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On the second day of his visit to South Sudan, Pope Francis on Saturday called on the country’s leaders to give “dignity” to the displaced, almost five years after the end of the civil war that left 38,000 dead. Despite the peace agreement signed in 2018, the violence continues. As of December, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had registered 2.2 million internally displaced persons.
Pope Francis issued a strong warning to the leaders of South Sudan on Saturday, February 4 in Juba to restore “dignity” to the displaced, renewing his call for peace in a country torn by power struggles.
“I renew with all my strength the most urgent appeal (…) for the peace process to be resumed seriously, so that the violence stops and people can return to a dignified life,” Francis said during a meeting with internally displaced persons in the second day of your visit.
“But we cannot wait any longer: a large number of children born in recent years have only known the reality of the displacement camps, forgetting the air of the country, losing the link with their land of origin, their roots, their traditions”, insisted before 2,500 people.
“Protect, respect and value” women
In particular, the head of the Catholic Church “implored” the population to “protect, respect and value” women. Sexual violence against women and girls is “widespread and systematic” in the country, according to a report published in 2022 by the UN-mandated Commission on Human Rights.
The Argentine Pope began on Friday a long-awaited “peace pilgrimage” to the world’s youngest state, ravaged by hunger, poverty and floods.
Between 2013 and 2018, the country of 12 million people, 60 percent of them Christians, was ravaged by a bloody civil war between supporters of the two enemy leaders, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, which left 380,000 dead.
Despite a peace agreement signed in 2018, violence continues and in December there were 2.2 million internally displaced persons in the country, according to the latest figures released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“Humanitarian tragedy”
“Unfortunately, in this tormented country, being displaced or a refugee has become a habitual and collective experience,” said Francisco, after listening to the testimonies of three young people who recounted the difficulties of life in the camps.
“I am with you, I suffer for you and with you,” he said, warning against the “aggravation” of this “humanitarian tragedy.”
On Saturday morning, the pontiff addressed the Catholic community in the Cathedral of Santa Teresa, in the presence, according to the authorities, of 5,000 faithful who received him with songs in a festive atmosphere.
“This is about peace. Pope Francis can’t even walk, but he keeps coming here to encourage our leaders,” John Makuei, 24, told the AFP news agency.
Francis will take part in an ecumenical prayer in the late afternoon alongside the heads of the Churches of England and Scotland, representing two other Christian denominations, at the John Garang mausoleum, where a crowd was already waiting in the midday sun.
A “new awakening”
On Friday, the Pope had already urged the political class to promote a “new awakening” for peace in a country plagued by the scourge of corruption.
“Enough of destruction! (…) Future generations will honor or erase the memory of your names depending on what you do now,” Francis warned.
The UN and the international community regularly accuse the South Sudanese leadership of maintaining status quofuel violence, stifle political liberties and embezzle public funds.
In 2019, the pontiff received the two enemy brothers Salva Kiir and Riek Machar at the Vatican and knelt down to kiss their feet, begging them to make peace, a forceful gesture that was not followed by any concrete progress.
It is the first papal visit to South Sudan since the nation, which has more than 60 ethnic groups, gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
The Church plays a surrogate role in areas without government services and where aid workers are often attacked or even killed.
The trip follows a four-day visit to Kinshasa, where the pope condemned “heinous cruelties” in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed groups have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Initially scheduled for the summer of 2022 and later postponed, this is the 40th visit of the Argentine pope abroad since his election in 2013 and the third to sub-Saharan Africa.
*With AFP; adapted from its original in French
