Post-war reconstruction and livelihood revival among returnees and host communities in Twic East county, Soutern Sudan

Abstract

In Southern Sudan people are starting to repatriate after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army in January 2005. The repatriation process is a huge task and it demands resources and coordination from both the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and NGOs and the UN system. If the repatriation is not handled in a good way it may disturb the fragile peace in Southern Sudan. The people returning to Southern Sudan are facing challenges both practically and psychologically. Many are returning empty handed and are received in local communities where the natural resources are already strained and the communities are facing major challenges because they lack basic services like health facilities, infrastructure, education beyond primary and job opportunities. They are also having problems with insecurity, flooding, pests and diseases. This thesis is based on a 2 month fieldwork carried out in Southern Sudan with the help of Norwegian Peoples Aid. I interviewed returnees about their repatriation process, their experiences as displaced and how they were experiencing to be home. I also asked them about their livelihood activities and strategies. I Interviewed residents about what they thought about all the people returning, what impact the returnees had on the communities and their livelihood strategies. I interviewed representatives for the NGOs in Twic East County about the repatriation process and what kind of challenges they were facing and what kind of assistance they were supplying for the population. I also talked to local leaders, women groups, and representatives for the local administration. The repatriation process is moving slowly and the assistance provided upon peoples returning to their communities is insufficient to meet the needs of the population, because of lack of coordination among the NGOs and the slow implementation of the CPA by the GoSS. My findings show that the returnees are having a hard time reconstructing their livelihoods and they are doing worse than the residents. The motivation for return is important because those who decided themselves to go home and returned without assistance are doing much better than the ones that got support to repatriate.