Operation lifeline South Darfur-South Sudan

Rezigat traders from Sudan’s South Darfur barter with customers at the market in Jaac, Northern Bahr al-Ghazal State, seeking the best prices for their goods. Extending this lifeline is an enormous task.

The journey from Rezigat in South Darfur to Jaac in South Sudan, is neither safe nor easy. The traders started to sneak into South Sudan just days after fighting erupted along the river Kiir (Bahr al-Arab) between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

The traders carry sorghum, sugar and other essential goods to sell to the people in Jaac. Bashar Ahmed Ibrahim is one of the Rezigat traders who made the journey. He says despite restrictions, the traders are happy to come here. “Our business relationship with the local community here is very good,” Ibrahim explains. No matter if the customers pay in cash, or trade a sack of sorghum for a goat or a sheep, “we do discuss and agree over it”. And all this happens “without any problems”, says Ibrahim.

Residents in Jaac Payam have been hit hard this year. The short rainy season caused a bad harvest, leaving them with too little food. Many had to sell their livestock, just to survive. The recent fighting between the armies of Sudan and South Sudan have worsened the situation further.

Jaac Payam has seen an influx of around 5,000 people displaced by the fighting in the past month. This combined with the closure of the borders and the bad harvest has drastically increased prices of the little goods available.  Jaac resident Garang Lual Garang says the Rezigat traders have helped the local community through a very difficult time. “We think these traders have saved us from the burden of searching for sorghum here and there.” But Garang also says that the traders “have other things going on behind the scene, we are not sure”.

Nevertheless, “they are doing a good things for us”, Garang emphasises. The traders come with loads of goods, transported on donkeys, carts and some even carry the goods on their head. “Sometimes a trader comes with ten donkeys full of sorghum”, says Garang, and that is what the people of Jaac need to survive.

After South Sudan declared its independence in July last year, trade between Sudan and South Sudan became more and more difficult, cutting off critical supply routes for many areas in the northern part of South Sudan.

The ongoing border clashes are forcing many to leave their homes and come to Jaac for safety, abandoning fields, food and property along the way. This week, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies conducted an emergency assessment in the area. It is hoped that they will soon deliver emergency supplies for the thousands in need.