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South Sudanese families who
returned to Khartoum after the 2011 secession, live in a makeshift shelter in
an abandoned plot of land in Bahri, Sudan, August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed
Nureldin Abdallah
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"It's
quite challenging. Things are worse than they were. Neither here nor in the
South, we are unable to determine what to do "stated mother of nine
children Toka Ayman Agok.
Thousands
of people migrated to South Sudan after it got independence from Sudan in 2011
following decades of strife.
However,
after years of civil war and increasing poverty, many South Sudanese have since
moved back, while others were never able to make the trip in the first place.
According
to the U.N. refugee agency, there are more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees
in Sudan, and over 113,000 of them reside in and around Khartoum, the country's
capital.
They
struggle to get healthcare and education in their old nation since they are no
longer citizens of Sudan.
Alissa
Deng, who said she was initially able to work as a house cleaner, enroll her
children in school, and rent a home, but she grew unwell and her life in the
South became difficult. She claimed she couldn't find any treatment or
hospitals there, so she returned to Khartoum.
However,
Sudan's own economy has stalled and is in a worsening economic crisis since the
military seized control in full in October. Inflation is approaching triple
digits, and hunger is becoming worse.
"My
landlord raised the rent to 50,000 Sudanese pounds and kicked me out ... I took
my kids out of school," said Deng.
Illness
has stopped the widow and mother of five from working, and with little source
of income she was forced to move in with relatives on an abandoned plot of land
in the city of Bahri, which adjoins Khartoum.
Rights
groups have long advocated that South Sudanese have their rights as Sudanese
citizens restored. Attempts to improve their lot have stalled, while most
depend on aid groups for cash or food as well as help accessing education.
Source:
Reuters
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