The Episcopal Church of Sudan
Narrative report: Nic Ramsden
Between Wednesday 27th May and Wednesday 3rd June 2009, His Grace Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul conducted a pastoral, peace building and training-focused visit to the Diocese of Wau.
At the date of travel, the ECS Diocese of Wau covered three states of Southern Sudan, Western Bahr El-Ghazal (WBeG), Northern Bahr El-Ghazal (NBeG) and Warrab, plus the Abyei Administrative Area (AAA). During the visit, His Grace visited areas in all four administrative regions – Wau town (WBeG), Aweil town (NBeG), Agok and Abyei town (AAA), and Lietnhom (Warrab). These places were all covered in the first three days of the visit, a tour that was conducted in a chartered aircraft courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
The delegation consisted of:
- His Grace the Archbishop
- Bishop Alapayo Manyang of Rumbek
- Bishop Francis Loyo of Rokon and Secretary of the Episcopal Council
- Bishop Henry Riak of Wau
- Rev. John Sebit Diseremo, General Manager of ECS/SUDRA
- Mr. Nicholas Ramsden, Archbishop’s International Co-ordinator
- Miss Robin Denney, ECS External Agriculture Consultant
- Mrs. Emily Alexander, Peace and Rule of Law representative, Joint Donor Team
- Mr. Rocco Blume, Christian Aid Advocacy Officer, London Office
- Ustaz Solomon Manasseh, ECS Education Office
- Ms. Emma Stewart, MAF UK
- Ms. Yasmine Richardson, MAF UK
His Grace was especially lucky to be joined by representatives from the major provincial offices of Education, Agriculture and Relief and Development, as well as by four individuals representing organisations other than the Church.
Emily Alexander of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) represented the Peace Desk of the Joint Donor Team – a group of six donor governments (UK, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Canada) who fund large scale development programmes in Southern Sudan. It was especially good for the ECS to have Emily join the visit, as it shows the respect the Church receives from international donors, particularly in local peace work, and Emily injected a fun professionalism into the tour, asking excellent technical questions which otherwise wouldn’t have been discussed.
Rocco Blume of Christian Aid joined the visit at the last minute, but found it an excellent opportunity to see what he advocates for on behalf of ECS in London – peace, justice and poverty issues in the field. The Abyei visit was especially god considering the fame the town has now achieved as an example of all the Sudan’s peace problems in microcosm.
Emma and Yasmine joined the tour from MAF UK, making a promotional film about the Christian NGO that flies light aircraft for Church and Christian NGO development work. They were most welcome, and videoed a lot of His Grace’s events, speeches and prayers.
The aim of the visit was firstly to visit Aweil, the planned centre of the new Diocese of Aweil, to cover all of NBeG, in order for His Grace to assess the preparations for attaining the status of a new diocese, and inaugurate the diocese if those criteria had been met.
Secondly, the Archbishop wanted to visit Abyei – the famous border town between Northern and Southern Sudan that was destroyed during fighting in May 2008 and which remains a hotbed of contention and a clear and present danger to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). During his short stay in Abyei he would talk to the government and the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) about the peace process, pray and encourage the Anglicans in Abyei, and view the site of the destroyed ECS church and school.
Finally, His Grace needed to visit Wau in order to oversee the diocesan synod being held to prepare the way for +Henry Riak’s successor, +Riak having announced his retirement, effective from the end of June 2009. This final aim would take the Archbishop a four day visit to Wau after the initial three-day tour of Wau, Aweil and Abyei, and would include various peace and reconciliation workshops aimed at bringing the communities of the Diocese of Wau and the future Diocese of Aweil closer together, united in Christ and intelligent in their forward planning for the ECS in this area.
On Wednesday 27th May, the delegation set off from Juba airport at around 12pm, flying two hours north west to Wau, the second city of Southern Sudan, which has a far more “northern” feel to it than Juba – many more Arab traders, a distinctly Islamic feel to the market, 1940s colonial architecture, and the largest church in Sudan – St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, which resembles an Italian basilica.
