Veterans, Widows of South Sudan’s Liberation War Accuse Government of Neglect

JUBA , SOUTH SUDAN - When South Sudan gained independence ten years ago, the new nation’s constitution required the government to support those deeply impacted by the secession conflict. But some of those disabled war veterans and the widows and orphans of those killed say Juba has fallen short on that promise.

The civil war between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Sudanese government in Khartoum, which ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, left thousands in desperate need of welfare, health care and education — and the perceived lack of these essentials has left some embittered. One is SPLA veteran Chol Ayom, 55, who lost his right leg in the independence struggle and describes his feelings of being let down after dodging bullets. “We didn’t lose heart and kept fighting because we wanted freedom and liberty for our people,” he told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus, adding “What I cannot explain well now is what happened after we achieved the goal.”