16 Days of Activism Against GBV: Human Trafficking

Photo: Amo Tiffani

Article 3 paragraph (b) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines trafficking but for ease of understanding the following summarizes the definition in three components:

The Act (What is done)
Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons

The Means (How it is done)
Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim

The Purpose (Why it is done)
For the purpose of exploitation, which includes the exploiting the others for the purpose of commercial sex work, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.

Victims of trafficking are coerced, or overtly deceived into thinking they are obtaining legitimate jobs as miners or as restaurant, construction and domestic workers. While in the case of many children and adolescents, parents believe they are sending their children to safe havens from war, conflict and economic crisis to be cared for by distant relatives or family friends. Often these children are used to work on farms or as errand boys and girls in restaurants.

In the worst cases they are forced into commercial sex work---both girls and boys. Photo: Hawaii Independent

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In the United States, many child and adolescent runaways are trafficked into commercial sex work in hotels, during sporting events and large conferences. According to the article “Women the new pimps in human trafficking trade,” women emerged in 2009 to be the largest group of perpetrators in human trafficking. Women are often deemed to be more “caring” and “protective.” Thus many individuals and/or parents in developing nations do not think about the hidden motives of why they may be offering to help alleviate their problems with “work or safety abroad” for themselves or their children. When trafficked, victims have no contact with the outside world, their passports and other legal identifying documents are taken from them and they are often threatened with extreme forms of violence and death if s/he attempts to contact others for help or to escape. A trafficking victim in many situations is the slave of their “employers” as they depend on them for everything from food, medicine and shelter.

Many individuals never report being trafficked, even if and when they are able to escape, thus it makes it very difficult to calculate the exact number of victims of human trafficking. What many advocates know is that there could be as many as millions of victims of human trafficking, while the number of survivors (those who escape AND report that they had been trafficked) is in the hundreds of thousands. According to the 2014 Global Slavery Index, “around the world today, there are an estimated 35.8 million men, women and children trapped in modern slavery.”

According to the UN Information Service (UNIS), human trafficking negatively impacts development in several ways: “Bribery and corruption, organized criminal gangs of traffickers undermine governments and the rule of law. In addition, human trafficking comes at a high cost for the economy: reducing tax revenues and migrant remittances. It shatters the social fabric of communities: family ties and communities are destroyed, children are denied an education, and public health problems such as HIV/AIDS may be perpetuated.”

Border control points in developing countries are major sites for trafficked girls and women experiencing sexual exploitation

Photo: News Day Zimbabwe

Each year the U.S. Department of State issues a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report that ranks various countries at risk of being source and/or destination countries of human trafficking. The tier system starts at Tier 1, the best, to Tier 3, the worst. In 2014 South Sudan was ranked Tier 2 but has subsequently moved to Tier 3 in 2015. According to the 2015 Tip Report, South Sudan is both a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. South Sudanese women and girls, particularly those from rural areas or who are internally displaced, are vulnerable to domestic servitude. Some girls as young as 10 years old, are subjected to sex trafficking in restaurants, hotels, and brothels in urban areas. Children working in construction, market vending, shoe shining, car washing, rock breaking, brick making, delivery cart pulling, and begging may be victims of forced labor as well as being forced into commercial sex work. While women and girls from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo migrate willingly to South Sudan with the promise of legitimate work but once they arrive to South Sudan they are subjected to various forms of sexual and labor exploitation.

In 2014, trafficking of children increased in South Sudan particularly in the "recruitment" of child soldiers.

According to the 2015 TIP report, the SPLA’s recruitment and use of child soldiers, often by force, increased considerably, with approximately 12,000 child soldiers within the SPLA, as well as in armed opposition groups in South Sudan. Most child soldiers were between 15 and 16 years old, but some were as young as 11. In addition the 2015 TIP report states that 23 girls were found working as servants in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) military barracks in Upper Nile state. In February 2015, the TIP report notes the SPLA-in opposition (SPLA-IO) also recruited a large number of children to be soldiers. The 2015 TIP reports states that 9,000 child soldiers, were recruited by the White Army, which is affiliated with the SPLA-IO with some children participating in active fighting.
Photo: Guardian News

Human trafficking occurs in the United States as a destination country for trafficked persons from other countries. It is also a source country, with persons trafficked within the country, especially children/adolescents living and working on the street. If you are interested in organizations working on anti-trafficking initiatives you can access Humantrafficking.org, a web resource for combating human trafficking.