His Grace was met at the airport by a sizeable crowd led by +Henry Riak, singing children, and reporters for Wau TV, who filmed him alighting from the Cessna Grand Caravan, and shaking hands with the entire welcoming party, before heading into town to be received at the ECS compound, located in the heart of the historic town centre and containing the ECS Cathedral – a small British-era colonial chapel – a primary and secondary school, and the bishop’s residence, another colonial era-building called “Bishop’s Gate”. After being danced and sung into the compound by the Mothers’ Union, His Grace proceeded to the State Secretariat to briefly greet the Governor of WBeG before we proceeded to Aweil that evening.
Meeting with H.E. General Mark Nypouch Ubong, Governor of Western Bahr El-Ghazal State:
The meeting took place in the WBeG State Secretariat, a 1951 white brick British colonial headquarters.
The Governor welcomed the delegation, and introduced the other government officials present – the Minister of Health and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. He stressed the work of building the nation that is now required in Southern Sudan, emphasising the importance of the Word of God and faith amongst other aspects such as education and agriculture. He informed the Archbishop of the developments now happening in Wau – electricity, water and tarmac roads – but said that the Church still needed to be present in order to support the peace.
His Grace replied that the Church would support peace, unity and love, healing the wounds of the people inflicted by the war, and support the government in overcoming the traumatisation of the people. He said that peace comes from God, and that therefore it is the duty to God of a people living in peace to protect that peace, in order that development and prosperity may continue. He promised the Church’s assistance in physical development as well – introducing Robin and Solomon from the ECS Agriculture and Education offices – and thanked the governor for being open to working with the Church.
Following the meeting with the Governor, His Grace returned to the ECS Compound for lunch. 
Several members of the delegation, including myself, the ladies from MAF UK, Rocco and Emily, were then driven over the bridge to the eastern bank of the River Jur, where there is a new ECS primary school, constructed in 2008 with UN-Common Humanitarian Fund money, and project-managed by myself. It was wonderful to see the school operating, see the children in uniform and learning, and to be greeted as VIP guests. Whilst there was a lot of rhetoric of thanks in my direction, I made sure there was also talk of ownership of the school by the local people, a point that was nicely added to by Rev. John Sebit of SUDRA, who gave the kids an excellent pep-talk after my formalities.
We returned to the ECS Compound to where the Archbishop had just finished his address to the people there, and headed back to the airport to fly on to Aweil, travelling between two large thunderstorms to arrive in Aweil at around 5.30pm. Aweil feels like a smaller version of Wau – similar style of more northern-looking buildings, disused railway sidings, colonial mango avenues in the old town centre, and an airport which is literally a large area in the middles of the town, also used as a road and a bus station as far as I could see. After the usual excellent local welcome by clergy and ululating Mothers’ Union, we were driven directly to the South Sudan Hotel – a pleasant hotel in both historic and new buildings – to finally have a rest.
On Thursday 28th May, we proceeded early to greet the Governor of NBeG before a very full programme of events – we would be in the pro-Cathedral in Aweil all morning, returning to the airport for the flight to Agok (the nearest serviceable airstrip to Abyei town) around lunchtime. We would then be driven from Agok into Abyei for meetings with the government, local ECS and UNMIS.
Meeting with H.E. Maj. Gen. Paul Malong Awan, Governor of Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State:
The Governor began by assuring us that all was peaceful in NBeG, although fighting had been going on in Southern Kordofan between Kordofan and Darfur tribes. He told us that his personal philosophy is the importance of justice above all – no matter what background, colour, religion etc. a person is, all deserve equal justice for what they do. However, he admitted there was no “quick solution” to the peace problems of Sudan.
The Archbishop replied by outlining the reasons for his visit – assessing the situation in Abyei and communicating it to the world through the other members of the delegation. He briefed the Governor on the proposed Diocese of Aweil, emphasising the importance of Church structure in an area that is underserved to a great extent by organised development. He stressed the Church’s role in creating a sustainable peace, assisting people to re-settle with basic services. He also outlined the contents of the early May appeal to the diplomatic community for more international pressure on the NCP and SPLM to implement the CPA fully.
Emily and Rocco then introduced themselves, asking for the Governor’s insights on the peace process and what international agencies could do to assist.
