Conflict, hunger and disease forced nearly , people to flee South Sudan to become refugees in neighbouring countries in More than 70 percent of those fled in the first half of , when multiple military offensives occurred in Upper Nile, Unity, Jonglei, and the Greater Equatoria region. Since , over 4.
More than 2. What happens when people are forced to abandon their land, homes, jobs and schools due to a civil war? Angelina is 35 years old and has three children. She is from Padeah, a small village in the northern region of Unity State. This area is one of the worst-affected by conflict since civil war broke out in December between the Government and opposition forces.
Warring parties have deliberately attacked civilians living in the area, killing thousands of people and sexually assaulting women and girls. Attackers set houses on fire in Padeah and destroyed crops and mango trees to eliminate all food sources.
Angelina decides to leave Padeah in July She and her children walk kilometers to a camp in the north. The journey takes about one week and is filled with danger. Abductions are common, and rape is pervasive everywhere in the country. The family has to avoid stepping on unexploded ordinance, and face the risk of being abducted or raped. The family arrives in Bentiu, the location of the UN Protection of Civilians site, but Angelina realizes they are still not safe.
Women there tell her that many of them have been raped when leaving the camp to collect firewood, and some of them have been abducted just outside the gates. Sometimes families are requested to provide ransoms to kidnappers to get their daughters back. There are also reports of women being held captive and used as sex slaves. Angelina and her children stay in the camp for several months but there is no chance of settling in the nearby village.
