Gsolomon20’s Weblog

I heard that President Kiir is coming to DC next week and we are planning group trip to meet with him. My human rights advocacy class and Amnesty International are overwhelmed with lots of emails and contacts ranging from the NGO’s, UN, State Dept and other humanitarian agencies working on the ground. MORE TO COME LATER TODAY!

Just got a note from Yar and Ajak’s father (see the comments).  He said he’s calling the government of South Sudan over the safety of his kids and other children abducted by the Murle.  It seems he succeeded in setting up a meeting with the Jonglei state governor, who we think is the one man in the best position to save the girls.

• I met yesterday with the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder and New Africa Magazine. An article should come ouy by Monday.
• Our D.C. correspondent, Janet McElligott, has spoken to the GOSS as well as the North Sudan government in Khartoum. The head of the South Sudan mission in D.C. and his deputy both promised to bring Yar and Ajak’s case to the attention of South Sudan President Salva Kiir.
• Janet has also been assured that the matter will be discussed in the cabinet of North Sudan President Bashir.
• The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reaffirmed Sunday that it is aware of Yar and Ajak’s case, and provided detail on what steps they will follow.  They’re pressing for a response from the local officials (who told us there’s nothing they can do to find Yar and Advisor for UNMIS, sent this e-mail: Ajak or get them free.)  Nsonjiba Jean Lokenga, Child Protection Advisor for UNMIS, sent us this email:

“The demarche for UNMIS is that:
“1. We receive allegation from you about the abduction of the two girls;
“2. Out team established that the girls were abducted by unknown armed men and taken to unknown destination;
“3. UN police is pressing local authorities to help locate the children.
“4. UNMIS is liaising with other tracing agencies who can also help locate the children.
“… I am sorry, UNMIS does not have the mandate to disarm anyone in Southern Sudan; its mandate is to help North and South Sudan to implement the CPA.” (peace treaty)

People abduct children for various reasons. One of them is poverty. Is the world community helping South Sudan get rid of the poverty that makes people so crazy? We are going to ask the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Ramsey/Washington Suburban Cable New Networks met with us today in White Bear Lake, MN. MORE TO COME.

On Thursday, Dana, a graduate student at the U. of Minnestoa, arranged for me to tell my story through Twin Cities public access television.  So I’m going to their studio in White Bear Lake, Minn., today to share the story of Yar and Ajak. Also, in Washington, D.C., the Mission of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) told our friend Janet McElligott that they are going to talk to the GOSS President on Friday. We are waiting for the news from the President.

Meanwhile … I have called Toni Randolph of Minnesota Public Radio, and she said she is going to call me next week to do a story on Yar and Ajak. Now a lot of media are contacting Dan Bernard, our main contact in anything to related to publicity. Amanda Lyons and our Law School’s Amnesty International chapter are doing a lot on a letter-writing campaign and coordinating with other chapters throughout the United States. We are letting everyone know that this abduction of children is going to be stopped. It is the 21st century, and the world is changing. Let’s bring Yar, Ajak and all abducted children back home safe. We aren’t giving up and something MUST be done to stop it.

Finally, I received an email just today from the father of Yar and Ajak. It is brief but I wanted to share it with you:

From: Achiek Mading Biar
Date: Oct 26, 2007 9:44 AM
Subject: Greeting
Hey, dear brother,i had just got your address from Akur today.

Iam happy about your concern, do your part and God will bless our effort.

This is Dan Bernard again, posting on behalf of Kou.  We had two big breakthroughs today in the struggle for information and action.

First, the United Nations’ top child protection officer for Sudan has confirmed the report of Yar and Ajak’s abduction and their great-grandmother’s murder. So at least there is official recognition at an international level that the crime occurred. Here is the email I got from the officer, Nsonjiba Jean Lokenga:

“Dear Dan,
“The UN Police visited the county Commissioner’s Office and was informed that on 3rd October 2007, unknown armed raiders attacked Akuai Deng Boma[*] in Jalle Payam in Bor County killing (1) one woman. They also abducted two girls aged 3 and 18 months. My team is pressing the local authorities to locate the children.
Kind regards,
Jean.”

[* Kou says this place name is not exactly right -- a few miles away. We asked Mr. Lokenga to double-check that aspect.]