The Governor then responded to these questions and the Archbishop’s remarks by saying that the peace problems of Sudan were an example of a “kill or be killed” mentality by Southerners towards the north. He said that the people of Sudan were to blame for their fighting one another, and that therefore the solutions lay within Sudan, not with the international community. He said that the north were not happy that Southerners seemed to be winning justice and rights, but that if they continued to fight they would destroy themselves, as the south would always be prepared to fight again for their rights and their lives.
He came back to his maxim of justice for all being key: so long as all were under a law – the law of the State and the law of God – communities, states and nations would be successful, as all, Northern or Southern, would receive justice for violence. Therefore the violence in Sudan is an issue of injustice – one that the Sudanese must solve for themselves, albeit assisted by the international community.
From the State Secretariat, the party proceeded through Aweil town, over the former railway sidings and out past the UNMIS compound to the ECS pro-Cathedral – a small local material church in a wide, flat area of returnee tukuls just outside the town itself. There was a big welcome, including music from a traditional Dinka band of SPLA troops, followed by prayers and introductions.
His Grace addressed the people, saying that he had an obligation as Archbishop to visit all the people of the ECS, and that Aweil was included in his itinerary in order for him to see the progress towards attaining diocesan status. He stressed that the new diocese were provincial, for the entire Church, not just for the local people, and that therefore they needed to be self-sustainable and not funded by the Church of England.
The congregation was then divided into groups – though who would talk about agriculture with Robin, those who would talk about development with Rev. John, and those who would talk about education with Ustaz Solomon.
The clergy remained with the Archbishop, who then preached a short sermon:
Archbishop’s sermon in Aweil, 28th May 2008:
The blessings of God must be seen in people, Christ must live in us if we are to be the lights of the world. There is a difference between the “Children of God” and the “People of God” – we are all people of God, and amongst the people of God there are traitors, liars, gossipers, criminals and sinners. Real Christians are children of God, and are salt and light to the earth.
The creation of a diocese can divide people, as they squabble over positions, titles and roles in the new structure, instead of working together for the development of the people. A lot of work needs to be done in Aweil for the new diocese to really be established on an independent footing. The rest of the world will hear about Aweil through my office, so you must meet international standards. You must meet all of the criteria put in place for a new diocese – a Cathedral, a house, a car, SDG 10,000 in the bank – as well as electing a good leader who will be committed to the people of Aweil and not abuse a position of leadership. The province will help you, but only honesty and hard work by yourselves will bring the Diocese of Aweil. Do not be divided by petty issues – be proud before the international world for your work – be one people in Christ Jesus, and be Children of God.
His Grace then inspected the site, seeing that there was a car, but only the foundations of a permanent Cathedral had been built. There was no house bigger than a tukul on the site.
After a quick lunch, the delegation returned to the airport to prepare for take-off to Agok. Whilst waiting for the plane to be prepared, His Grace and I met with the NBeG Minister of Religious Affairs, who appealed to the ECS to provide disabled people in NBeG with wheelchairs and crutches, which his ministry does not have funding to provide. He told us that there were over 750 people in Aweil alone who have asked him for such aids, but that he has no budget for welfare programmes at present. He quoted the price of USD 100 for a wheelchair. His Grace listened intently, and assured the minister that the ECS would appeal to its partners on Aweil’s behalf.
We then flew the 45 minutes or so to Agok, passing over obviously populated landscape, with meandering rivers, cattle camps and small villages. Agok is a small town on the southern edge of the Abyei Administrative Area (AAA), and is therefore in neither Southern nor Northern Sudan. The plane landed on the small airstrip to a rapturous welcome by a large crowd of locals, the Archbishop greeting several hundred people before being driven away in the AAA Chief Administrator’s Vehicle to the Agok County Headquaters, where we were officially received by the Secretary General for the AAA and the Executive Director of Agok County, who wished His Grace a 
peaceful visit, apologised for the fighting in the area, but reminded us of Christ’s maxim to “turn the other cheek” when an enemy hurts you. He likened the visit of the Archbishop to John the Baptist crying in the wilderness and making a “straight way in the desert for our God”, guiding the people of Abyei along that road.
