IOM Airlifts 6,000 South Sudanese from Khartoum, Establishes Camp for 7,500 Returnees in Juba
Some 11 days into the airlift, IOM has completed 40 flights
transporting a total of 5,972 people from the Sudanese capital to
the capital of newly independent South Sudan. IOM is now operating
four flights daily between Khartoum and Juba.
Today, Friday, there will be no air movements to allow routine
maintenance and checks on the planes to be carried out.
Morning and afternoon flights will resume on Saturday and are
likely to last a further 10 days, according to IOM Khartoum
Operations Officer Salah Osman.
The passengers are among some 12,000 South Sudanese previously
stranded in Kosti, 300 kms south of Khartoum. Until IOM intervened
in early May to move them by bus to Khartoum and by air to Juba,
many had spent months in makeshift camps in the town waiting for
onward transport to South Sudan.
After arriving in Juba, returnees are housed in a new transit
site 13 km from Juba established by IOM and its humanitarian
partners. The site, which sees on average 500 new arrivals every
day, can provide shelter, basic water and sanitation, medical care
and cooking areas for some 7,500 people.
“IOM worked in close collaboration with government and our
partners to set up the site in a matter of days. IOM manages
camps and transit facilities worldwide and we have brought in
experienced camp planners and managers to ensure that sufficient
shelter is erected and services are expanded to meet the needs of
the new arrivals,” says IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission
Vincent Houver.
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South Sudanese Returnees Assisted by IOM
At the transit site, IOM is providing lighting, tents for
protection agencies and shelter for 5,150 returnees. It has also
brought in water and sanitation equipment and heavy machinery for
site preparation and latrine excavation. As the lead agency for
non-food relief items (NFI) and emergency shelter in South Sudan,
it has also distributed over 1,400 NFI kits and plastic sheets to
water-proof family tents.
IOM is funding national and international NGOs providing health,
water and sanitation services. The International Medical
Corps operated clinic has an average of 150 patients per day. Most
patients are treated for upper-respiratory infections and
infections from water-borne viruses.
Few incidences of malaria have been reported among the returnees
and IOM teams are providing instruction on the proper use of
mosquito nets. IOM in coordination with its partners is
closely monitoring the health of the returnees in the transit site
to ensure adequate standards of proper hydration, nutrition,
hygiene and sanitation are met.
The majority of returnees previously stranded in Kosti have
indicated Juba as their final destination. But many do not
have any family or community support in Juba and are likely to
remain at the site until the government allocates land to them.
Returnees face significant challenges including access to land
in urban centres and a lack of economic opportunities. But
despite challenges to sustainable return and quick reintegration,
returnees from Kosti are generally optimistic about their
future.
“I left South Sudan in 1951 when I was just a boy, I
return as an old man, but I am strong and I am willing to
work,” says Amol Jok Ajak Deng.
“I have never been in this country but it is my home and I
have been made to feel welcome here. While I don’t know
anyone in Juba, I hope that soon I will be able to start a new life
here for myself and my children,” says Teresa, who was born
in Khartoum.
For more information please contact
Samantha Donkin
IOM Juba
Tel: +211 922 406 728
Email:
"mailto:sdonkin@iom.int">sdonkin@iom.int
and
Filiz Demir
IOM Sudan
Tel: +249 922406733
Email:
"mailto:fdemir@demir.int">fdemir@demir.int