Secondly, and maybe this is more important — the governor of Jonglei state has acknowledged directly to the U.S. government that child abduction is an out-of-control problem in Southern Sudan.  See below.
Furthermore, the governor says it’s possible to rescue abducted children, and he asks for help from the international community.  We thank Governor Thon Leek for being open in this communication.  This email was forwarded to Kou by one of his friends in the U.S. government.  It was a long email, so I’ll just excerpt it (emphasis added):

“Child abduction by Murle raiders is on a serious rise in neighbouring counties to Pibor … in the last two years near to 170 children have been abducted by Murle raiders from Bor, Pochalla, Akobo, Wunroor, Nyirol, Duk and Twic East counties of Jonglei state [... and] others from Central Equatoria including from Juba … and in Eastern Equatoria where according to a message from Governor Aloisio to me last year, 274 children were reported to have been abducted by murle since 2005. The Murle raids and child abduction extended in to Ethiopia where  35 children were abducted by Murle from … Gambella region.

“We managed to recover 7 children this year and one girl child was identified in Bor hospital coming for treatment from Pibor and was being claimed by a Dinka mother to be her daughter abducted by Murle in 1993. We sent child and the two claiming mothers (Murle and Dinka) for DNA test in Khartoum and the result of the DNA test is arriving Juba today from khartoum and will be opened on Monday in Juba. …

 

“[We have been able to identify] 51 abducted children including the persons keeping them … We will need  assistance from UN, USAID, and any identification  agency in how to get these children and unite them with their parents.  …”
“Philip Thon Leek”

Let me repeat that last  part: “We will need  assistance from [the] UN [and] USAID.”  World, are you going to give them the help they need to stop child abduction?  Call your representative in Congress and tell them to help South Sudan negotiate a peaceful resolution to Murle child abduction by the Murle.

Hi, this is Kou’s classmate Dan Bernard. He asked me to update the blog because he’s overwhelmed with lots of details.

We have an important ally in Washington, D.C., and she seems to have gotten South Sudan’s diplomats in D.C. to pay attention to the abduction of Kou’s young nieces. The ally is Janet McElligott, who has great experience in north and south Sudan and many well-placed aquaintances. Janet also has had success in hostage negotiations. We met Janet through our mutual acquaintance Greg Olson. She has agreed to help Kou pro bono.

Janet got us connected with Deng Deng Nhial, an economic officer in the Government of South Sudan’s (GOSS) Mission in D.C. Mr. Nhial promised me he would look into Kou’s case, and he told Janet that the mission staff was scheduled to meet on this matter on Tuesday. Janet will let us know what came of it.

But we dearly need you all to keep telling the GOSS Mission that you care about this case so that they keep it on their priority list. Please send them a note via their web site or call them at 202-293-7940.

Tell them you think the Governor of Jonglei State should negotiate with the Murle community for the safe release of Yar and Ajak Aciek Mading and any other abducted children they may be holding. Ask President Salva Kiir to advise the Governor to do so.

*       *       *

Good news/bad news: We got through to some congressional aides and people in the U.S. State Department … but it’s clear they need to see that the American people care about this case before they expend major effort.

We are only asking the State Department to communicate to the GOSS Mission that they have heard of this case and are concerned about Yar and Ajak’s welfare.  If you believe that’s a reasonable request, please call your representative in Congress and say  you’d like them to ask the State Department to send that message. They can direct their request to the Sudan Programs Office.

Go to http://www.gossmission.org and click Contact Us.

I called the Bor County Commissioner to make an appointment for my sister Amer, the mother of Yar and Ajak. The Commissioner mentioned to me that there was another attack last week that resulted in the abduction of six children. Four girls and two boys were abducted by Murle raiders.

So I asked what he had done as a commissioner. He said that he has already reported the incident to the Jonglei state Governor and the Government of South Sudan (GOSS). They are aware of it and are planning a reponse.

NO peaceful initiative or reconciliation has been undertaken by the GOSS. We must negotiate with the Murle chiefs and elders peacefully. Let’s not allow a violent reaction that would endanger any child abductees and continue a cycle of violence. Ismael Kony, now an advisor to President Salva Kiir on Peace and Reconciliation and Pibor County Commissioner must be pressured to negotiate with the captors of Yar, Ajak and all the children adducted. Let’s pressure the Governor and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) before the international community. MORE TO COME SOON!