The Archbishop and +Francis Loyo thanked the receivers, emphasising the importance of a government-Church partnership to deal with the problems that have been thrown at Abyei. +Francis had visited Abyei in July 2008, two months after its destruction by fighting, and was therefore returning after nearly a year to witness what progress, if any, had been made. During his 2008 visit he had confirmed over 150 people.
The party then proceeded by road to Abyei itself – an hour’s drive over 30 kms of deteriorating roads, crossing the River Kiir just before entering Abyei. His Grace told me that during the war, the armies of the north and south were camped either side of the bridge on the Kiir. Both sides would shoot anyone who came close to it. Approaching Abyei, one could see plainly that a large number of people had been displaced from the town itself – tarpaulins and temporary shelters abound, particularly outside the UNMIS camp, located about a mile to the south of the town, as if camping outside the UN would offer more protection if the fighting started again. The town itself looked like a demolition site – a few permanent buildings remain in the very centre, all of them obviously Arab: the mosque, larger houses, shops. Other than that, all the temporary structures that existed before May 2008 were burnt down, including the ECS church and primary school. Today, a few tukuls have reappeared amongst the wreckage, but not many – the place still feels like a ghost town to a large extent. It was all very depressing.
We proceeded to the AAA Government Office – itself looking displaced, a little way out of town – to meet with the Deputy Chief Administrator and several other officials.
Meeting with H.E. Rahama Abderhman Alnour, Deputy Chief Administrator of the Abyei Administrative Area:
The Deputy Chief Administrator, a Arab Muslim NCP member, welcomed the delegation warmly, especially welcoming a visit from a religious leader, saying that the Archbishop would see Abyei and be able to pray and advocate for its needs.
His Grace introduced the ECS delegation, and spoke of his and the Church’s worry for Abyei – a place where the victims are the innocent whilst the decision are made by the unconcerned elsewhere. He enlightened the Deputy as to his appeal to the diplomats for more support to the CPA, saying that Abyei was crucial to the peace process – “If Abyei is peaceful, the whole Sudan is peaceful” – and that there was need to pressure both the parties to be responsible before God for their actions, as it is these parties who make the decisions that impact violence upon the innocent in Abyei.
The Archbishop reminded the Deputy that all government is by God’s permission, and that if governments did not take care of creation they would incur the wrath of God.
Several other AAA officials then spoke:
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly reminded us of the fact that before the AAA Abyei had never had a government, which was young, under-funded and struggling. He highlighted the numbers of displaced in Agok and elsewhere, the number of tukuls burnt, and the fact that the temporary tarpaulin shelters are often crushed by heavy rain.
The SPLM Secretary said that if Abyei was not handled well, its problems could take Sudan back to War. Whilst the AAA is a structure formed by the people, it has no resources to help the people, so cannot provide the essential basic services required. The Church needs to stay with the people – both lobbying the National Government to solve the crisis amicably, and in assisting the people with the basic services they need.
The Minister of Physical Infrastructure reiterated that there was no AAA budget for basic services and that the AAA had received nothing from the Government of National Unity (GoNU) for the people since May 2008 when USD 4 million worth of development was destroyed. The international donors and NGOs will not invest here because there is no guaranteed peace. Consequently organisations that can do small scale development need to assist the people here whilst the government struggles for a political solution. He appealed directly to Emily of the Joint Donor Team for investment in development in order to give the local people hope and make the politics less bitter.
The Deputy Chief Administrator continued in the same vein to close – saying that ECS had been a major presence in Abyei before May 2008 and needed to come back in to serve people here – both spiritually and physically with prayer and development. He said the strength of religious leaders was that they didn’t talk about political problems, but cared for the people. Whilst the AAA government lacks the resources to help its own people, the Church acts for the civilian population.
+Henry Riak closed by saying that we must “knock, and the door will be opened” by God through the Church, before praying.
