“I appeal to the government to help our people because there are many of them there in Malakal. They all need to travel to Juba because they lost everything,” Majwok said.
Another returnee, Susan, said the journey from Sudan had been hectic and claimed that she remained stranded at Juba International Airport when communication with her family in Juba was lost.
Charles Leju Gabriel, the Administration Manager at Caritas South Sudan said the Catholic entity has transported 42 returnees who were stranded in Malakal after crossing the border to South Sudan for safety three weeks ago.
“According to the manifest, we are supposed to receive 100 individuals, however, we only received 42, and we expect the rest to arrive in Juba on Wednesday or Thursday,” Leju said.
He added, “We have seen the suffering of the people and we have come to assist them and facilitate their movement from the airport to their destinations.”
Asked about where those without family members will reside in Juba, he said, “We have a refugee camp in Gorom, and we have given them 20 thousand South Sudanese Pounds ($153.54), which is enough to facilitate an individual’s arrival in Gorom.”
The Juba-based Caritas South Sudan official further said, “We have other partners helping them, UNHCR is doing great work, ACROSS is another one, and for those who can’t find a place, and they need help; we connect them to ACROSS to take care of them.”
“Caritas South Sudan as a humanitarian partner will continue helping the returnees who are stuck in Malakal due to transport challenges to join their families in Juba and other parts of South Sudan,” he said.
“We are knocking at every door for other partners to support. We have already assisted returnees from St. Vincent the Paul in Gumbo, and we have taken some assistance also in Gorom and we are expecting to get some assistance from other partners to continue with the support,” he said.
Kerbino Kuel Deng is a South Sudanese journalist who is passionate about Church communication. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
