British troops are currently supporting the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), including the construction of a temporary field hospital in Bentiu. The UNMISS role in South Sudan is to protect civilians, create the conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian aid, and support the peace process and Human Rights.
My experience of South Sudan so far – Cpl N Taubale, Bentiu Engineer Group.
We departed Marne Barracks on Sunday 18th July 2017 after a couple of hours repacking my kit for our flight from Brize Norton to South Sudan. It has been a while since my last tour and I was eagerly looking forward to a totally different experience working with the United Nations. We arrived at Brize Norton and fortunately for us, our flight did not experience the delays seen before.
Our flight was on an RAF C-17 via Cyprus, meaning the initial leg was only 4 hours, compared to a further jump to Kenya. The hot weather of Cyprus greeted us with surprise, being very different from what we are used to in the UK. On a positive note it was like pre-acclimatisation for our move to South Sudan! We left Cyprus the following day on an RAF C-17. Although less comfortable, it was again a short 4-5 hour journey direct to Juba, the capital and international airport of South Sudan. Arriving safely in Juba, it was immediately clear what the current situation was in the country.
The weather in South Sudan takes some getting used to. Engineering tasks have to be worked around the weather, which is very changeable.
The international airport is just a few tents and ISO (shipping) containers converted into airport customs offices with very few seating areas, welfare facilities or permanent infrastructure; a stark contrast to what we’ve seen before. There were UN personnel at the airport who greeted us and guided us through customs for our VISA clearances. It took quite a while for this to take place and standing out in the sun due to the lack of an arrivals terminal increased the impact of the high temperatures. We spent the night in the UN transit accommodation in Juba to allow us to repack our kit and take only 20kg of essential baggage for our flight onto Bentiu. The essentials out here are a mosquito net and wellington boots! This is due to the high levels of insects, risk of malaria, and what was to become most important to us… protection from the mud!
The following morning we took the flight from Juba to Bentiu on a two hour helicopter ride. The scenery was like an African safari, which highlighted how beautiful the country is. Finally we saw Bentiu Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp from the air for the first time. It is the biggest of any UN protection of civilian sites in the world, making it the second largest population centre in South Sudan, behind Juba. We landed safely at Rubakona airfield and the final leg of the journey was by bus to our camp; home for the next six months. We have Mongolians, Ghanaians and Indians as our neighbours, all part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) supporting Bentiu IDP camp.
LCpl Kelly and Cpl Donnelly getting to grips with the UN equipment.
We had our acclimatisation and theatre specific training brief, with enforced rest and limited physical training for the first two weeks in theatre. The reason is the extreme hot weather and if you underestimate it, you could end up falling ill. Luckily we have a fantastic hospital facility as part of our camp, with a full complement of medical personnel working there, from plastic surgeons to blood specialists. The facility provides medical support for all UN personnel working at Bentiu. Working with the United Nations has taken some getting used to, with stores and materiel taking a little longer to arrive than in the UK. The huge downpours of rain also take some getting used to as it means having to stop work. However, since being here we have already been involved in constructing new accommodation tents, installing new pipework and pumps as well as culverts and steel gates.
Finally, a huge thank you and well done should be extended to TRENTON 1 and 2. Their hard work over the past year has allowed us to arrive into a camp with great infrastructure and services. I know it is going to be a challenging six month tour with new experiences, yet I hope we will be able to make a real difference to the displaced people in the region.