The neat brown rectangle of an airstrip stands out against the vast expanse of floodwater all around — a crucial lifeline in this remote corner of South Sudan.
The landing strip in Bentiu has been carefully preserved with huge dykes against the waters that have added another layer of devastation to the world’s youngest country.
Alongside is a camp for some 200,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who have endured multiple horrors — war in their own country and neighbouring Sudan, and now years of flooding that has destroyed homes, schools, crops and infrastructure.
More than 700,000 people have been impacted by flooding across South Sudan, the UN’s humanitarian agency said recently, and worse floods could be coming next month.
In Bentiu in Unity State, one of the worst affected and most remote areas, a taskforce of Pakistani military engineers with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has constructed a five-metre-high (16-foot) wall around the IDP camp to keep the waters at bay.
Major Mohi Ud Din, head of the taskforce, said they were working “day and night” to keep the wall intact and had managed to build more than 120 kilometres (75 miles) of dykes.
Most crucial is the airstrip. With roads frequently cut off by the floods, it is often the only way to receive food and supplies.
Tap Mach Dhieu, 43, fled to the camp from his home in nearby Panyijiar County in 2014, during the civil war.
He receives rations from the World Food Programme but must then hire a canoe to go in search of firewood.
“We survive this way,” he told AFP.
“People would not be here if (the UN) did not make this dyke. The lifeline of the people is UNMISS, not the government.”
He despairs at officials, who he said have done little to help since his home was destroyed and cows stolen during the 2013-2018 civil war.
“The flood situation is a natural disaster, but looting cows and burning houses is man-made and that’s the government’s responsibility,” he added.
‘Dire situation’
David Garang, a UN health volunteer, said disease was a major problem.
“All the latrines are flooding into the shelters. There’s no cleaning and no collecting of garbage. The situation is dire. What I see in the near future is an outbreak of many diseases,” he said.
Although it still provides services, UNMISS has handed over day-to-day running of the camp to the government, which does not fill Garang with confidence.
“If UNMISS leaves, the situation will not be OK,” he said. “The presence of UNMISS is 100-percent good for the safety of the community,” he said.
There has been a peacekeeper base in nearby Leer County since 2015, currently staffed by a Ghanaian contingent.
They provide security but also items like schoolbooks, fresh water and vaccines for animals.
“There are a lot of problems and without them, it would be difficult,” said a Leer County official, Stephen Taker.
But with waters still rising, there is still plenty of work to do.
“Our problem is that roads are already cut by the water,” said Taker. “We’re working by hand to make sure vehicles can move in the coming month.”
