Fresh off a UNHCR trip to Northern Uganda, Kristin Davis gets candid about witnessing the huge influx of South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence in their country
Fresh off a UNHCR trip to Northern Uganda, Kristin Davis gets candid about witnessing the huge influx of South Sudanese refugees fleeing violence in their country
UNHCR, 30 Jul 2015
URL: http://www.marieclaire.com/travel/news/a15280/kristin-davis-northern-uganda-un-trip/
Emerging out of the dust clouds that gather closer and closer is a small minibus. It stops beside us, and an ancient-looking man unfolds himself from the vehicle, looking dazed. It is swelteringly hot and he's drenched in sweat. His daughter and her tiny baby are with him, and they, too, look lost and weary. In their confused state, they seek out the shade of a building while I run to get them water. But I can't stay with them...
An old woman who appears to be blind needs help out of the van along with her single, small bag. She is followed by a young couple with a baby who has terrible sores on his legs—the mother is rightly worried and anxious. The baby needs a doctor and a call is made, but there are plenty more in the van who need attention.
I am in Adjumani Refugee Camp in Northern Uganda with UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency. Adjumani is one of four refugee camps in this area. Until I read my briefing notes for this trip, I hadn't realized that the on going conflict just across the border in South Sudan was still driving so many families to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety in neighbouring countries. And I'm not talking about just a few families. Staggeringly, over 551,636 refugees have fled South Sudan in total since the start of the conflict in December 2013. Over 155,417 of those refugees have arrived in Uganda alone.
And here, enveloped in an even larger, swirling dust cloud, rumbles in a huge UNHCR truck that has arrived from the border carrying vulnerable, worn, and traumatized human cargo. This one carries 55 more frightened souls escaping the violence in their country. The door slides open and, through the gap, people start jumping to the ground. The majority are women and children – as are 85% of refugees from this conflict – with at least 35,000 children traveling alone, either having been separated from their family or because their family has been killed. Some will never be able to find out the truth of what happened to their loved ones.
It is an overwhelming sight to see this outpouring of human beings, many of whom are being made refugees for the third or even fourth time in their lives. I wonder aloud what I should do and the UNHCR staff says to, "Welcome them!" I move forward and start lifting children out of the truck, supporting mothers as they climb to the ground. Everyone is covered in dust, bone thin, and dazed. Hardly anyone has any bags or belongings. They have fled wearing only their clothes and they have avoided the gunfire on the roads by hiding in the bushes, surviving on berries and leaves for days as they journeyed to the border.
An old woman who appears to be blind needs help out of the van along with her single, small bag. She is followed by a young couple with a baby who has terrible sores on his legs—the mother is rightly worried and anxious. The baby needs a doctor and a call is made, but there are plenty more in the van who need attention.
I am in Adjumani Refugee Camp in Northern Uganda with UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency. Adjumani is one of four refugee camps in this area. Until I read my briefing notes for this trip, I hadn't realized that the on going conflict just across the border in South Sudan was still driving so many families to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety in neighbouring countries. And I'm not talking about just a few families. Staggeringly, over 551,636 refugees have fled South Sudan in total since the start of the conflict in December 2013. Over 155,417 of those refugees have arrived in Uganda alone.
And here, enveloped in an even larger, swirling dust cloud, rumbles in a huge UNHCR truck that has arrived from the border carrying vulnerable, worn, and traumatized human cargo. This one carries 55 more frightened souls escaping the violence in their country. The door slides open and, through the gap, people start jumping to the ground. The majority are women and children – as are 85% of refugees from this conflict – with at least 35,000 children traveling alone, either having been separated from their family or because their family has been killed. Some will never be able to find out the truth of what happened to their loved ones.
It is an overwhelming sight to see this outpouring of human beings, many of whom are being made refugees for the third or even fourth time in their lives. I wonder aloud what I should do and the UNHCR staff says to, "Welcome them!" I move forward and start lifting children out of the truck, supporting mothers as they climb to the ground. Everyone is covered in dust, bone thin, and dazed. Hardly anyone has any bags or belongings. They have fled wearing only their clothes and they have avoided the gunfire on the roads by hiding in the bushes, surviving on berries and leaves for days as they journeyed to the border.