16 Days of Activism Against GBV: Female Genital Cutting

Photo taken from the Bristol Post

Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is not, thankfully, a form of GBV that is practiced in South Sudan. However, FGC is a practice that is forced upon millions of girls and women in Africa as well as other regions. Any act that does not obtain the consent of a girl or woman is a violation of her human rights. Consent can only be given freely, willingly and voluntarily. Consent is not given through coercion or threats like “You will do this. If you do not, you will bring shame to our family.” FGC is perpetuated by families and communities who feel they must conform to social and cultural norms and beliefs governing girls/women’s sexuality and marital fidelity.

Female genital cutting (FGC) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Many in the international community refer to it as female genital mutilation. However, I find the term mutilation is inherently judgmental of the culture and social norms that perpetuate the practice. Do any of us in the United States call women who have had their breasts augmented as being mutilated? Yet, the social pressure on women to conform to an idea of beauty that will make her sexually appealing and thus more marriageable, is the same social pressure that girls/women feel in developing nations where they undergo FGC. But more importantly, in my human rights work promoting women's rights and advocating for the end of GBV, the more accusatory and judgmental we are as advocates, the more defensive proponents of a practice become pushing them to continue the very practice I and others are advocating should end.

It is a centuries old practice that has been found in many countries and cultures around the world. For example, the article “How Did Female Genital Mutilation Begin,” (2012) by Rosella Lorenzi points to the practice having origins in ancient Greece and/or in Egypt. The article also highlights that FGC was practiced by gynecologists in 19th century United States and England “to treat various psychological symptom as well as ‘masturbation and nymphomania,’ based on a now discarded theory called 'reflex neurosis,' which held that many disorders like depression originated in genital inflammation.”

Photo taken from Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) A West African Plague

But what is FGC, exactly? FGC is classified into four major types:
• Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
• Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
• Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
• Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.

Photo taken from Caring for Kids New to Canada

Is there a health benefit to FGC? FGC has no health benefits, and it can harm girls and women in many ways. Immediate complications can include severe pain, shock, hemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.

Long-term consequences can include:
• recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections;
• cysts;
• infertility;
• an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths;
• the need for later surgeries. For example, the FGC procedure that seals or narrows a vaginal opening (type 3 above) needs to be cut open later to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Sometimes it is stitched again several times, including after childbirth, hence the woman goes through repeated opening and closing procedures, further increasing and repeating both immediate and long-term risks.

UN Dispatch Map of the Day, July 22, 2013

The specific causes include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities.
• FGC is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. By enduring the pain without screaming or crying, a girl demonstrates that she has the maturity to endure the hardships of being a wife and mother.
• One of the strongest factors pushing families and communities to continue the practice is the idea of sexuality purity and modesty (the idea of being clean, the removal of the clitoris, an unclean “male” part) and/or marital fidelity. FGC is in many communities believed to reduce a woman's libido and therefore believed to help her resist "forbidden" sexual acts. When a vaginal opening is covered or narrowed (type 3 above), the fear of the pain of opening it, and the fear that this will be found out, is expected to further discourage sexual intercourse among Type 3 FGC women before or outside of marriage.
• No religious texts advocate the practice. FGC is practiced as much in predominantly Christian countries as it is in predominantly Muslim countries. Thus, religious leaders take varying positions with regard to FGC: some promote it, some consider it irrelevant to religion, and others contribute to eradicating it.
• Structures of power and authority, such as community leaders, religious leaders, circumcizers, and even some medical personnel can contribute to upholding the practice.
• The practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcizers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as midwife or birth attendant. However, more than 18% of all FGC is performed by health care providers, and the trend towards medicalization is increasing (UNICEF).

On a positive note, an adolescent girl today is about a third less likely to undergo FGC than 30 years ago. Kenya and Tanzania have seen rates drop to a third of their levels compared to three decades ago through a combination of community activism and legislation. In the Central African Republic, Iraq, Liberia and Nigeria, prevalence has dropped by as much as half. (UNICEF)

What can I do?

“The most common way people give up their power is thinking they don’t have any.” –Alice Walker, African American Author

If this is an issue you are passionate about use your personal power to support advocates, organizations and campaigns that are working to end the practice:

Globalizing Gender, founded by my friend Natasha Johnson, a longtime and passionate advocate for GBV survivors.

