Southern Sudan: Panyagor Struggles for Recovery

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000980

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI EAID PREF SU
SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Panyagor Struggles for Recovery



1. Summary: Of all the places visited by CG Juba
officials during a recent PRM monitoring and evaluation
trip (septel),Panyagor is by far the least developed.
Also known as Mabior, the town is located north of Bor in
what is now Twic East County (Note: Many Southern towns
changed their name during the war once its town name
appeared on the Operation Lifeline Sudan no-go list so
that aid deliveries could continue. End note.)
Residents of Panyagor face extreme environmental
conditions, with an annual cycle of drought and floods.
Security also remains difficult; local residents
complained of cattle raids, gender-based violence, hyena
attacks, and threats from the Nuer to the North. End
Summary.

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Climate: No Goldilocksian Compromise
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2. During the 5-month dry season, Panyagor suffers from
chronic drought with often distant bore holes serving as
the only source of water. In the rainy season, the
region turns quickly from desert to swamp, and the
residents face pervasive flooding, a proliferation of
insects, and the spread of disease.


3. While the dirt roads in Panyagor were currently being
used as a conduit for both commercial goods and
humanitarian supplies from Kenya, all ground
transportation is expected to cease within the next month
once the rains begin. The only airstrip will also become
unusable and the region will be largely cut off from
humanitarian aid and any medical care -- the town only
has a small dispensary and one regional doctor who
travels over a wide range. Aid organizations are
currently working to preposition all the supplies needed
before the rains start.


4. Dykes have been built to contain the Nile, which
annually rises and engulfs the town. However, it is
unclear if the dykes will hold, and even of they do it
will not control the flooding from the heavy rains, which
do not drain on the level plain.


5. Locals also report that agriculture is impossible
because there is always either too much or too little
water for farming. (Comment: Other Southern Sudanese
with similar climatic conditions do farm. End comment.)
The area is currently being fed almost entirely by the
World Food Program, which has been targeting the most
vulnerable in the population. According to the local
Sudan Relief and Recovery Commission (SRRC) director, the
WFP distributes rations for about 10,000, which is then
shared among the population of nearly 100,000.

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Insecurity from All Sides
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6. Insecurity also plagues the local residents, whose
Dinka population say they live in constant fear of their
Nuer neighbors to the north. Sitting in the path of the
1992 Nuer march to Bor, now know as the Bor massacre,
Panyagor has a high percentage of displaced population.
Residents complained that they are afraid the Nuer to the
North will return. This fear is compounded by the fact
that the commander of these Nuer troops, Riek Machar, is
now Vice President of Southern Sudan.


7. During the dry season, the men must range their
cattle great distances to find water, and they become
vulnerable to cattle raids from Murle militia to the
south and east. Deng Tiop, Executive Director of Twic
East County, who represented the County Commissioner at
meetings with the Acting Consul General, said that these
cattle raids, while serious, were just a part of life and
there was no way to prevent it. The Dinka cattle herders
are typically well armed and have been known to attack
non-Dinka cattlemen who come into their territory seeking
water.


8. More vulnerable are the women of Twic East, who often
must walk 30 minutes or more to get water in the dry
season, and often must range further to collect firewood.
These women said that these errands are dangerous because
of threats from bandits who may kidnap or rape them, and
because of the possibility of hyena attack. They say it
is more dangerous to walk to the bore hole at night, but
they often brave the risks to avoid the extremely long
daytime waits at the pump.


9. While the women did not complain of other forms of
gender-based violence, the SRRC director told CG Juba

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officials that he believes it is pervasive, although
there is no effort to prevent it or even talk about it.

STEINFELD