Report from Conflict Area of Southern Sudan
Jacob with his wife, Mary, daughter, Aniel, and son Leek
The following is a report from the Rev. Jacob Nhial Guut, one of the Coordinators for Hope With Sudan in Kenya. He recently went on a fact-finding trip back to southern Jonglei State where he was born. The conditions are horrendous as he describes.
Dear Friends,
Receive warm regards in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you are all doing well and healthy breathing. I and my family are doing well through the grace and protection power of Almighty God.
First and foremost, I would like to salute all of you once more. I would like to give many thanks and much appreciation to God for answering your prayers which you offered on my trip to Southern Sudan. I want to assure you that you have powerful prayers.
Yes, I went by airplane on Monday 13th April and returned safely to Nairobi by airplane on Wednesday 22nd April 2009. I need to update you with terrible life which I have seen for ten days which I have spent in Sudan. I arrived in Jonglei State (Bor) on Tuesday 14th, April 2009. Then the next day which was Wednesday 15th April, I left the state and moved to the village-towns by foot passing from the dark forest Makuach, Konbeek and Kapaat (this are my towns where I was brought up when I was young, I escaped the place in 1987 and I have never gone back there, actually this was my first time back to the towns) without fear but God has protected me as I met everyone. On my way back to the Jonglei state I found that my cousin called (Thon Mayen Jur) died through an accident. The same day I returned back to Jonglei State then I was seriously sick with blood diarrhea and Malaria and I didn’t get medication, but God has also helped me from this hard life. I can say that God has heard and answered your prayers as he is always with His people.
In Southern Sudan, specially Jonglei State which is my town, there are many difficulties facing people, there is death spread everywhere i.e 35 people were killed by local community called Murele who used to abduct cows and kidnap children, on Thursday last week (6) people were killed from cattle camp and 140 cows were taken away from them, yesterday Murele came to a nearby Juba cattle camp and took away the cows and the gentlemen in the cattle fought with them they took the cows but many people are still missing and the same thing occurred to Nuer people as murele use to come at night burning houses, killing many people and took away many children. They are people who are always supported by Arabs. This cattle camp which was taken yesterday, there was this one man who was lucky who had hired a big lorry and transported his cattles to Juba for selling.
There is so much insecurity in the villages round Jonglei state. This made people to move to the state where their life becomes hard/difficult because they don’t have a source of income since they depended on cattles and farming. Those people who are living in the cattle camps and they own cattles, their lives is in danger because they are the targets of the murele who spy on them and kill them so that they can take their cattles. The Sudanese who have been living in Kakuma Refugee Camp and they are being repatriated to Sudan; they are welcomed by a very hard life there and lots of insecurity and poverty.
For example when I was there the church (Adumjok Archdeaconry) announced that parents should be careful and warn their children to avoid going near the bush to get anything because they are being caught and taken away. Just imagine a child who you have brought up for years and then are kidnapped and you will never know what happened to the child? I think that can be a very painful experience for parents and it can even bring depression and even death to some parents.
There is this one particular case which caught my attention and I have decided to share it with you. There are these two boys whose mother was killed by the Arabs and the father had died earlier due to lack of treatment in the war time. They were put under the care of their big brother who has struggled to educate them and feed them. The wife’s brother died through a road accident in the year 2007. Unfortunately, the brother who was taking care of them died on Wednesday 15th April 2009. It was such a sad case that, throughout the funeral this boy cried his heart out and it caught my attention since now he didn’t have anyone to cater for him and his brother. Yet his late brother had just placed him in Secondary school in Uganda which meant that with his death, he could not be able to go on with his education. So to my opinion I thought that I should share it with you so that we can all try to help this boy and get him a sponsor, so that he can lead a normal life and continue with his education. The boys name is Michael Arou Mayen Jur. Please see what you can do about this boy so that we can assist him.
Much regards and from this part of the world and all the best.
Blessings
Rev. Jacob Nhial Guut.