End FGM European Network

Stop FGM Now.com

16 Days of Activism Against GBV: Forced/Early Marriage

Photo from Long, Hard Road to End Child Marriage in South Sudan

Early marriage is a human rights violation that denies a girl of her childhood, disrupts her education and most often ends her schooling, limits her economic and social opportunities, increases her risk of intimate partner violence and abuse, and places her health and reproductive health at risk. Forced/early marriage is found in countries across the globe, but is most prevalent in developing nations. The following statistics were extracted from the International Center for Research on Women website:

• One third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15.
• In 2012, 70 million women 20-24 around the world had been married before the age of 18.
• If present trends continue, 150 million girls will be married before their 18th birthday over the next decade. That’s an average of 15 million girls each year.
• While countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage are concentrated in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, due to population size, the largest number of child brides reside in South Asia.

In South Sudan 40% of girls are married before the age of 18 (2010 Sudan Household Health Survey). However the ongoing conflict and the ensuing economic crisis has forced many parents to resort to using early marriage in exchange for bride price as a survival method. Thus, the actual rate of forced/early marriage may be much higher during the last two years. Forced early marriage is also a harmful traditional practice that continues in my second home country of Mozambique. I personally see the consequences of forced early marriage right in my own community.

Some reasons why child marriage remains prevalent in South Sudan, Mozambique and in Sub-Saharan Africa in general are the following:

1. Social and cultural beliefs view girls as a source of wealth
• Many African communities consider early marriage a good practice that benefits both the girls and their families. It is an avenue for families to access much-needed assets, such as cattle, money, and other gifts.
• It is also viewed as a way to protect girls from premarital sex and unwanted pregnancy that undermines family honor and decreases the amount of bride price a family may receive.

2. Educating the Girl Child is not valued
Investment in girls’ education is often seen as a waste of money. In South Sudan, only 6.2% of girls complete primary school and 20.4% of young women drop-out of secondary school due to pregnancies.

3. Inadequate enforcement of laws and policies on early marriage. Many countries do have laws protecting girls from forced early marriage--without enforcement a law is just words on a piece of paper.

Harmful Consequences of Forced Early Marriage
• Higher risk of maternal mortality and obstetric complications such as obstetric fistula due to early and frequent pregnancies;
• Lack of control over health and reproductive decisions such as contraceptive use which strips women of their right to control her physical integrity. For example, the number and spacing of children and to be protected from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
• She is denied her right to access and complete her education;
• Girls are more likely to remain in a cycle of poverty throughout her lifetime.

What is being done do to stop forced/early marriage?

1. Empowering families and communities to understand the importance of girls staying in school, getting a job or starting their own business. Let them know that their value to you is far greater than any material object like cattle, money or gifts.
2. Advocates are working with families and communities to consider alternatives to early marriage by looking at community mechanisms to alleviate food insecurity or economic hardship.
3. Campaigns are pushing for improved birth and marriage registration which helps prevent early marriage by proving the age of a girl and her partner. When births and marriages are registered it means that girls and women are able to seek financial and legal reparation if the marriage ends.

If you are interested to learn more about forced early marriage in South Sudan, here is a link to a video called Child Marriage: South Sudan produced in 2013 by Human Rights Watch, most likely published shortly before the conflict began in December 2013. The rate of forced early marriage is much higher today (and the last two years) due to the economic constraints experienced by resource impoverished families. And the following link is to a website dedicated to eradicating forced/early marriage where you can learn about the stories of girls themselves from other parts of the world called Child Brides: A closer look at child marriage around the world, tales of heartbreak and of hope.

16 Days of Activism Against GBV: Sexual Violence During Conflict

Photo from Genocide Watch: South Sudan Violence Women and Girls Suffer the Most

During times of conflict and war, women and girls are often targeted to be victims of all forms of violence. The violence they experience is not something necessarily sparked by conflict or war, as these forms of violence already existed within families, communities and the country as a whole. However, incidents of violence against women, girls and boys increases at an alarming rate during times of conflict and war. Primarily because violence, particularly sexual violence, is used as a weapon of war or rather a deliberate military strategy.

Sexual violence against women and girls is not a “spoils of war” or a “need for sexual gratification” by armed combatants who have spent months alone in the bush---as sexual violence has been conceptualized in centuries past. On the contrary, rape is often used in ethnic conflicts as a way for attackers to perpetuate their social control and redraw ethnic boundaries. Women are seen as the reproducers and care-takers of the community. If one group wants to control another group, they can do it by impregnating women of the other community because they see it as a way of destroying the opposing community.

