MSF SOUTH SUDAN: As people die in Nyatim, humanitarian access must be opened

The information comes from our colleagues who were displaced from Lankien and Pieri, and arrived at Nyatim, subsequently describing the situation there.

“One of our colleagues, who is currently in Nyatim, has reported that people are dying of suspected hunger, as their only food is boiled tree leaves,” says Gul Badshah, MSF operations manager. “They also said that around a dozen children died of acute watery diarrhoea and suspected malaria.”

“Based on the ground reports, at least 10 people were abducted by armed gangs in the Nyatim area, including one breastfeeding mother who was shot dead,” says Badshah.

MSF teams also managed to hear from women who were able to leave Nyatim with their children and arrived at Chuil, where we are responding to people who have been displaced there. Distance between the two villages is some 50 kilometres, which means the people have to walk for days while being exposed to potential violence.

“We adults try to be strong, but the children die in front of our eyes. Sometimes children watch their mothers or fathers die,” says Nyaluat, who arrived in Chuil. “This was happening every day in Nyatim. If you survive, you survive. If you die, you die. That is how we live now.”

“The truth is that people are dying there,” says Nyapini, who is displaced in Chuil. “Some die from sickness, some from hunger, and some are killed in the bush when they go to collect wild fruits, leaves, or water lilies. If something can be done to help them, it would be very important.”

“When we fled Lankien, the men and women became separated,” says Nyaruop, also displaced. “We ran in different directions, and I went with the children toward Nyatim. We suffered a lot there. We were hungry, we were sick, and there was no help coming from anywhere. Life there was very hard.”

“People in Nyatim are being trapped. Even if they want to leave this area, the vast majority of them do not have the strength or means, including transportation and money, to do so,” says Badshah. “MSF calls upon the relevant authorities to urgently secure humanitarian access to Nyatim and prevent even more deaths and suffering. Our teams have been requesting access to Nyatim for the past month, but without any success so far.”

MSF also calls upon the international community, United Nations agencies, relevant embassies and other influential organisations to help urgently secure humanitarian access to Nyatim.

At least 25,000 people who fled the conflict in Jonglei state have sought refuge in Chuil, a small town in the same state, on shores of Sobat River. There, MSF has upgraded the general healthcare centre to provide emergency care, treatment for malnutrition, maternal health services, and stabilisation for trauma cases. Our teams also distributed relief items to more than 1,500 families to help them cope with the harsh living conditions. More distributions will follow. To help with water and sanitation services, MSF is building latrines and constructing a water purification plant.

Patient Testimonies

Context:

Following the violence, almost all people from Lankien and Pieri were forced to flee, with many of them being displaced not once but multiple times across Jonglei State. People scattered in search of safety. Humanitarian access to places like Nyatim has been denied by authorities, leaving families largely cut off from humanitarian assistance. Despite this, more than 70 MSF staff members who were also displaced from Lankien are now supporting the response in Chuil, while other group of displaced MSF medical staff are doing everything in their power- given the mlack of medicines - to attend patients in swamps around Lankien, particularly in Nyatim.

Nyaluat, 25

My name is Nyaluat. I come from Nyatim, but my home is Lankien. We arrived in Pathiel yesterday after being displaced by the violence. It took us six days to get here on foot. I came with my husband, but we travelled as part of a group.

When the fighting started in Lankien, people were killed, and those who survived fled to Nyatim and other nearby areas. We also fled there, thinking we would be safe. We came to Pathiel [a small settlement in Nyirol County, Jonglei] because we heard there is an organisation helping people.

In Nyatim, people are still dying from hunger, from sickness, and from attacks by neighbouring communities, especially the Murle [people]. Children are dying from treatable diseases but there is no medicine, no clean water, and no food. People are crowded together, and if someone goes out to collect desert dates or search for food, there is a risk they may never return. When someone leaves, we don’t know if we will see them again. If they return, we thank God. If they don’t, we know something bad has happened, most likely, they are dead.

We survived the destruction in Lankien, but in Nyatim we felt that we would not survive the hunger and disease. That is the reality.

We fled to look for safety. We were not safe in Lankien, not safe in Nyatim, and not safe in the bush. Everywhere we go, it feels like we must choose between life and death, and most of the time death is closer.

We adults try to be strong, but the children die in front of our eyes. Sometimes children watch their mothers or fathers die. This happened every day in Nyatim. If you go there now, you will see it yourself. Anyone who comes from there will tell you the same. There is no difference between young and old. People are dying.

There is no hospital. Children die from diarrhoea. People have nothing to eat. The nearest hospital was in Lankien, but it was destroyed. There was a small health centre, but it also closed.

When we lived in Lankien, if someone became sick, we were not so afraid, because there was a hospital and food. Now we are always afraid. We can only pray to God. If you survive, you survive. If you die, you die. That is how we live now.

Since we fled Lankien, we have not eaten real food. We survive on desert dates, lalop leaves, and water lilies from the swamp. We ate real food when we arrived here yesterday.

When people go to the swamp to collect food, they risk being attacked by Murle herders. If someone does not come back in the evening, we know they have died. The same happens to the men who go to collect wild honey. Many of them never return. Those who come back bring a little honey that must be shared by many families.

We fled with nothing. We use old metal containers that we cut and shape ourselves to cook leaves. We use the same containers to store and drink water.

What we need now is food, mosquito nets, blankets, and a hospital. I see there is a clinic here, which is good, but right now, the most important thing is food.

Today I came to the clinic because my two daughters became sick during the journey. The younger one is eight months old. She is malnourished and has swelling on her head. The other one is three years old. She is also malnourished and has diarrhoea. I brought them here because I am afraid, they will die if they don’t get treatment.

Nyapini, 22

My name is Nyapini. I come from Lankien, but we fled to Nyatim after the violence. We stayed there for some time, but we realised we would not survive in Nyatim. People are dying there. Not all at once, but little by little, every day. Some die from sickness, some from hunger, and some are killed in the bush when they go to collect wild fruits, leaves, or water lilies. Diseases are also claiming many lives.

When the situation becomes too hard, people decide to leave and make the long journey, hoping they will reach a place where they can find help, maybe something that can save them and their children. People walk for many days. If God allows you to arrive safely, you thank Him. If someone dies along the way, we also thank God, because there is nothing else we can do.

The truth is that people are suffering in Nyatim. They are not dying all at once, but they are suffering every day. If something can be done to help them, it would be very important.

We arrived here yesterday. Today we came to the clinic because my daughter is sick. I am also not feeling well myself. We walked for a long distance to reach this place.

What we need now is clean drinking water, mosquito nets, and food. Without these, it will be very hard for us to survive.

Nyaruop, 36

My name is Nyaruop Machar. When we fled Lankien, the men and women became separated. We ran in different directions, and I went with the children toward Nyatim. We suffered a lot there, hungry, sick and with no help coming from anywhere. Life there was very hard.

Our men found us in Nyatim about a week ago. They had been searching for us for many days. When they finally found us, they said we should leave and walk to Chuil, because staying there was no longer possible. We were about thirty people together. We walked for a long time, and we arrived in Yakuach yesterday. Since then, we have been staying under this tree next to the clinic because we have nowhere else to go.

If the situation in Nyatim was good, we would not have come here. There is no hospital there. The hospital in Lankien was destroyed, and since then, we have not seen any medicine. When people get sick, there is nothing we can do.

All we want now is to survive. That is all.