Photo Credit: Refugees International
06/11/2007

In the state of Northern Bar El-Ghazal a total of 100,000 people have returned. RI met with 24-year-old William at the local commissioner office. “I was living in Khartoum and I worked in a factory. But I did not feel at home there and since the war ended I came back. I am ready to do whatever comes around.” In many occasions, no despair or sadness emerged from the returnees, but a strong sense of hope and initiative to restart life. “There is a great deal of enthusiasm and expectations about peace dividends, now that the conflict is finished,” said a humanitarian official, but “the recovery effort is too slow, basic community services are not coping with increased demand and many returnees end up crowding urban centers and towns. We urgently need to create services and livelihood opportunities in the rural areas.”