In the 1990s, systematic rape was used in Bosnia so that women would give birth to Serbian babies while in Rwanda systematic rape against Tutsi women occurred during the genocide. (Medecins Sans Fronteire, “Rape as a Weapon of War,” 2005) In 1971, state-backed Pakistani troops during the fight for Bangladesh's independence perpetrated rape in order that women produce Punjabi children (Bangladesh Liberation War, Emma Rebholz, Kira Compton, and Madelynne Weisberg). Thus, this demonstrates that historically, rape and sexual violence against women and girls has been a specific military strategy to sow terror and weaken the social fabric of communities. (Medecins Sans Fronteire, “The Crushing Burden of Rape, Sexual Violence in Darfur,” 2005). In some conflict settings, the collapse of the rule of law leaves justice systems unable to deal with allegations of rape, while in many other conflict settings women feel too exposed to stigma or reprisals to accuse their attackers.

Photo from Rape as a Weapon of War, Robin Hammond

During the ongoing conflict here in South Sudan, rape has been perpetrated by armed combatants in the conflict impacted areas of the country---as evidenced by the data collected through the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS). The GBVIMS is a tool that humanitarian actors working on GBV prevention and response interventions use to understand the types of GBV experienced by survivors and who is perpetrating these acts as reported by the survivors themselves. The GBVIMS only uses non-identifiable information so that the survivor is always protected. By understanding the types of GBV and who is perpetrating these acts, the tool also allows GBV actors to design prevention and response interventions in order to improve service provision to GBV survivors in South Sudan (and other countries that are using it).

GBV in South Sudan also occurs in what is known as Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites around the country. These sites provide refuge to internally displaced persons (IDPs)where they are provided with temporary shelter and food rations. PoCs and refugee camps are not desirable places to live and the limited resources available to meet a high demand causes stress among IDPS as well as within families. Compounding the fact that IDPS cannot leave these sites and have limited food, they also are limited in their earning capacities. IDPs, especially men, become very angry and frustrated with their inability to provide for their families.

Photo is from Caught in the Middle: Civilian Protection in South Sudan

GBV is also occurring in areas that are not as impacted as the primary conflict areas of Unity, Upper Nile State and Jonglei (to the northwest) and more recently in Western and parts of Eastern Equatoria (the south). Conflict causes a number of economic and social stresses on intimate partners and families. The conflict has triggered an economic crisis that has led to a lack of employment, educational and vocational opportunities and food insecurity. Consequently, limited resources and opportunities place stress on intimate partners and families resulting in violence being used to express frustration and anger. Women and girls are most often the recipients of this violent expression of frustration and anger. In South Sudan, physical assault is the most commonly reported type of GBV in South Sudan and accounts for 50% of all the reported GBV cases and is often perpetrated by intimate partners, many of whom are unemployed.

Whether a woman or girl is raped at gunpoint or forced into sexual slavery by an occupying force, the sexual violence she and her children experience will shape not just their own but their community's future for years to come. Humanitarian actors working on preventing and treating GBV understand the long term consequences of war and the sexual violence associated with it. Thus we focus on prevention methods that focus on education and coping mechanisms that equip individuals, families and communities with the tools to prevent and recover from the conflicted related violence and GBV traumas they are experiencing. The best that any of us can do is advocate to our government representatives to not forget that the conflict continues in South Sudan. Government officials have a responsibility to exert more pressure on South Sudanese warring parties to complete the peace process as soon as possible. If they do not, they should expect many more South Sudanese to become part of the flood of refugees hoping to enter Europe and the United States--and then the forgotten conflict will be upon our doorstep once again.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence 2015

Yesterday, the 25th of November marked the first day of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (16 Days). During 16 Days, individuals, communities and nations have the opportunity to bring light to the many forms of violence experienced by women and girls around the world. It also provides each of us the opportunity to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls through activities, campaigns and dialogue. Each year 16 Days begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day. This year’s theme for activities and campaigns is: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All!” A very apt theme for me and other gender based violence (GBV) actors working in conflict and war zones. And because I am in a conflict situation where GBV is rampant and is persistently used as a weapon of war (will discuss on another day)--I felt that I need to talk about my work and life here in South Sudan. I also want to use this time to refocus some attention to South Sudan---this young nation is already falling off the international community's radar. In light of the crisis in Syria and Europe and other emerging humanitarian crises--I fear that South Sudan will be forgotten. Yet the women and children are still suffering human rights violations on a daily basis. I hope that I will let at least a few people in the U.S. not forget. And if you feel compelled---act by contacting your Congress person and reminding them that the U.S. Government must play a role in concluding the peace process and setting this new nation on the path to recovery and development.

