By Taban Henry
Internally Displaced Persons, displaced by cattle herders’ crisis in Eastern Equatoria State and Lobonok Payam, now sheltering in Gumbo of Juba County in Central Equatoria State have raised concerns over lack of sufficient humanitarian assistance being rendered to them.
This came after the members of the Central Equatoria State Legislative Assembly headed by the Chairperson for Gender, Child and Humanitarian Affairs Committee, Maka Mustafa and the accompanying delegation paid a visit to the internally displaced persons sheltering in Don Bosco on Monday.
In a statement to the media Esther Akongo a mother of six children who fled from Kit Boma of Lobonok payam said they fled their areas as a result of violence caused by the armed cattle herders from Jonglei State adding that the issue in the villages is worsening as people are being killed on daily basis.
She said that since the 25th of March this year, they have not received any food assistance except those who came earlier received food assistance and for them who came late till then have not received any thing saying they are facing a lot of challenges, the children are sick with no medicine.
“We only eat food at the houses of our relatives but we did not get any food assistance from anywhere and we are staying under the trees. If the government is watching they should help support us. We have small children and you cannot stay outside hungry and the rain is washing us outside here together with the children. Once it rains we run to their houses to hide but after we get back to the normal places,” she narrated their ordeal.
Akongo added that they heard that the government is saying they should go back to their various villages yet the place where they are supposed to stay in were burned, if fighting arises again what will they do.
She mentioned that they do eat in the houses of their relatives adding that once the cattle herders moved out from there areas they shall return back home saying Juba is not a good place to live in.
“The cattle herders attack and kill people in their own houses without reason and the cattle eat and destroy our crops from the garden while warning us not to talk. The footmarks of the cattle’s alone are spoiling the farm lands that will lead the crops not to be productive,” Akongo mentioned.
Meanwhile another IDP, Martha Poni Wani who fled from Lokiliri said what pains her is that the cattle herders chased them out from their own villages leaving them to flee their areas saying all their goats and other belongings are taken.
“Ever since we came to Juba no food assistance have been rendered to us and to go back to our areas the situation is worsening but today we are very happy the government has come to visit us. The government should think about our situation and we also want the government to look for a place for us to settle in for a while till our areas are safe for us to return back home. We have our boys who are burning charcoals in the areas but they are being slaughtered like goats this is so painful,” Martha revealed.
For her part the chairperson for Gender Child, Human Right and Humanitarian Affairs in the State Transitional Legislative Assembly, Maka Mustafa said the state Parliament is working tirelessly in order to see into it that support is rendered to the IDPs who are currently sheltering in Juba since all of them were having houses but conflict brought them to Juba.
Maka hoped that the conflict will end and the Internally Displaced Persons will return to their houses citing that the Internally Displace Persons should not be seen like people who have no benefit.
“We came here because we are sent by the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly in order to see by our eyes the situation of the Internally Displaced Persons, we as the Members of Parliament in Central Equatoria are representing and listening to your voices as the people of this State,” she submitted.