Bor Town, Jonglie State in South Sudan: 2006 - from a colonial legacy to independence

[The following book excerpt is published to mark Southern Sudan’s independence on July 9, 2011]

Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005, the Upper Nile had been divided into two states: the Upper Nile and to the south, Jonglei State. Jonglei State bordered Eastern Equatoria. Its capital was Bor Town. The region had a long and bloody history of violence, constantly prone to volatility and instability. Like the humid south it comprised numerous ethnic groups: Nuer (Lou, Jikany, and Gawaar), Bor Dinka, Murle, Anyuak, Mabane, Toposa, Kachipo, and Jie. Conflict primarily revolved around water, cattle raiding, and child abduction. The 1991 massacre in Bor, known as The Split, led to the flight of seven hundred thousand Bor Dinka south to Equatoria.

The Sudd, the world’s largest swampland about the size of England, lay on the western side of Jonglei State. Sudd was Arabic for barrier; appropriately named for its dense tangle of papyrus, frequented by crocodiles, hippos, the Nile perch, and mosquitoes, causing havoc for intrepid adventurers. Three main waterways coursed through the swamp: the Bahr-al-Zaraf, the River of the Giraffes; the Bahr-al-Ghazal, the River of Gazelles; and the Bahr-al-Jabal, the River of Mountains. The land was as horizontal and uniform as a stark morgue table—scrubby, sparse, and virtually treeless.

In Bor, permanent brick buildings in various states of disrepair dominated the town. Locals congregated on their steps and within their courtyards, seeking employment in government positions or to plead with officials for government services: food, water, health clinics, schools, and homes.

My first meeting commenced after lunch with seven men, suited and smartly presented, around a rectangular wooden conference table: the governor of Jonglei State, the deputy governor, the minister of local government, the minister for the peace accord, the peace advisor for Bor South County, the advisor for security affairs, and the advisor for political affairs. The governor commenced the meeting with the town’s history the civil wars, their impact, the displacement of seventy-five percent of the population, and the return of seven hundred thousand residents. Bor Town, established in 1905, had two significant buildings as a legacy of colonialism; the hospital built in 1952 and a school, the last permanent structure erected, built in 1959. Road maintenance was previously undertaken in 1983.

A major task of the governor was to remove landmines from roads and to open trade and transport routes: first, from Bor to Juba, the new capital of Southern Sudan; second, to Boma and on to Eastern Equatoria and the Kenyan border; and third, to Pochalla and the Ethiopian border. Another task was to secure the region for the safe return of his brothers. Already the state government had recruited two-hundred-and-seventeen police officers. He was waiting for funding to train them. Two doctors appointed three weeks ago were rehabilitating the collapsed hospital to accommodate patients. Teachers were encouraging the return of students. Without facilities they were schooled in ruins, tukuls, or under trees.

“We are remote here with few facilities. Schools,” he said, “will be the centers for peace. We have curricula from Khartoum, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the SPLM, but now we will use the New Sudan curriculum and, for the first time, we will have an independent, relevant schooling system. Praise be to God!”

“Excuse me,” added the soft-spoken advisor for political affairs, “I was part of the first government team to Bor after the signing of the peace agreement with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or Movement, as it’s now called. You could say that I was the first cock to crow, the first to pick up the scent of change. There were mainly SPLA soldiers in town then, but now they are gradually leaving or taking jobs in the new government. There are a few northerners around and it is their choice whether they stay or go. They’ve been here for six years so some may not want to go. Currently the north-south relationship is at an even keel, but some southerners still fear the northerners. It’s early days yet. Peace is a generational issue. Past conflicts were extremely violent and many grievances are still with us. Some people call this place Dar-al-Harb, the Abode of War. In terms of tribal conflicts, we’ve been concentrating on sixteen situations involving Anyuak, Gajaak, Gawaar, Murle, Bor Dinka, and Nuer. One is still not resolved, the conflict is decreasing in five situations, and ten are stable. This is through the work of peace committees.”

Extract from “The Sudan Curse” by Martina Nicolls, available in hardcopy, softcover, and Kindle at amazon.com

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).