South Sudan: Voices from Bentiu

On 9 July 2021, the Republic of South Sudan marked its 10th birthday. This significant milestone is also marred by the bloody legacy of its first decade, including a five-year civil war. At independence, South Sudan was grappling with at least 30 humanitarian emergencies. Parts of the country were engulfed in increasingly fierce intercommunal clashes, and there was renewed conflict in border areas with Sudan. Despite the challenges, the first years in the post-independence period were a time of anticipation and optimism and, for most of the country, it was a period of relative peace. However, by December 2013 – less than two years after independence – the country had rapidly imploded into civil war, quickly exposing the fragility of the emerging young state. In this episode of Everyday Emergency, we’ll be hearing the personal stories of four of our South Sudanese staff – all of whom now work in a displacement camp near the town of Bentiu. We hear about the impact of the conflict on their lives over the last 10 years, and what brought them to the country's largest camp.