Over the course of the next 16 days I will share information on a specific form of GBV. Not every day mind you, but most of the days. I have not done something like this before, but because my work is pretty much my life right now, I want to share that part with you.

Whenever I do advocacy on women's rights and GBV it is always my hope that the information I share will be used as discussion points with colleagues, families and friends. Education and understanding is the first step to eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls. Of course, because I am in South Sudan, and my second home is the African continent, much of what I write will be country and continent specific. On some days I will include a “What can I do?” component. This component is framed to highlight how each and every one of us has the power to make a difference no matter how small it may seem. The small steps we take today to eliminate violence against women, girls, men and boys can make a big impact tomorrow. My suggestions in the “What can I do?” section are that only: suggestions. These suggestions could be used as Talking Points for you to discuss with colleagues, family and friends or even better, to develop empowering and healing practices that work best for your family and community. Violence and GBV is not inherently part of the social fabric of any one nation whether developing or developed---so please be aware that GBV is happening in South Sudan, India, Brazil and of course, right in our own country of the United States.

I have written about GBV before on this blog, but I don't think I have given a substantial overview of what violence against women and girls IS--but rather shared links to websites provided that information. Here is a super brief summary.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is violence that is directed against a woman or girl or man or boy precisely because s/he is a woman or girl or man or boy. Unfortunately, incidents of GBV disproportionately impact women and girls. GBV knows no race, ethnic, social, economic or national boundaries. Worldwide, an estimated one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

Violence against women and girls is an expression of power inequalities between women and men and adults and children it can take many forms, for example:
-rape,
-sexual assault,
-female genital mutilation or cutting,
-child and forced marriage.
-sex trafficking, and
-psychological and emotional abuse which includes threats, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

These various forms of violence against women and girls can occur in public or in private life and can be perpetrated by an unknown person, family member and/or an intimate physical or sexual partner. Therefore perpetrators can be ANYONE: husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, grandfathers/mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts or neighbors. Acts of violence can be perpetrated against boys as well such as rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, and sexual humiliation. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and even death.

Statistics from around the world (UNFPA website):
-In India, 8,093 cases of dowry-related death were reported in 2007; an unknown number of murders of women and young girls were falsely labeled ‘suicides’ or ‘accidents’.
-In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States, between 40 and 70 percent of female murder victims were killed by their intimate partners.
-In the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, 66 percent of murders of women were committed by husbands, boyfriends or other family members.

Worldwide,
-up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16
-Approximately 130 million girls and women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) with more than 3 million
girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice.
-Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.3 million) and
sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million).
-Women and girls are 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked across national borders annually, with the majority
(79 percent) trafficked for sexual exploitation. Within countries, many more women and girls are trafficked, often for
purposes of sexual exploitation or domestic servitude.

What can I do?

1. Discuss issues of violence with your wives, husbands and/ or intimate partners. Discuss these issues especially with your children, even with your young children---it is never too soon to start. Let them know what is appropriate and inappropriate touching. Equip your children, particularly your girl children, with the tools to protect their psychological, spiritual and physical integrity. Let them know they have a voice and it can and should be heard on any topic affecting their mind, body and soul.

2. Let the women and girls in your family and communities know you are there to support them. Let them know that you would never judge or ridicule them for being victims and survivors of GBV, especially rape or any other form of sexual violence. Women, men, girls and boys who suffer GBV have many reasons to fear coming forward and reporting their experience (e.g. stigma and perpetrator reprisals). But if as everyday persons and communities we provide an environment of support and encouragement, more GBV survivors will come forward to access the health, psycho-social and legal services they need.

3. Do not remain silent if you are a GBV survivor. You survived an incident of GBV, so that means you can survive anything. If you are a GBV survivor, please know there are people to support and protect you. Reach out to your nearest hospital or a community/women's organization--many of these places can refer you to the appropriate health and psycho-social support services. If you fear seeking help on your own, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline and they will provide you support in how to access help. The hotline number is 1 800 799 SAFE(7233)or 1 800 787 3224 (TTY), click here to learn about what to expect once you contact the hotline.

