Working with communities in Bahr el-Ghazal, Southern Sudan

The Southern Sudan - 1983-2000

The civil war is not simply a struggle between Muslim and non-Muslim, or Arab and African as it is usually portrayed, but is as much a struggle between a neglected and underdeveloped region with much in the way of natural resources and a powerful and well-developed region with little or no resources of any kind. It is as much a struggle for control of the waters of the Nile and the rich pastures that are fed by these waters as anything that religion, race or ethnic origin has to offer. And, as always, it is the children and the women, on both sides, who suffer most. Instability robs them of markets and trade so that ordinary everyday items are scarce, it robs them of the security to grow their crops and expect to glean a harvest from them; it robs them of their menfolk who are taken away to fight and quite often do not return and it robs them of the opportunity for an education. (Since 1983, when the present stage of civil war began, very few children have had the chance to learn to read and write - now a whole generation has lost one of the most important of human rights). Most tragic of all it often robs them of life itself. Between 1½ and 2 million men, women and children have died from starvation, war and disease since 1983, and there are currently about 4½ million refugees and displaced people who have not been able to return to their homes.

Northern Bahr el-Ghazal is a remote corner of a remote region, which until 1989 received little attention, except from the military. However, the people are not helpless victims. It is always reassuring to see how resilient and determined people are, even in the face of whatever natural and man-made disasters are flung at them. But sometimes the knowledge that there are other folk who can offer them support which will fortify or reinforce their own coping mechanisms, gives them an extra boost of confidence. People know that they cannot rely upon short term relief and given the opportunity to solve their own local problems or to implement locally initiated projects, communities and community groups become stronger and more able to maintain the traditional methods of social welfare within their communities. The Shading Tree (Tim Atiep) believes that communities should be given every opportunity to decide what they can do for themselves and should be involved in every stage of a project.

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