Reception at ECS Abyei church site:
The delegation proceeded from the government building to the site of the ECS church in the centre of town – now an open space ringed by rubble, tarpaulin shelters and the burnt benches that used to double as both school desks and pews. The people received His Grace with much celebration, children dancing around the delegation and Mothers’ Union members singing the classic Dinka welcoming songs that one hears all across 
Bahr El-Ghazal, Lakes State and Jonglei. Abyei certainly felt like a bit of Southern Sudan here, though the site was backed by the minaret of Abyei’s mosque – a constant reminder that all here was definitely not black and white.
+Francis spoke of his previous visit to Abyei in July 2008, when he had been part of a SUDRA operation to supply food aid to the displaced people outside Abyei and in Agok. Rev. Simon Peter Kenyi, the SUDRA Programme Manager, +Francis and other delegates had spent several days in Abyei distributing aid and in +Francis’ case providing provincial and episcopal oversight to some of the most marginalised people in Sudan’s million square miles. He had been received as the first bishop to visit Abyei since 2002 during the war, when the then Bishop Daniel Deng Bul of Renk had visited in order to rescues various clergy who had been arrested by the Army. +Henry Riak, despite being Bishop of Wau for over twenty years and therefore responsible for the area, had never visited Abyei.
His Grace then spoke, appealing to those partners who had originally contributed to the construction of the school to look again at Abyei and help a new school to be built. He said that his high-level delegation was in order for the ECS to show Abyei to the world, and that the Church had not forgotten the people of Abyei. He continued to say that Abyei was a land that had been given by God to the people – so the people should stand firm on it and God would eventually reward them for their faith, sending friends to invest in the country.
He appealed to the government to allow the Church full freedom to come back into Abyei and serve the people with basic services that should not be taken from the people by the government. He said that “the people are the land – if others push the people off the land then they will be accountable to God”. “Those who have burnt the church and school of God have burnt their lives” he said.
The Archbishop called Abyei “a bridge of peace”, where both races, cultures and religions of the north-south divide should live in peace. He asked the government to grant the Church more land in Abyei in order to build schools and clinics for the people – whether Christian or Muslim, Arab or black.
Meeting with the Head of Office and Sector Commander, UNMIS Sector VI, Abyei:
After praying for the people and the peace of Abyei, the delegation proceeded to the UNMIS camp to meet with the Head of Office Mark Rutgers and the Sector Commander, a Zambia Army Officer. There has been an UNMIS presence in Abyei since August 2006, and it received heavy criticism after the May 2008 violence for not doing more to prevent the conflict. The contingent has now become critical to the Abyei “Road Map” – the peace accord signed on 8th June 2008 following the conflict – being the guarantor of the peace on the ground, the mediator between the northern and southern troops in the new Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) of army personnel in the Road Map Area, and the force responsible for policing the fact that no other armed persons are permitted in the Road Map Area. UNMIS therefore conducts patrols, reports on the situation, and protects other agencies working to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Abyei such as the NGO Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF).
The Head of Office told us that UNMIS was especially concerned about the lack of return of civilians to the Abyei area. Many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still in Agok or outside Abyei town, and the town’s commerce is consequently still way under pre-May 2008 levels. Food aid and “Non-Food Items” (NFIs) are still being provided by humanitarian agencies, whilst security remains the biggest problem, especially the GoNU’s involvement in the area. Whilst UNMIS have a mandate to enforce the Road Map, they are in Abyei at GoNU’s invitation, and so are often powerless to act in certain cases.
Rutgers’ key point was that the people in Abyei were not getting the incentives of peace which would guarantee an end to conflict by regenerating confidence in the people. Neither political nor physical incentives are being provided by the AAA Government, whilst there are still considerable outstanding needs. He appealed to the Church that this was the key area in which the Church could help Abyei – by providing constructive services and a reconciliatory attitude that would calm the people down, make them to appreciate development and therefore take their mind off divisive politics.
The Sector Commander then took us through a very detailed description of the security situation in the Road Map Area and the role of the UN peacekeeping troops on the ground in Abyei:
- Abyei town is between the River Kiir to the south and the River Nyimora to the north. North of the Nyimora there are oil fields around Diffra in the Road Map Area.
