“There is no humanity here”

Aerial photograph of just one part of the Jamam camp in South Sudan, where some 36,000 people have fled to, following fighting near the border of Sudan's Blue Nile State, and South Sudan's Upper Nile State in the Greater Upper Nile region. Conditions are harsh and access to water is difficult, although aid agencies including UNHCR, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres are managing to make sure people receive an average of 6.5 litres of water a day – enough to meet basic needs.  April, 2013. Photo by Robert Stansfield/Department for International Development [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Aerial photograph of just one part of the Jamam camp in South Sudan, where some 36,000 people have fled to, following fighting near the border of Sudan’s Blue Nile State, and South Sudan’s Upper Nile State in the Greater Upper Nile region.
Conditions are harsh and access to water is difficult, although aid agencies including UNHCR, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres are managing to make sure people receive an average of 6.5 litres of water a day – enough to meet basic needs. April, 2013.
Photo by Robert Stansfield/Department for International Development [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

No one knows for certain exactly what happened. We do know that hundreds of people are murdered or missing, that security forces have disappeared from the area and hundreds of homes destroyed, the hospital has been raided with patients shot in their beds, and corpses line the streets of Malakal, the capital of oil producing Upper Nile state in South Sudan.

“There is no humanity here,” said Col. Jan Hoff, an officer in Norway’s army who has served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, according to a report from USA News.

He arrived with a heavily armed group from the UN that entered the city on Wednesday. They made their way to what remained of the hospital, counting the dead as they proceeded. Horrified, they were met with executed patients, supplies ransacked and flies everywhere as the stench of death hung in the air.

Image By Peter Fitzgerald [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Image By Peter Fitzgerald [CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

South Sudan became the newest nation on earth just 31 months ago. As the new country emerged, the old politics remained instrumental in forming what would become an intense struggle for control. The government of President Salva Kiir and rebel groups loosely aligned behind sacked former vice president Riek Machar are in an all-out war, with civilians being disregarded by both. On January 23, a ceasefire was supposedly agreed to by both parties at peace talks in neighboring Ethiopia. The ceasefire was supposed to end more than a month of violence that left over 10,000 dead and another 800,000 people displaced. Most of the killing has been done by one ethnic group attacking another. South Sudan has 8 different ethnic tribes within its population of 9 million.

In a in-depth report, Time reveals before and after images of the destruction in Malakal. The amazing images and detailed report are worth your time to explore, review and absorb. The technology used for their report is a story within itself. They report, “The Satellite Sentinel Project is a joint venture comprising the Enough Project, the humanitarian group Not On Our Watch—co-founded by actor George Clooney—and the private satellite imagery vendor DigitalGlobe, which captures the images and provides analysis.” To view their images and coverage, click this link.

With wars brewing and civilians fleeing the area, concern now rises as to spring planting in the area. Without areas normally used for agriculture being prepared for growing, the threat of famine looms. People are running for their lives, not planting crops.

Any nation’s ruler, past or present, that would permit the murder and persecution of citizens to regain or retain power deserves nothing less than trial for crimes against humanity. Reminiscent of the Anfal genocides 26 years ago, the extermination of people in South Sudan must be stopped. We rise to support those who can accomplish this.

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This entry was posted in Human Spirit, International Agreements, Solidarity, War Crimes and tagged , , , , on by .

About MNgranny

MNgranny has been an activist since the age of 17. After earning a BA in Mass Communications and enjoying a 30 year career, she is now disabled and dedicates her life to that activism. Her experiences include volunteering in community service organizations and taking leadership roles throughout her academic and professional life. She is also a survivor of rape and domestic violence, a published author and a master naturalist. She is also a professional member of the United States Press Association. She has focused for the last several years and specializes in Kurdish history, culture and politics.

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