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.” –African proverb

Peace in South Sudan…sort of.

I am about two weeks away from my one year anniversary living and working in South Sudan. Since I have arrived the conflict has resulted in some of the most atrocious acts against South Sudanese: from acts of gender based violence such as burning young girls alive who may be of opposing ethnic groups to the recruitment of children into the conflict. In any war or conflict, women, children, the disabled and the elderly bear the brunt of the brutality that accompanies a struggle for wealth and power. And many South Sudanese are ready for the violence and hunger to end. Sadly, most South Sudanese that I have spoken to are in a perpetual state of resignation that whatever ceasefire or peace deal that is made will be broken.

The two warring sides were given a deadline of August 17th by the international negotiators, IGAD, to end, at the time, a 20 month conflict. The leader of rebel groups, Riek Machar, signed by the deadline but the president of the country, Salva Kiir, did not sign until August 27th. But within days the ceasefire was broken again (as many South Sudanese predicted) and fighting has continued in the conflict affected states of Unity, Upper Nile and parts of Jonglei, where South Sudan’s rich oil reserves lie. Uganda has had a military presence in the country since the conflict began with the mandate to maintain peace. However, but for some, particularly the rebel forces, its military presence has created more hostility amongst South Sudanese than it has secured security and peace. Thus as part of the peace agreement, the Ugandan government was given 45 days from the 27th of August to extract their military personnel, which is scheduled to happen next week. In addition, all armed actors must lie down their guns by mid-October. Until then, we are all sure the fighting will continue and many more lives will be lost to violence and hunger.

Most recently President Kiir has called for the further division of South Sudan’s states increasing from 10 to 28 states, with Abyei, the contested administrative area between Sudan and South Sudan, potentially becoming the 29th state. The President draws his authority to do this from the country’s transitional constitution with the decree taking effect November 1st. The rebel forces have stated that the decree is in violation of the signed peace deal. Perhaps, the creation of states was meant to meet political and economic demands in the short term, but because the divisions were made along ethnic lines and in fact, have divided a number of ethnic groups between states, threat of sanctions for violating the Transitional Constitution and the peace deal, have been made. In the meantime, in the world of me, I struggle to find reasons to stay in South Sudan.

Since I arrived, I have been operating a program that has experienced a funding gap. In the most simple of terms a funding gap means that we had money, the one donor we had said “no more money for you” but we continue to operate on our other program funds while we find new donors to fund a fully operational GBV program. Most of my year has been hustling and begging to find funds to rebuild our program. And writing grant proposals. Not what I signed on to do and not that much fun quite frankly, but it is part of the life of development/humanitarian aid work.
I have had some great moments learning, observing, and just…experiencing. The experiences range from seeing history being made and trying to grasp the painful growing pains of a people building a nation and navigating the twists and turns of democracy (which for South Sudan can be traced back to the 1980s or even earlier); camping during field visits eating only goat meat with some hard Jesus bread for a week. But best of all, I had the opportunity to work with strong, resilient South Sudanese women who carry on with the task of living and growing, as many of their men have died, abandoned them or continue fighting in a conflict they are tired of and want to end.

When I tell people that I am in a war torn country, their first thoughts are that I am at risk of dying in the conflict. South Sudan is not like Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria---where kidnappings and suicide bombs are part and parcel of the conflict raging there. Here, the conflict occurs in areas that are pretty rural and quite distant from where the main offices of NGOs are based, although in the conflict affected areas NGOS are in the vicinity of tank and gunfire and need to take special precautions. For us in Juba, the capital, our greatest threat is the economic crisis that has accompanied this conflict and thus has ignited a crime wave that puts many of us in danger from such crimes as petty theft to carjackings and even rape.

The South Sudanese government is running out of money (if it has not already done so), all food is imported from Uganda and petrol from Kenya or Ethiopia. The cost of living has sky-rocketed for everyone here, but as you can imagine those who are least educated and thus are unemployed or have very low paying jobs, it is making life almost impossible for them. Every night there are gunshots heard, women and children violated and even killed for their meagre possessions. The conflict triggered the economic crisis which has triggered severe food insecurity which has led to mass malnourishment of both children and adults (which I have seen with my own eyes in the more rural areas). This makes NGOs the biggest targets as we have safes with US dollars and stuff that people can sell: land cruisers, laptops, American and European cell phones, and our personal money, usually U.S. dollars as well because the South Sudanese pound is losing value every hour if not every minute. We also do not have weapons on the premise (not even our security guards) in order to be in compliance with our code of conduct as a humanitarian aid organization (no guns, always politically neutral). We are therefore vulnerable to robbery. Thankfully my particular organization is particularly safeguarded from targeting because of our location (difficult to enter and exit without being seen or cornered) and I think people do not realize we actually live and work in the same space….we are so quiet our neighbors and others do not realize that human beings are moving around inside the compound. One of my former employees called our living residence The Cemetery. Yep. We are a pretty boring, dry bunch—bad for social interaction but good for safety.

