Since 2008, it's the third time I'm on the continent of Africa. Starting from Monrovia of Liberia, then Aweil in South Sudan, and now Nasir of South Sudan.
Each time the area I go is becoming more and more primitive. Last year when I arrived Aweil on our MSF plane I was landing on an airstrip which is really a straight mud pave-way of sufficient length for landing and lifting off for small sized planes but it's still a bit away from the city. However, this time it seems we are landing right at the centre of the town with the houses on both sides far apart enough for landing and lifting off.
After landing, curious children and people just come around and said their greetings, and when there's no landing of planes you probably can't imagine that section of the pave can be a landing airstrip! What an experience!
Nasir is on the east part of South Sudan and near the border with Ethiopia. It is on the side of River Sobat which a tributary of the Nile far in the south. The area is hot and dry but in rainy season it will rain like dogs and cats for days and every where is muddy, and it also make accessibility to most areas not possible. The town is scattered with small residential structures mainly tukuls that is built of stone, mud, dried grasses and twigs of trees.
There are abundance of wild life within the town and along the river, in a few days here I already saw a 2 feet long Nile monitor, lots of lizards, bats living in our meeting and latrine tukuls, flocks of marabou stork, pelican and black heron, not to mention goats and cattle and large number of different kinds of birds.
The condition is harsh for local people and the hygienic condition is bad. Most of their bodies are covered with mud and dust, not to mention flies on the faces of small children. Nasir is far away from the conflict area with Sudan, the country they separated from in 2011 and claim independence in July 2011. But violence and conflict still exist in substantial amount as tribal conflicts are still common throughout the country.
Cattle ownership is their main status of wealth so are the source for conflict as well. That's why the surgeries that we did most here are for infection, accident and gunshot wound. And to my surprise gunshot wound are not confined to adults. Children are shot by their family members when they want to imitate adults and think it is just a game. So everything seems so surreal and alien to us as city people from a developed area. It's unimaginable that within a day of travel on the same planet, there are so many areas like this still exist around the world and they need our help so desperately.
© Ryan KO
© Ryan KO