I am frustrated and upset with the slow pace of response, but at least the Government of South Sudan’s Mission in Washington, D.C. now says it has passed the message along to the national government.

The evening of October 16, I phoned the Head of the GOSS Mission in D.C. at around 7 p.m. EST. I left him a voicemail message to call me back, but he failed to do so. Next morning at 11:30 a.m. CST, I called the office again to reach either the Head of the Mission Mr. Gatkuoth, or Mrs. Jehan, the Office Manager. However, the person who picked up the phone asked, “Who are you?” in a rude marner, not a Sudanese way, in my opinion.

Anyway, after asking me who I wanted to talk to, I answered Mr. Gatkuoth or Mrs. Jehan. He told me to wait.

So, I waited for almost ten minutes and no one picked up the phone. I hung up and called again ,and Mrs. Jehan picked up the phone and not the receptionist. I was already frustrated with the length of the waiting time. Mrs. Jehan said, “Oh, I tried to pick up the phone but you had already hung up the phone then.” With my frustration, I reminded her that I have waited for more than ten minutes and no one picked up the phone. They already knew who I was, and they were trying not to talk to me because they knew what I was going to say.

After I asked her what the Mission was doing in regards to my nieces, Mrs. Jehan says, “Oh, we have already sent the message to the GOSS in Juba.” So, I asked when did that happen? She says, “Can you please wait a bit?”  Sure.  She came back and says, “I don’t know, but can’t you please wait again?”  I waited, and she came back again and says, “The Head of the Mission is the only person who does that, and I don’t know who he sent the message to.”

I asked her questions: Are you telling me that the Manager for the office doesn’t know what the Head of the Mission does? And when did he (Ambassador Gatkuoth) sent a memo to the Juba, especially the name of the person and the date of the memo? She says, “Can you please wait?” and I waited.

She came back and says, he sent them on October 15 ^th to the office of the President to the name of Dr. Luka Biong Deng, Minister for Presidential Affairs.  And she added, the Head of Mission had talked and informed the President already, according the Mrs. Jehan.

Lastly, I asked her if the Head was there…she paused and said, “He isn’t around now, but I can leave him a note?” So, I left her my number to let the Head call me. MORE TO COME SOON.

October 16, 2007 — The governor is out of the office
I still have not been able to talk to the Governor of Jonglei State, the man who we need to negotiate with the Murle to give my nieces’ back to their parents.  I got through to the Minister of Education for Jonglei State, Dr. John Antipas, by long-distance phone. He told me that the Governor is gone to Fangak County for an official trip.
According to the Minister, the best and only channel would be through the international community especially humanitarian agencies that are working on the ground. He went on to suggest that we should ask human rights organizations to coordinate with the parents of Yar and Ajak.
I wasn’t successful in reaching the Bor County Commissioner again, nor in reaching the Governor, who of course is on an official trip. It seems the government isn’t concerned enough to negotiate with the Murle.  MORE TO COME SOON.

October 15^th – The governor’s too busy to talk

We’re making progress in Still Early morning at 1:45am, I called Abraham Jok Aring Jok, Bor County Commissioner, and he told me to call back in half an hour. I did call as he said; unfortunately, his personal secretary told that the Commissioner had gone out for a short trip. I wasn’t able to call back again since I have classes to attend and of course homework to be done. Hence, I will try again tonight to ask him if he is talking to the Governor and the Pibor County Commissioner or not. Will keep you posted.

I have spoken to Mrs. Jehan Mechak Deng, Office Manager and Executive Secretary for the Head of the Government of Southern Sudan’s Mission (like an embassy) to the United States of America.  Here is her message to me:

“Dear Kou, This to confirm the receipt of your email and picture of your niece Yar. Will keep you informed with the steps taken by our GoSS Mission soon.”

At about 12:30 p.m. CST, I called the office again to reach the Ambassador Gatkuoth, but he wasn’t around then. So I spoke to Ms. Jehan one more time. According to Mrs. Jehan, she had created the file and that will be sent to the Jonglei State Governor Philip Thon; Ismael Kony, an adviser to the President for Peace and Reconciliation; and the Office of the President.    Ms. Jehan cautioned me that because of the current political crisis (the south Sudanese party pulling out of the unity government with the north, which suggests the peace treaty could fall apart). Taking care of that crisis may take time, according to Ms. Jehan, and other things like abductions may not be a priority. We need to keep the pressure on.