Read today our fourth story, about a 57 year old mother who fled South Sudan with her twin sons in a quest for protection. The family sought asylum in Cyprus last June, but a year after they gave up hope that they could call Cyprus a home.
1,6 εκατομμύρια πρόσφυγες από το Νότιο Σουδάν έχουν καταφύγει στις γειτονικές χώρες, με την Ουγκάντα να φιλοξενεί περισσότερους από μισό εκατομμύριο. Η Τζόυς και οι δίδυμοι γιοι της κατέφυγαν από το Νότιο Σουδάν στην Ουγκάντα, στην Αίγυπτο και κατέληξαν στην Κύπρο. Ένα χρόνο μετά το ταξίδι τους για μια ασφαλή ζωή συνεχίζεται.
Joyce* and her twin sons recall a good life in South Sudan up until a brutal conflict erupted in December 2013 and has torn apart ever since the world’s youngest country. In June 2016, the 57 year old mother and her 18 years old twins, Patrick* and Jean Paul* were left without any other option than fleeing, as armed marauders closed in on their home and confiscated their property. “People were already dying from starvation, militia were killing and confiscating property of people,” Patrick recalls. Their other three siblings had already fled to Uganda.
Inside South Sudan, some 1.9 million people are displaced internally, while outside the country there are now 1.6 million South Sudanese refugees uprooted, mainly in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Uganda alone has taken more than half a million. Refugees who are reaching neighbouring countries recount numerous horrors and a very long list of evils, including extortion, forced recruitment, rape and killings.
From Juba they fled to Uganda but only for a short period of time. With the situation in the neighbouring countries becoming dire with more uprooted people being in need of protection, shelter and medical care, Joyce with her two sons decided to take their chances in Europe. Joyce’s half Cypriot and half Sudanese friend was the key person who would help them to get a visa for a European country. Joyce’s half Cypriot and half Sudanese friend was the key person who would help them to get a visa for a European country. “With K we were classmates and best friends since school in Juba,” says Joyce and continues: “She helped us to apply everywhere in the embassies of many of the EU and other European countries, but no country would accept us.” The family therefore decided to join their high school Cypriot friend and “aunt” as the twins call her.
From South Sudan to Sudan and then to Egypt, Joyce and her two sons came to Cyprus in July 2016, with an open ticket to return back to Egypt in case things did not work out in Cyprus.
And things did not work out. “Especially in Europe there should have been more help. We came from war and we are facing new war,” says Jean Paul bitterly “We want to go to Egypt. My half-brother is in Egypt and is working,” says Joyce who is fully aware of the challenges faced by the refugee community in a country that hosts some 200,000 refugees, but adamant that it will be better there.
“Here [in Cyprus] I can do nothing; I’m trapped. There I can work in a day care center,’ says Joyce, a resourceful woman with studies in business and child care. “Leaving from war and immediate threat and death to come to a slow death,” Patrick says bitterly. “Every access is blocked” his twin brother adds and explains how difficult it is to remain in the margins of the society. The family applied for asylum in July 2016 and while the law prescribes that the application should be processed in 6 months, one year after they have still not been called for the interview which marks the onset of the asylum process.
“All day we do nothing; we sleep, eat, maybe go for a walk, and then back home… this is not a normal life,” says Patrick. The twin boys, who graduated high school in Uganda with very good grades, would love to continue their education at the University but they had to put their dreams on hold. Instead, they did some casual work but nothing permanent and most of the times they were not paid the amount that was informally agreed between them and the various employers. “Even after the 9 month work ban, we went to work at a farm, but we were paid much less and worked many more hours than those prescribed by the contract.”
Patrick, a talented footballer who used to play in first division in his country, could not play in the local teams as he’s not a Cypriot. He could train but not take part in the games, something that
made him feel even more depressed and excluded. Without work and with huge delays in the social assistance system the family can barely make ends meet. Between August and December of their first year in Cyprus they received the allowance for utilities and small expenses only twice, which was used to top up the rent of the flat they were renting. The rent allowance for a family of three people is set at 150 Euros and is paid directly to the landlord. The flat they found however was at 250 Euros “It was just impossible to find a house to rent for 150 Euros for three people,” says Joyce who had to use the 130 Euros utilities allowance to top up the rent.
But with the arrears in the utilities allowance, they could not pay the residual rent to the landlord who was expecting to receive the full amount of rent at the end of every month. “We have been
threatened with eviction many times, but tell me how I can afford to pay it…,” asks Joyce. As for electricity, this is a luxury for the family; without any allowance left to pay the bill, the electricity has been discontinued and the family has been living in darkness for the last few months.
Food coupons always come with at least one month delay. “You cannot predict and you cannot plan. You only know that there will be delays but you don’t know how late they will be…For the month of December, the coupons were issued in January because it was Christmas and there was a delay. Then it was Eastern, and the coupons of April were received after Easter. We are now in second half of May and still we have not received the assistance for May,” the mother explains.
Her Cypriot friend cannot support her anymore as she has been facing her own financial difficulties. “She has done so much for me and I’m hugely indebted to her but this is not a solution. I cannot rely on her forever. Besides, she’s also on social assistance.” Despite all odds Joyce has been trying her best. Every morning Joyce picks up her bag with all the documentation she has and tries to find a solution that will pay the bills and bring food on the table:
Find work for the day such as cleaning a house; walk to the charity organisation that has been supporting her or to the distant mini-market to redeem their food coupons; walk to the welfare to
follow up on the arrears in the social assistance.
She has put in use her sewing skills and on a number of bazaars she has sold beautiful African dresses she has made. “She is one the most resourceful persons I’ve ever met,” confirms the director
of CARITAS in Nicosia, a charity who has been assisting every day a big number of destitute, including Joyce and her boys.
But Joyce cannot continue like that. “The boys are depressed, they are left without any hope. No work, no education, no football,” says the 57 years old mother and adds with determination: “I don’t want my boys to end up in crime in order to live. We’ll give it a try in Egypt, things will be better there than in Cyprus.”
Their decision is final and by the time you will read this story, the family will most probably be in Egypt. We cannot predict if they will have better conditions there. But they felt they had to try their luck elsewhere as they had nothing to lose.
*names changed for protection reasons
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