South Sudan peace is stable but fragile

Beneath layers of violence is a growing hope and a faithful witness

by Kathy Melvin | Presbyterian News Service

Debbie Braaksma (left) meets with James Oyet-Latansio, General Secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches, and mission co-worker Lynn Kandel. (Photo provided)

LOUISVILLE – In South Sudan there is a fragile peace and a surprising veneer of normalcy, but just below the surface lurks layers of ethnic violence, severe food shortages and exponentially growing inflation. Still, the Rev. Debbie Braaksma returned to the U.S. last week with a sense of hope that minor miracles are happening daily that may lead to a more lasting peace.

Braaksma is coordinator of Presbyterian World Mission’s Africa Area office. Along with her husband Del, she also served as a mission co-worker in South Sudan from 2005-2010.

“This trip was a solidarity visit to meet with our global partners—the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, the South Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church, The South Sudan Council of Churches and Across,” said Braaksma. Across is an inter-denominational organization with the mission of “holistic transformation of South Sudan communities”.

“While the news reports of the violence and the pervasive hunger are sobering, hearing first-hand accounts of the suffering is beyond words,” she said . “Yet it is so encouraging to hear how each of our partners are working tirelessly to be a faithful witness in such a conflict-ridden environment and how grateful they are to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for our prayers, our advocacy and the sacrificial service of our mission co-workers who work alongside them in peace building and education.”

Braaksma said Achol Major Kur, the head of South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church women shared stories about the peace building efforts by Presbyterian women in South Sudan who have undertaken monthly peace marches, held prayer meetings and bravely crossed inter-ethnic boundaries to work toward reconciliation.

The Rev. Paska Aciaya, deputy director of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan’s Women’s Department said “Women are not silent. They are using their voice. Under Agnes Wusak, a leader of the South Sudan Council of Churches, we come together every month and march through the streets. We choose one church and we pray there. Last month it was the PCOSS church. All different ethnic groups come and they bring their children so they can play together.”

Dinkas and Nuers are the two largest tribal groups in South Sudan. Thousands of both ethnic groups have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, some walking 90 miles to the border of Uganda to find safety. In 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest country. Just two-and-a-half years later it spiraled back into civil war. The fighting began in December 2013 when South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, who is Dinka, claimed a coup attempt by his former vice president, Riek Machar. Machar, a Nuer, Machar claims Kiir is planning genocide of the Nuer.

Mission co-worker Leisa Wagstaff was evacuated from Juba in July when violence erupted after a shaky peace agreement failed. She has returned to work with her Sudanese colleagues to strengthen their education program, including the current focus of equipping teachers with better skills for teaching reading. She is also training teachers to act as facilitators for children’s trauma healing in a country where many of them have known nothing but violence. Mission co-workers Lynn and Sharon Kandel are working side-by-side with the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan to develop financial and program management skills for church leaders. All three are in Juba.

The Nile Theological College moved to Juba from Malakai when their facility was destroyed in December 2013 but the continued insecurity has resulted in reduction of its staff to four full time lecturers, however they continue to focus on training future pastors for Presbyterian Churches.

Braaksma said she did not see an overtly increased military presence in Juba, but the signs of anxiety are there. She stayed in a church guest house. Although the doors were locked at night, when she ventured out of her room early one morning she also saw furniture stacked against the door.

Yei has been a relatively stable city in South Sudan, but has recently experienced serious levels of inter-ethnic violence. Its relative stability is why RECONCILE and Yei Teacher Training College were established there. Mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather left Yei shortly before the violence erupted to come to the U.S. to have their new baby daughter. If all goes well, they hope to return to their work at RECONCILE in January, and if RECONCILE temporarily relocates, they are prepared to establish themselves initially in Uganda if necessary.

PCOSS has created its leadership to represent several ethnic groups, even though a large number of its members are ethnic Nuer. The Rt. Rev. Peter Gai, moderator of the PCOSS, and chair of the South Sudan Council of Churches, who is a Nuer, has repeatedly put his life in danger to travel into areas of interethnic conflict.

In addition to a severe food shortage, inflation has gone from $1 USD equaling 2 South Sudan pounds when Braaksma lived there, to a 70-1 ratio on her most recent trip. What food is available is not affordable for most of the South Sudanese people. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has sent $80,000 to the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan to provide food and emergency supplies.

“You ask yourself, how can they go forward, but when you see these church leaders stand on the side of peace, hope and commitment, you are encouraged,” said Braaksma.

A free 90-minute webinar, Walking with South Sudan in the Midst of Crisis, is scheduled for November 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight time. The webinar is sponsored by the Office of Public Witness and World Mission’s Africa Area office. Mission co-workers, global partners on the ground as well as staff working on the issue in Washington and Louisville will speak. Register at: http://bit.ly/2dyLNFP

“We must stop the fighting,” said the Rt. Rev. Peter Gai. “It is helpful for the international community to pressure for peace. The South Sudanese people cannot stop it themselves. The church has a prophetic role to create hope.”

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