SUDAN: From landmines to markets

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The Sustainable Livelihoods and Mine Action project − SLAM − aims to promote improved and equitable development opportunities for conflict-affected communities in the Western and Central Equatoria states of southern Sudan. Decades of civil war and mass displacement have left these states heavily contaminated with remnants of conflict and devastated infrastructure, with many people living off subsistence farming at or below the poverty line. Under SLAM, MAG is working with non-governmental organisations CHF and Operation Save Innocent Lives (OSIL) to maximise development opportunities in the region where help is needed most. It is anticipated that more than 150,000 people, including conflict-affected returnees entering and passing through Central and Western Equatoria, will benefit from the project’s mine clearance and Mine Risk Education (MRE) activities. In addition, the project’s work in improving sustainable livelihoods will have a direct effect on approximately 1,000 households. The following case study takes a detailed look at one community's experience... The community Yondu is in Morobo county, Central Equatoria – the state in southern Sudan most affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) according to the 2008 Landmine Impact Survey. More than 840,000 square metres of suspected contaminated land – 31 suspected minefields – remains in Morobo, a legacy of fighting between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army and West Nile Front Bank rebels from Uganda from the late 1980s to around 1997. Most of the community from Yondu fled to Uganda in 1993, but life was hard: “We lived in fear of the Lord’s Resistance Army,” one woman told MAG. “They would attack us, especially women.” The problem The community began to return home in 1997, but agriculture, cattle grazing and charcoal production were all affected by the deadly legacy of the conflict. The fields grew wild as nobody dared to be the first to tread on the derelict paths or to allow their cattle to graze there, and there was also the danger that rivers flowing through the hillsides were contaminated. Joyce remembers what it was like: “I am from Yondu, with my clan. When I came back, whenever and wherever I tried to cultivate, I would be told that it was dangerous. It was the same when I needed to collect water or firewood. We would find UXO or hear about mines, but never knew where the minefields ended. So we stuck to small areas.” Another resident, Bonofat, recalls how frightened and in need people were: “When I came back in 1997, life was difficult because there were no health units, no schools and food was scarce, with no money to buy basics. Worse still, people were afraid of using land for agriculture because some community members lost their lives through UXO accidents.” Because people couldn’t access the land, there were food shortages. “Life was hard because most of the land was contaminated with mines and UXO,” says Yeka. “I had nowhere to dig, and so my family were starving.” Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the 21-year civil war in 2005, increasing numbers of returnees came back to live in the area, meaning less and less safe land was available to accommodate the growing need for housing and agriculture. Even water was hard to come by, with the nearest clean borehole a two-hour walk away. The recent return of thousands of people from the north of Sudan to take part in January’s referendum on southern independence [see also: Supporting the safe resettlement of returnees] has put even more pressure on land and resources. Prioritisation By assessing the impact of mines on the community, measuring risk and vulnerability, and looking at how the land could be used post-clearance, MAG prioritises communities that need the most help. Through community meetings and interviews with residents, MAG Community Liaison staff learned, for example, that in Yondu: • Some households were having to use land far from their settlement, two or three hours walk away, as nothing nearby was safe; • The nearest borehole belonged to the school and could only be accessed during school time, so some people were using dirty water from the waterbed, which is not reliable during the dry season; • Building was taking place, and marketplaces set up, close to Dangerous Areas. MAG’s CL teams also learned that, once the land was cleared: • Shelters and housing would be constructed; • As it was fertile, half of the land would be used for agriculture; • The Government intended to reestablish the market in its original location; Based on information such as this, MAG found Yondu to be priority number four of 24 clearance tasks in Central and Western Equatoria. Education and clearance As well as clearing remnants of conflict, MAG uses MRE to help minimise the risks for people living, working and travelling through areas contaminated with landmines and/or UXO. “Life began changing when MAG’s Community Liaison team arrived and provided Mine Risk Education to the community,” says Banafat. This was a common sentiment in Yondu, as Joyce explained: “MAG taught us the different shapes and sizes and colours of mines, and how to keep ourselves safe. We learnt not to touch any of the items and to make sure we report them,” she said “Then, on seeing MAG’s clearance team, I was so happy. I knew if MAG cleared the area, then the elders wouldn’t [try to clear the mines and UXO]. Because when the elders collect the items, it encourages our children to touch them too. “Now we have nothing to be afraid of. When we saw the items being collected, it freed our hearts. “Families feel the same about the MRE too. Our children graze animals deep into the bush, and the men go hunting far away. But now, we are not afraid of anything. “Whenever I see a MAG t-shirt, I am happy and proud because MAG have helped us so much,” said Joyce. Building on MAG’s work To help promote increased agricultural activities on the cleared land and among the areas where MRE has been provided, CHF provided each of the 1,503 households that had benefited from MAG’s work with a set of tools: two hoes, two pangas (machetes) and an axe. In addition, four demonstration farms have been established by Sudanese non-governmental organisation OSIL, with CHF’s support, on the land that was cleared by MAG. These farms are used to demonstrate the difference in produce depending on the time crops are planted, as well as a variety of other factors. This is to help people understand which farming techniques will generate which results – and to encourage them to work more effectively on their own land. There are other benefits to this partnership approach too. Female heads of households in southern Sudan tend to experience significantly more poverty than their male counterparts. Joyce noted that not only will the project contribute to her income, which she uses for feeding her family and sending her children to school, but that the process of being involved in meetings has led to increased confidence among the women in the community: “For us women, by being involved in the project, we feel stronger, she said. Said Bonofat, Chairman of Injiri Demonstration Farm: “The SLAM project has contributed greatly to the livelihoods of our community members, by first saving the lives of the community by providing Mine Risk Education and later clearing the explosive remnants of war. "Secondly, through building the capacity of community members through the provision of training, and providing seeds, hoes, pangas and axes.” MAG thanks the Canadian International Development Agency for its funding of the 'Sustainable Livelihoods and Mine Action' project with OSIL and CHF. For latest news and case studies from MAG Sudan please go to: www.maginternational.org/sudan.