Santina's Story

by Rob Haarsager

In 1990, Santina Siama was working as a teacher and living in the town of Yambio, in southwest Sudan. The civil war had started seven years earlier, but Yambio had not been affected by the fighting.

But all that changed later that year when news of an impending attack on the town by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) reached the residents of Yambio, and many of the residents of the town fled to the Central African Republic for safety. Though the people of Yambio were generally sympathetic to the rebel cause, they did not want to be caught in the middle of a crossfire between government and rebel troops, nor face possible recriminations once the fighting was over. So, Santina left with her three young children, while her husband left in a different direction, never to be heard from again.

The years as a refugee were difficult. Santina and her children were accepted as refugees by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and given some assistance such as shelter and food. Eventually, schools were started and for several years she worked as a teacher.

In 2000 Santina faced another, more personal crisis when she began losing her eyesight. The diagnosis was diabetes, which was difficult for her to control under the conditions in which she was living. Soon, she was no longer able to work as a teacher and it became much more difficult for her to provide for her family.

In January 2005 there was great news for Santina and several hundred thousand other Sudanese living as refugees in countries bordering Sudan—peace was signed! The Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended 21 years of fighting. A new, semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan would be formed and in six years citizens would have the opportunity to vote for independence.

Though filled with hope for her future, Santina also had many concerns about when the right time was to return. The management of the refugee camp began to say that everyone should leave. They even reduced food rations and eventually closed schools, but they did not offer a way for people to return. Those who did return paid their own way, or walked, and Santina was not able to do either.

Finally, two years after the signing of the CPA, UNHCR announced a program to assist refugees with transportation back to Sudan. Santina and her daughter signed up and in January 2007 they boarded a plane that would take them to Juba. After having been a refugee for 17 years, Santina was finally going home.

Santina is very glad that she is back in Sudan, but the concern over how to provide for her daily needs weighs heavily. She visited the eye clinic in Juba and found that her only real hope for improvement would be to have surgery, something she can’t afford. Santina is a survivor and continues to have hope, both for her own future and that of her homeland.