Experience is a solid walking stick...

The Niles 13
> Departure: Adi Keyh, Eritrea
> Arrival: Kassala, Sudan
> Distance: 320km
> Departure: Jonglei State, South Sudan
> Arrival: Nyumanzi refugee camp, Uganda
> Distance: 330km
> Departure: Thar Jath, Unity State, South Sudan
> Arrival: Kuajok, Warrap State, South Sudan
> Distance: 335.5km
225km
“Still waiting to hear
from New Zealand”
“My goats, cattle, and
clothes were the only
possessions I had”
Run for
> Name: Terhas Kibdi, 25 years old.
> Previous occupation: Military service in Eritrea.
> Current occupation: Coffee shop owner in Kassala.
> Name: Abor Rebbeca.
> Previous occupation: Herdswoman.
> Current occupation: Jobless.
your
Where did you run from?
Adi Keyh, Eritrea.
Where do you plan to go?
I completed the refugee card procedures and submitted an
application for resettlement in New Zealand, but my request
has been pending for more than two years, which prompted me
to look for work in Sudan.
What do you wish you could have taken with you?
And why do you still dream of it?
The most important things I wanted to bring with me when
I escaped were my clothes, accessories, and private belongings,
but I escaped secretly, leaving all my things behind.
What is your favourite item now?
And what makes this item very precious?
Nothing.
Interview by Hamid Ibrahim
Where did you run from?
Jonglei State.
Where do you plan to go?
Back to South Sudan when peace returns.
What do you wish you could have taken with you?
And why do you still dream of it?
My goats, my cattle and my clothes.
Because these were my only possessions.
What is your favourite item now?
And what makes this item very precious?
The sack of sorghum flour and beans that I receive from the World
Food Programme (WFP) every month.
I hold on tightly to this because for me it is important to have
something to eat so that I can stay alive until God decides my fate.
Interview by Esther Muwombi
life!
More than a year of conflict in South Sudan
forced hundreds of thousands to leave their
homes in South Sudan. Majok Ajieth, originally
from Bentiu, Unity State, worked as an
engineer at the Thar Jath oil field in northern
South Sudan. He describes how he narrowly
avoided death and fled on foot and by plane.
By Ayuel Santino Manut
275
On December 18 last year, the fighting started in the morning.
Police and civilians from the Nuer tribe were killing people in the
town. I was the first to be beaten by a stick until I was in a coma,
but, by God’s grace, a few Nuers who had not turned wild protected
me and took me to the house of the oil company’s manager.
All our houses were ransacked, searched and looted –
everything that was movable was taken away and our houses
were burnt down. The owner of the house we stayed in said,
“No Dinka is alive out there. I don’t know how long I can protect
you here.” He told us to run into the bush in the dark.
We fled until about three o’clock that day, then rested under
a tree. At sunset we started our journey again but it became
unbearable. We knew if we stayed in the bush we may get lost
or killed by wild animals. We decided to go to the road heading
to Bentiu but we were soon ambushed. We were caught and
beaten, we were stripped naked and tied up like baggage but the
person in charge of the force was not there. One of our captors
suggested we should not be killed until the boss comes back.
When he finally returned we were put in a vehicle and taken
back to where we had run from. When we arrived everybody
became wild. Our enemies thought we were long dead and begged
to have us killed, but the police officer in charge refused. We were
locked up in a room with five gunmen to guard us.
We spent two long days and nights in that prison-like house.
Then, on the second day, we were driven to Bentiu. The policeman
did not want a foreign company’s staff killed and our company
eventually airlifted us away.
I lost everything. At present I am jobless but happy to be alive.
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2015/3/31 1:50 PM