Returnees in Aweil East County in dire need of assistance

By Hou Akot Hou

About 68 returnees who were recently transported to Wadwil area of Aweil East County in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Ngor Dut Ngor, one of the returnees, told Juba Echo on Wednesday that they lack shelter as they are exposed to snakes and rain due to sleeping in the open.

 He said that they sleep on empty stomachs due to lack of food.

 “We just sleep under the roofs of the premises and when the sun rises we go and spend the day under the trees,” Ngor said.

Ngor said that they are surviving on work in the farms of the host community.

“Some of us just go and collect the leaves and cook. We suspect that these leaves picked in the bushes could have been the cause of death for the child who passed on recently,” he said.

The chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in the state, Dut Majokdit said they are not aware of the presence of these returnees in Aweil East County.

He promised to consult with humanitarian agencies to provide them with necessary support.

South Sudan is currently hosting more than 138,000 returnees including refugees who fled conflict in neighboring Sudan since April 15.