Reath James Nyaluak*, 39, is a finance officer with Save the Children in Akobo County, South Sudan. Reath has been displaced several times since he was a child, however he says the latest violence in Jonglei state is as bad as he’s seen. Reath was in Walgak in January when he was forced to flee due to violence, and Akobo town when it was evacuated in March.
The situation deteriorated in January and we left Walgak.
Children who were being treated in our health centres had to be discharged, even though they were still unwell. Families, including children, pregnant women and older people had to walk for more than seven days to get to Akobo town.
As we were moving out of Walgak, I saw a lot of people suffering. I saw children seated next to their deceased parents –an unimaginable situation. I saw pregnant women, some of whom had to give birth in the forest. I saw elders dying.
During the journey from Walgak to Akobo town, a former colleague left his children with his brother, who then used another road to reach safety. However, his brother and the children were attacked, his brother killed, and four of the children were abducted. Until now, we don’t know if the kids are alive or not.
Soon after arriving in Akobo town, we received the devastating news all civilians must evacuate. We were shocked, especially those of us who had already witnessed unimaginable horrors throughout our journey from Walgak. But we knew we couldn’t wait another day - 72 hours to evacuate sounded like seconds in our ears.
People began flooding the river banks to get away from Akobo.
Children were crying, mothers were hugging their children.
DONATE TO SAVE THE CHILDREN’S EMERGENCY FUND AND PROVIDE LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN IN TIMES OF CRISIS.
One family - an expectant mother, a blind older lady and a 6-year-old child - were stranded at the Akobo side of the river.
I could see the woman was in some distress. I decided to swim across the river, get a canoe, and cross the river again to bring the family to safety.
The family got in and then while crossing back over the river, the woman gave birth to her baby in the canoe. It was a baby girl, who she named “Canoe” in the local language.
We made it across the river, and I took the family to a nearby church where they were able to get some support, and then I went to a makeshift market nearby to get some basic food to support the mother and her newborn. I kept on checking on them until I needed to leave to come to Juba, but when I left they were doing well and I heard her husband was on the way to visit them.
We managed to support many families with Save the Children canoes to cross the river – families who couldn’t afford to hire a canoe or swim, or children at risk of drowning.
For those families who escaped, many are now facing hard realities – extremely limited humanitarian support, no food, and no basic health systems. Many families are living on wild fruit.
Every day, people lose their lives due to hunger or illness.