I am happy with what I have been able to achieve under my constraints and circumstances. I have almost completed my personal mission: one year doing GBV work in a conflict setting...well just like peace in South Sudan....I have sort of completed my mission. Of course, if I decide to move on, I have no idea what comes next, which, if I let it, can be nerve racking and scary. Or I can embrace it and take it as an opportunity to do what my life path has always forced me to do: to look outside the box and try something different. In the meantime, I am cherishing the time I have had with some great colleagues and staff....and of course learning about the way South Sudanese women live their lives, and doing my best to support them.

Here are some photos from my work with South Sudanese Women:

Women farmers (women started farming due to food insecurity…but they aim to make it a profit making enterprise)…..

Women are making tie dye cloth for their tailoring business---they plan to make traditional style African dresses for sale…

Women small business owners after completing their simple bookkeeping and business management training were provided with in-kind goods to start their shop:

Women’s traditional beadwork: they make necklaces, earrings, bracelets for wrists and ankles, and even shirt-like pieces. Some of their necklaces are pictured below:

My fierce women leaders…..

Juba Airport

Everything looks absolutely normal on the surface of Juba city: congregations of tall, lean men in business and casual attire lounge with their long legs crossed under the shade of an acacia tree or even under the open ground floor space of a building being constructed (as long as there is shade). They wait to be served tea by equally long limbed girls and women, with their colorful sarongs and glittery head scarves. Kids are running barefooted on dusty side streets playing with footballs made out of rubber bands. Sheep and goats graze along the side of the road sometimes darting into the middle of traffic congested with motorbikes and land-cruisers blazoned with organizational logos. But underneath it there is a pulsating tension because of the worsening economy, the rising crime rates, and increased skirmishes that are happening in the conflict affected areas. We are all waiting to see what will happen with the peace process over the next few days to weeks. But I can’t get into it today…I’m thinking about when I will have to make another dreaded trip through Juba airport.

Upon arrival to Juba airport, if you are lucky, a bus will meet you on the tarmac, as the actual terminal is from, maybe, the 1970s and cannot accommodate planes at the actual terminal. Ok, that is reasonable, many airports are still stuck in the pre-historic era---like LaGuardia airport in NYC. But even if there is a crazy African torrential downpour, you better have something to cover your head because you cannot count on the little bus to come and get you at the plane. But most of the time the sun is scorching hot to the point that you feel as if it is melting the skin off your bones.

By the time you trek across the tarmac and park yourself on line for the Ebola check, things are getting pretty steamy under the collar. As you stand on line you are most likely juggling your laptop, maybe your handbag, a folder with work related reading and most likely some other bag between your hands and armpits as you try to wash your hands with the Ebola-Killing-Soap at the small, small blue plastic water dispenser. At the same time, you are doing your darndest not to knock over said dispenser or step into the muddy, soapy water pooling around the basin underneath the dispenser. Then you walk a bit more to the big white tent to fill out a form saying you are not infected and have not traveled to an infected country in the last 21 days. Yes, we must be safe, because Ebola is one helluva virulent pathogen—and why the next paragraph actually terrifies me.

You are now standing on another line underneath this tarp, pretty much roasting and by the time you get to the white robed mask wearing temperature taker---you should have something simulating a raging fever and thus a good candidate to be pulled aside for Ebola Queries. I’m usually told to move to passport stamping and when I look at my stamped form I have a temperature approximating 4 degrees Celsius---pretty much the temperature of a corpse that has been sitting in a morgue—I should both be dead and very cold to the touch. Which of course I am far from either. SO. How well are these instruments at spotting infected persons? I try not to dwell on it, I have other things that make my hypochondriac behind toss and turn at night.

