Resilience, determination mark World Refugee Day in Southern Sudan
With the theme One family forced to flee is one too many,” the event was part of an international campaign by the United Nation’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, to raise awareness of millions of innocent people facing murder, rape and terror.
Just over 7,500 registered refugees live at the camp in Lasu, about 30 kilometres southwest of Yei town in Southern Sudan. The diverse social group includes civilians of all ages from the DRC and the Central African Republic who have fled violent attacks by the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Most of the refugees have suffered gross human rights violations, including abduction, mutilation and sexual enslavement of women. In numerous cases, refugees’ family members have been murdered. Many of the children now living in Lasu were forced to take part in hostilities.
The refugee settlement was built on land formerly used as a military training camp for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The settlement’s inhabitants live in 19 villages within a radius of two and a half kilometres.
Many income-generating activities to supplement the basic services are provided by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The refugees say life in the camp has improved with the support of many other non-governmental organisations. They are involved in subsistence farming, small business, animal rearing, fish farming, and handicrafts such as shoemaking.
Ojok Johnson visited the camp in Lasu on World Refugee Day and compiled this photo essay:
