SOUTH SUDAN – Tasked with assisting national authorities in keeping the people of South Sudan safe from physical threats, protecting the lives and voices of particularly vulnerable groups is of paramount importance.
With children, women, the elderly and people living with disabilities tending to be the ones most affected by conflict and violence, uniformed and civilian staff of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), undertook numerous activities to create safe spaces and platforms for them to speak their minds.
Some of these happenings entailed giving individuals enduring similar and difficult circumstances an opportunity to connect and thereby, hopefully, finding comfort and inspiration in each other’s company.
Among the beneficiaries of undertaken actions are boys and girls affiliated with armed forces but subsequently released to begin their process of reintegration back into civilian life.
Others were children, mostly girls, having been abducted. Some of them could be reunited with their families, relatives and communities, following rescue efforts by UNMISS and partners.
Some of the many South Sudanese women who carry the weight of economic hardship or have survived sexual violence were also assisted in different ways, including psychosocial support and having their horrific stories heard and addressed during community conversations or human rights workshops making them aware of their rights.
Despite the many challenges faced by typically marginalized groups, the past year proved that some members of such groups are full of initiative, drive and determination, ready to influence and take charge of their life situations.
One of them is Grace, who made the most of her disability by becoming a vocal advocate for change in her community. Others were Angelo and his colleagues, who used to be in the ranks of armed groups. These days, however, they are using their crude experience of conflict to advocate for more harmonious relations between traditionally feuding communities by leading a joint peace committee together with their Abyei counterparts.
In male-dominated societies where the opinions of women are frequently suppressed or ignored, clandestine conversations among “sisters” from rival communities can be the catalysts of real, positive change. Women from Fashoda and Akoka demonstrated this to near perfection by laying the foundation for a milestone peace dialogue between the two towns on either side of the River Nile. As a result, residents of both places can enjoy the services and benefits of a fishery union and a local court.
When and where people unite, people can indeed accomplish great things.
By Jaella Brockmann
