to escape the war in her home in southern Sudan, her whole family was abducted by armed militias. Two of her children are still missing, her husband was killed, she herself stabbed and left for dead, and hundreds of her fellow southerners burnt alive in railway cars before her eyes.

Everyone in the camp has his or her own difficult story to tell. Many have come to Khor Omer camp since the conflict broke out in Darfur, having been displaced by fighting elsewhere, but they are all hopeful.

Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) 18 months ago, thousands of Southern Sudanese living across Sudan, including Darfur, have been returning to their homes in the south.

But many, like Mary, have been waiting for the rains to end in early October to return home. Some of them have tried to get home, but find themselves having to wait in Darfur.

Two large wadis, or seasonal rivers, some 150 and 250 kilometers south of Khor Omer camp, must be crossed to reach southern Sudan. During the rainy season they are impassable, blocking the route south.

"I was on my may home," says Garang, who came from the west in South Darfur to Khor Omer camp in May. "I was being repatriated, but heavy rains fell, and it was no longer possible to cross the wadi."

In coordination with the United Nations, the Sudanese government is organizing repatriations, which are due to begin once the rains end. But many people are anxious to get home, and they worry they might have to wait another year if left to rely on the government.

"We need to go home quickly, so that we can build good houses. To get home, we need one of two things: either transportation, or if that is not possible, we need food so that we can walk home," says Garang.

Others hope to find work on a farm at harvest time, so they can raise enough money to pay their way home. But there isn't enough work for everyone.

The southerners will also need assistance at home. After more than 20 years of war and 20 years of absence from their homes and farms, there is little they are returning to.

"We have nothing, but it is our home," says Mary. "In the first year, we need help. We need axes so we can clear the land and start to cultivate, then we will not ask again. We will be able to provide for ourselves as we did before."

Although there's a peace agreement in place, little has been done in terms of development in the South.

On the other side of El Daein town, the people in El Neem camp also want to go home. But they are not waiting for the end of the rainy season, nor the harvest, nor transportation. They are Darfurians. They are afraid to go home.

"There must be security. This is the first thing," says Zobeida. "If there is no security, there is no life."

He adds, "Then the villages that were destroyed need to be rebuilt. But first we need security, before eating, drinking, anything."

The Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) between the Government of Sudan and one faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army was signed five months ago. But civilians continue to be killed and displaced by in-fighting among rebel groups and a fresh military offensive targeting those rebels who refused to sign the DPA. It isn’t safe to go home.

Fozia, 45, and Fatima, 17, both live in El Neem camp. They say they will go home when there is peace.

But how long will they have to wait? Eighteen months? Twenty years?

ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. Church World Service is supporting the ACT humanitarian assistance in Sudan.

Contributions to CWS Sudan-Darfur emergency efforts may be made online, by phone to 800-297-1516 ext. 222, or mailed to CWS, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Thank you.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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