I’m now inside the terminal and waiting to be inspected—which I feel is happening every single time I perch up on my tippy toes to talk through the tiny hole in the plastic window. And on one occasion my suspicions were correct. “You cut your hair.” “Excuse me?” Passport Guard 1 shows me my own passport photo with a longer hairstyle. “Ah, yes, I cut my hair.” “You are pretty with long hair. You should have long hair” I ignore him and continue to fill out more paperwork. Passport Guard 2 “But she looks nice with short hair too.” “But women should have long hair,” Passport Control 1 states. “But if a woman wants to have short hair she can do so. It is her hair,” Passport Control 2 says smiling broadly at me. “But look at how nice she…” I cut them both off with a tap on the plastic window with index finger, “Hello, yes, well it is very hot in Africa and I sweat a lot so I cut if off. I don’t want pimples on my back. Are you done with my passport?” “Yes. Grow your hair back.” Thank you Passport Control 1 and 2. Happy day.

You are now ready to claim your baggage but first you must get by some men sitting up on some high stools, staring down on you very hot, tired and unsmiling. This man is usually flanked by two or three men who I can never tell what their job is exactly. The one perched on the stool is, most times, in some semblance of a uniform but the rest look like they came to chat and have a cup of tea, yet they all take a look at your passport “Keef (how are you?)?” I am asked. “Tamam (I’m fine.),” I say. “Something, something more in Arabic.” I stare blankly, and then I reply “Maafi arabe (I don’t speak Arabic).” “Why don’t you speak Arabic (pauses as he looks at my Arabic/Middle Eastern name again)” “Because I don’t want to.” I’m literally soaked through with sweat as two hundred people crowded into the space of a large elevator press behind me—because of course it is Africa and there is no such thing as personal space. Something shows the testiness in my face and he hands back my passport “You should learn Arabic” Juba airport is just full of folks who are specialists on what my behind should and should not be doing. From here it is pretty straight forward….you wait as your bags are taken from the plane, to the baggage claim area to a conveyor belt and a woman (I always get the same exact woman) sometimes in a uniform, sometimes in a dress, marks your bag with a piece of chalk after she peeks inside your bag—now you can leave, because that chalk marking is all very official that your bag has been properly inspected. But strangely enough, it is not arriving to Juba airport that is the bane of my existence but it is taking off from it that makes me cringe.

Leaving on a Monday morning is the worst because they have the commercial and the UN Humanitarian Airline Service (UNHAS) flights leaving from the same terminal. Oh yes, I forgot to mention THERE IS ONLY ONE freakin’ terminal. UNHAS services all domestic flights because there is a conflict and it is the only way we can travel safely around the country. Depending on what flight you are going on, there is some queueing, pretending to really check your e-ticket and ID and then a wave of a hand to pass through a door made for one person at a time, but of course we all try to smash through it like uncivilized beasts because we want to get to the UNHAS counter before everyone else to get our bag weighed and our plastic boarding card. But you can never get there early enough. There is always a herd of people crowded inside the small, small, small space that houses the airline counter, immigration windows, scales and conveyor belt: a space that should really accommodate 20-30 people has about 150. So we all push our way through like cattle going to the slaughter, eyes lolling to the back of our heads as we squeeze through people, bags just parked in the middle of everything, 5L water containers, food parcels, medical equipment and just about everything you will need to go to the field. If you can manage to get through check in, where we basically body slam each other to get to the scale first—because that is the most important part, making sure you have exactly 20kg.

And after all that hard work, I mean literally, I am drenched in sweat and any evidence of a morning shower are long gone by now: once a ray of sun hits my skin or I am in a tightly enclosed space for more than 10 seconds my pores are gushing sweat like a rotating sprinkler. Really. This tight hot space is my worst nightmare, I feel like my brain will explode out my eyes with the heat of the African sun and humans vacuumed into our tiny check-in area. You would think that all this pushing and defense football line-backing is because we are rushing to get a flight that will be leaving shortly. Nope. We are flying, most likely, a World Food Program (WFP) plane which I fondly call Waiting for the F@#$in’ Plane---because you could literally be there waiting for 3 hours for a flight that may take only 40 minutes. Once in the field and you are ready to return to Juba, you usually have to drive out to a dirt airstrip and wait up to 3 -6 hours for your flight with the WFP staff sometimes walkie-talkie-ing to say “Flight canceled.” What?!?!? Dear jeee--zuz. (deep sigh)….TIA (This is Africa) is now TIJ……This is Juba.