Juba : The recent outbreak of violence on July 7 at the capital of South Sudan, Juba has ended (or on hold) from 11th July midnight with the ceasefire decree of the president of the republic and of the cessation of hostilities by the warring factions.
The evacuation of foreign nationals began on 12th July (Tuesday) and many of them are moving out of the country with the diplomatic assistance from their respective countries. The roads are apparently opened and the vehicles began moving on the streets of Juba city.
However, the city is deserted and the hospitals, schools, business establishments, shops, etc. remained closed.
The essential commodities are not available and even the little provisions someone could find has a price tag no one could imagine. Our Parish Priest Fr. David Tuli ventured out to look for some food yesterday and managed to find a small supply with a large sum of money.
The church compound is still flooded with a floating crowd of 3000 to 4000 people (without counting the babies) most them are women and children. All the people from the neighborhood returned to their homes and yet some of them still come to sleep at the church compound for safety.
The remaining crowd at the Don Bosco Mission compound are from most affected areas of Juba city (Rock City, Muniki, Jebel Kujur, Check Point, Gudele, etc.) where their homes are either bombarded or completely destroyed by the cross firing. Many of them went back to their own areas to find their homes non-existent or completely looted and destroyed. Hence, many have returned to the mission compound to find a shelter and at least a full meal for the day.
There are also stories of missing children and other members of the family together with the traumatic experience of the death of their dear ones. Listening to their experiences are horrifying and at the same time we need someone to give them a listening ear.
Don Bosco Gumbo Mission is trying to cater to the needs of the people with all available resources and personnel. All the religious communities in the compound (Salesians, FMA Sisters and Caritas Sisters) joined hands together to assist the people with shelter, medical care, sanitation, food and water. But our resources are running short and soon we will exhaust our supply unless the Divine Providence or international assistance come to our rescue.
The Salesians are still not sure of the possible way forward in assisting the people in coping with a human tragedy of this magnitude. Our primary concern as of now is to rehabilitate the people who lost their homes and their entire life savings. They need to start their life all over from the scratch. Until they find an alternative arrangement they need to have shelter, medicine, food and basic amenities.
The Salesians say, “Your prayers and solidarity will help us to give hope and optimism to the suffering multitude.”
P.S: Don Bosco Wau (another mission station more than 600 kms away from the capital Juba, which had an out break of violence two weeks prior to Juba unrest) still has about 2500 people accommodated in their compound who need similar kind of assistance.