DDR offers new hope for ex-combatants

27 Jul 2009

DDR offers new hope for ex-combatants

Sheltering from the mid-day sun under a dust-covered tent at the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) centre in Ed Damazin, Blue Nile State, former combatant Salah Annayem Omar said his peacetime ambition was to start a business.

Sheltering from the mid-day sun under a dust-covered tent at the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) centre in Ed Damazin, Blue Nile State, former combatant Salah Annayem Omar said his peacetime ambition was to start a business.

But the ex-soldier said his business plans must wait until DDR was completed and he had received financial assistance to help him re-enter civilian life. "I have two children and an extended family to take care of."

After being discharged from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)-aligned Popular Defence Forces in 2006, Mr. Omar said he had worked for non-governmental organizations on short-term contracts, including a stint with UNICEF during its polio campaign.

Asked why he had originally joined the army, the former solder said he had signed up out of personal belief. "I wanted to defend my identity, my family and my country ... but there is no need for that now that the causes we were fighting for ceased with the peace."

Mr. Omar is one of about 100 people to be demobilized during the first week of DDR in Blue Nile State after it was jointly launched by the North and South Sudan DDR Commissions. The two commissions were assisted by the integrated UN DDR unit, comprising UNMIS, the UN Development Programme, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

Other ex-combatants at the centre, wearing jallabiyas (traditional robes) or semi-formal trousers and shirts, were attending an HIV briefing in another tent. Afterwards, they would receive vouchers for essential items like sleeping mats, blankets, cooking sets and mosquito nets, along with 860 Sudanese pounds and food rations for three months.

The first step in the process was to verify that individuals had been discharged from their respective armed forces, said UNMIS Associate DDR Officer Tony Akaki. In Ed Damazin, most ex-combatants were former members of the PDF or SAF.

After a security check, the ex-combatants were then registered and interviewed about their personal history and future aims. They were also asked about any disabilities they might have, so that reintegration could be effective in meeting their needs.

During the reintegration phase 45 days later, the ex-combatants would go through a more intensive one-on-one interview and set up plans for training. They would be given training and equipment worth $1,700 to assist them in civilian life.

Fatna Mohammed Alnour was one of five women to be demobilized in Ed Damazin on the day DDR was launched. She had been discharged from the PDF in 2005, having assisted women and children with various tasks around the forces for six years.

"Since then I have been living with my family and wanted to go back to school," she said, adding that she had applied to university, but after failing the entrance exam had no money to re-apply.

With the help of DDR financial assistance, she was hoping to help her parents pay the rent and go to school for media studies.

Mr. Akaki noted that the weather could be a challenge in demobilizing the planned 5,000 ex-combatants in Blue Nile State over the next year. "We might not finish the caseload before the weather cuts down, so we're trying to double up the numbers before the rainy season starts." Beginning the last week of February, they were aiming to demobilize 50 individuals per day.

Adding that funding was still being sought for the reintegration phase, Mr. Akaki said they were "cautiously optimistic" they would obtain it.