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South Sudan: Escaping violence only to face new dangers

10 Mar 2016


Two Australian field workers who have recently returned from Bentiu share their experiences:

Andrea Atkinson, medical doctor

“People in the camp have all fled villages when they were under attack and often arrive with nothing, not even clothing in some instances. Unfortunately life in the camp has many dangers itself – namely malaria and malnutrition. People often report that they don't have enough food to feed their children, and there is no fuel for cooking so women often have to leave the camp in search of firewood. This is extremely dangerous and we had many reports of women being raped or abducted outside the camp.

What I noticed inside the camp was how many children there were – thousands and thousands of children, who spend their days playing in the streets of the camp, unfortunately being exposed to mosquitoes carrying malaria. During my time we had a massive malaria outbreak and everyday was a struggle to keep unconscious, convulsing and severely anaemic children alive. It must be very hard for the parents, who have fled terrible violence, to then have their children die from disease and hunger in the camp.

"Médecins Sans Frontières is the difference between something and nothing over there."

Yet it was amazing how resilient the children could be, and the lengths their parents took to protect them. People would hide in lakes and rivers for weeks once their villages were attacked. Eventually they would make the journey to the camp, often coming directly to the hospital to have their children treated. It was an incredibly difficult mission. I was not accustomed to seeing children die, and to be honest, many times I felt quite out of my depth as one of only two or three doctors in the hospital. There were very few other organisations providing even primary healthcare. Médecins Sans Frontières is the difference between something and nothing over there. At one point we were seeing over 300 patients a day, and more than 80 per cent were positive for malaria. Without medical treatment, many of them would have died. Although it often felt that what we were doing was the tip of the iceberg, we have to continue to advocate for more healthcare for the people in the camp and for more protection for those outside it.”

Jennifer Duncombe, epidemiologist