- UNMIS has 520 troops, mostly from Zambia, India and Bangladesh, in the Road Map Area, plus some civilian Military Observers (MILOBS)
- The role of these troops is to work together with the JIUs to police the Road Map Area, monitor violations of the Road Map, protect UN personnel, NGOs and civilians, and do some engineering work on the infrastructure.
- The Road Map was signed by both signatories of the CPA, the NCP and the SPLM.
- The new JIUs comprise 629 men, both Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), and are supported by UNMIS logistics and communications. The JIUs between them have only four pick-ups, and so whilst a reasonably well-integrated force, they are hugely under-resourced for their massive task, as they are the primary guarantors of security in the Road Map Area.
- The SAF have withdrawn north of the Road Map Area, the SPLA have withdrawn south of the area. UNMIS and the JIUS have freedom of movement throughout the Road Map Area, and are the only forces permitted to carry weapons in the area.
- However, there are still 100 “Oil Police” in Diffra – an armed force established by Presidential decree from Khartoum to secure the oil fields. Whilst they are therefore technically a violation of the Road Map, UNMIS and the JIUs are powerless to expel them from Diffra – UNMIS has no mandate to expel them.
- The migration of the Misseriya is a large problem, as the issues surrounding the Abyei conflict are so complex and deeply rooted. In December 2008 a migration of Misseriya southwards to more fertile grazing land precipitated a Chief Conference to guarantee better Misseriya/Dinka relations. In June 2009 they will migrate northwards again as the rains come, so this problem will diffuse again until Christmas 2009.
- Individual incidents lead to much bigger hatred and consequences – e.g. the stabbing of a Misseriya wanting to buy guns which led to mass arrests of Arabs and Southerners. The law was applied, but the Misseriya demanded for more summary justice which almost led to a Misseriya attack on Abyei town, prevented only by moving all the prisoners to Khartoum to trial.
There is the problem of armed SPLA troops entering Agok from the south to do their shopping, as they are camped in the bush with no shops. SPLA are allowed into Agok, but only unarmed and in civilian clothing. The SPLA also claim that Akur on the southern border of the Road Map Area is in Southern Sudan and not the Road Map Area – UNMIS have been sticking to the official borders of the Road Map Area which include Akur, and have told the SPLA to negotiate this at a higher level.- There is a fear that as there are no international forces/JIUs patrolling just north of the Road Map Area, that SAF could be building up forces here unknown to UNMIS.
- There are also Oil Police in Dumboloya in the east of the Road Map Area on 14th May 2009, who claimed to have strayed into the area from Higlik in Southern Kordofan. There were no clashes and the Oil Police were expelled, but it generates worry about the peace.
- The Sector Commander reiterated that the best thing the Church could do is to reconcile the people.
The Archbishop then reiterated his message on the Church as a source of unity, peace and reconciliation. He opened the floor to questions from the delegation. Emily asked what UNMIS were doing to co-ordinate active local peace actors, and who these actors were. The Head of Office replied that UNMIS Civil Affairs department dealt with local actors, trying to identify actors and bridges for peace – the list included local authorities, chiefs, NGOs, and even politicians from Khartoum. The Chief Conference on Misseriya/Dinka relations had been organised by UNDP. A big problem is that as Abyei is such a harsh posting, many higher local government figures are often absent, meaning that UNMIS is forever dealing with juniors who don’t have the capacity or the mandate to make the decisions necessary for progress. Consequently the government not fully empowered to act.
Rocco asked what UNMIS could have done to stop the May 2008 violence, and what the precise logistical constraints they faced were – in other words, what is UNMIS actually capable of doing in Abyei? The answer came that a feasibility study had been done into UNMIS’ capacity after May 2008, and that by June 2009 more vehicles and troops would have arrived to allow coverage of the Road Map Area. The mandate – a UN Chapter 6 peacekeeping mandate – however, is to monitor, not to engage the belligerents as a third party force. Whilst there are one or two Chapter 7 peace-enforcing phrases in the mandate, ultimately UNMIS has its hands tied as they must do their work “without compromise to the Sudanese State”.
