In August this year the Sudan Human Rights Association (SHRA) visited the Sudanese refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The camps visited included Langa, Singi, Ataki and Biringi located within a range of 60-80 km from the North Western boarder of Uganda. The camps were opened in 1989 and the settlers are mainly from the Kakwa, Baka and Amakaya tribes of south Sudan. The findings:

About 50,000 refugees stay in the camps of Langa, singi, Ataki and Biringi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are at the brink of starvation following the failure of agricultural subsistence due to the unpredictable weather conditions and insecurity in the area.

Since 1994 relief food has not been availed to them. The women and children travel far into the forests in search for edible leaves and roots of plants.

Many of the people are very malnourished and anaemic. The situation is forcing many to resort to theft, robbery and prostitution for survival.

The prevailing insecurity has grossly affected the livelihood of the refugees in this area. There are many incidences of arbitrary arrests of refugees on allegations of being in possession of guns. Many of those who are detained die due to the hard conditions. Some are just killed off. The situation is complicated also by the poachers from Garamba National Park who occasionally attack the refugees.

These poachers have occasioned massive abuses on the refugees characterized by killings, robbery, looting, torture and rape.

This has forced refugees to move from place to place. The refugee camps have become targets for raids. In December 1997 seven refugees were killed during one such raid. By the time SHRA visited the camps in August this year, many refugees had temporarily settled at Mandengi and Kulupata.

Out of every 10 people at least three are affected with sleeping sickness or malaria. Cases of diarrhea, cholera and sexually transmitted diseases are very rampant. The only health unit stationed at Langa is poorly equipped. It lacks both qualified staff and drugs. Mr. Cirilo Abia, a staff at the health unit reported that the unit is not enough to serve the whole population and last received drugs in 1994.

There are also problems with schools. The existing primary and junior schools are very distant and poorly equipped. Pupils have to cover several miles to reach the schools and they study under trees. Many have failed to cope with the situation and have instead opted to return to Sudan to join the army.

The women who form the majority of the refugee population engage in subsistence activities for survival. They engage in petty trade by the roadsides and fetching water which they sell. They cover several miles on foot to the forests and in many instances are disturbed by men who sexually assault them. Many of these women are widows who have lost their husbands due to the civil war in Sudan.

One victim of abuse, Saidia Regina, 28, a Kakwa from Ataki settlement camp testified thus: “I lost my husband on the 22nd April, 1990 during a crossfire. I am left with four children and my only source of income is through fetching water which I sell. My life has so much been exposed to abuses. Twice I have been raped.”

She recounted that on one morning in June 1994, she had travelled 8 miles in the forest in search for fire wood when she was accosted by two men who claimed that her husband had at one time reported them to the authorities.

They blindfolded her, threw her down and proceeded to rape her. “There after I could not stand because of the pain. I was discovered by fellow women who had also come for fire wood. They helped me to reach home, and to stop the bleeding. I recovered after two months from Ataki health unit.”

The latest incident happened on her in 1996. She had gone to sell waragi (a local potent gin) at a gathering and on her way back home through the valley in the night she encountered a man who grabbed the money she had. “ I tried to scream and he threatened me with a knife. No body was in earshot to come to my rescue and he raped me. ”

Such abuses are common place in the camps and the refugees are defenceless.

INSIDE:

Life in the Sudanese Refugee Camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Conditions in the War Torn Areas of Yei in Sudan

Plight of the Disabled in War Torn Areas of Sudan

Prisoners of war in the War Torn Areas of Yei

Repeated Attacks Make Adjumani Refugee Camp Insecure

The Role of Civil Society in Conflict Resolution

The Sudan Conflict: The Causes and the Attempts at Resolution

Famine Ravages South Sudan

A Standard of Achievement For all People to Aspire For Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The International Bill of Human Rights

SHRA ORGANISES A PERSONNEL TRAINING SEMINAR

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This Newsletter covers the period July to September, 1998. It features the situation of the Sudanese refugees in the D.R. of Congo, the conditions in the war-torn areas of Yei, and the growing insecurity in the Adjumani Camp.

It reports on the plight of the disabled persons and the prisoners of war in Yei, and looks at the causes of the conflict in Sudan.

It features the ideal aspirations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for mankind and reviews the extent of famine in south Sudan.

It finally gives a brief on the seminar SHRA conducted for human rights monitors in Sudanese refugee camps.

The Sudan Monitor is published by:

The Sudan Human Rights Association (SHRA)
Katwe Road
(Behind Capco Petrol Station)
P.O Box 7327 Kampala Uganda
Tel: +256 (41) 250586
Fax: + 256 (41) 250586