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Tearfund
World News

South Sudanese Christian activist talks peace building with MPs

by Tola Mbakwe

Following the creation of South Sudan in 2011, a civil war erupted in December 2013 and more than 4.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result. There are 1.84 million internally displaced and 2.5 million refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries due to the conflict.

Juma Mariel works for African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), which partners with UK charity Tearfund.

He told Premier conflict in South Sudan has had a major impact on people who live there.

The conflict is the key driver of food insecurity undermining both agricultural and livestock production, disrupting livelihoods and forcing people to flee.

"It has reduced the level of literacy that people are supposed to have and the level of development has also continued to deteriorate," Mariel said.

"The level of understanding in that aspect is that people have learned how to deal with hard situations and they also have not been able to move forward in their lives."

There have been several peace processes and initiatives which have sought to bring peace to the war-torn country. However, they have been characterised by delays, extensions and lack of implementation from the warring parties and the violence has continued.

Leading up to Mariel's meeting with MPs, he told Premier he will share messages from local people.

'I'll inform them about the recommendations from the local people about on what they think the world should know about South Sudan, what they need to be supported with and how their needs can be brought into the global light so they can really know the suffering of the people."

Mariel said while South Sudan awaits help from government, churches in the country have been playing their part in helping foster peace and reconciliation.

"The Church is the only body in the crisis that is being trusted by the communities," he said.

"They have the access to both the community and also to the political leaders. They participate in the peace talks and they are able to give some guidance."

Humanitarian access has remained restricted due to conflict and it has been further constrained by the arrival of the rainy season that has made many locations in need unreachable.

Mariel asked Christians to pray that God will bring peace to the country and eliminate challenges that aid workers face when trying to support victims of the conflict.

Listen to Juma Mariel speaking with Premier's Tola Mbakwe here: 

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