Finally, I asked for a specific opinion of what the ECS should be doing to help. Rutgers answered by again stressing that the Church must identify the “commonality of man” – the common issues of all human beings, from whatever tribe of religion, and stress these in their reconciliation work. Neither political talk nor excessive Christian proselytising would help the situation in any way, as many here think that the Church is part of the problem as the war is one of religious divisions.
The Archbishop concluded by again mentioning his appeal to the diplomatic community to do everything in their power to guarantee the CPA. It is only through fear of the international community that peace can be enforced he said. If the local belligerents don’t fear reprisals, innocent people caught in the middle will die. Equally, the real issue in Abyei is that real people are lacking real infrastructure and services, so whatever the high politics of the area, real people are still suffering and need to be remembered amongst the politics. He not un-seriously suggested that perhaps the whole Abyei area should be administered by the UN in order to prevent the locals from continuing to fight.
From the UNMIS Compound, we proceeded back into Abyei town, were we were welcomed at what must be a brand new house (built after the May 2008 destruction) where we were accommodated. I took a short walk around the destroyed tukuls to see the Roman Catholic parish church, a large permanent building, bravely displaying its war-wounds of bullet-hole from May 2008, but still very much standing, together with a large permanent-building primary school. The Comboni Catholic missionaries have also built a large secondary school in Abyei in permanent materials since the CPA. Compared with ECS they are streets ahead, but give an excellent model of the very service delivery that the Archbishop and UNMIS spoke of.
On Friday 29th May, we left Abyei early by road, driving back to Agok to arrive there at around 9am. His Grace took 15 minutes to pray in the small ECS church-come-school building in Agok. The locals complained to His Grace that the AAA Government was not assisting them with teachers’ salaries at the school, to which the Archbishop said the government were therefore withholding basic services from the people. He said that the school was not an instrument of ECS proselytizing, but was a service for the people, which the government should support.
We then flew out of Agok, heading through Lietnhom in Warrab State en route back to Wau. As you fly south of Agok the plane passes over miles of swampy area around the two big rivers that converge at this point before flowing on across Unity State into the Nile near Bentiu – the Gazelle (as in Bahr El-Ghazal) and the Jur Rivers.
Lietnhom lies on the south bank of the Jur, almost exactly half way between Agok and Wau, and has benefited from much NGO involvement since the CPA – World Relief, World Concern, ALARM, Five Talents and World Vision have all had bases here in the past few years, and it shows. ECS in Lietnhom has been especially assisted by World Relief, and has a large permanent primary school and secondary school as a result. We were greeted off the plane by a large group of singing children in smart white shirts bearing an ECS school crest on them – it seemed a million miles and decades of development from what we had just witnessed in Abyei. However, Lietnhom is not completely without its own problems – we saw that the roofs of the secondary school had been blown off by a storm recently, a case of a bad design for the sort of weather they would have to withstand, and His Grace prayed for the continued development of Lietnhom for the benefit of its children.
We then proceeded to where a new community bank had been opened literally days before – the result of a three-year micro-finance programme run by Five Talents and World Concern together with local ECS people. His Grace was very impressed and spoke of replicating the development of Lietnhom in Abyei, but in reality it will take years of committed investment to replicate such work. It was encouraging to see that it could work though.
Leaving Lietnhom after only and hour on the ground, we flew back south along the Jur River, landing at Wau at around 12pm, where His Grace and several of the party disembarked. The Archbishop was again met by the singing children and Wau TV reporters, and after identifying the baggage of those who would be leaving the aircraft and spending the next few days in Wau, those of us returning to Juba took off again heading south east. As we headed out over Wau, Ryan our MAF pilot, took the plane directly over the new ECS school on Eastern Bank so I could get some excellent aerial photos for publicity and posterity. The aircraft returned to Juba at around 2pm on Friday 29th May.
His Grace, the other bishops, Robin and Rev. John stayed on in Wau until Wednesday 3rd June – the Archbishop conducting reconciliation and training workshops with the clergy on Friday and Saturday in preparation for a Diocesan Synod on the Monday, during which Aweil Diocese was formally inaugurated, +Henry Riak officially announced his retirement, and candidates for the next bishop were nominated. There follows Robin’s minutes of the synod.