The Recent Events in Wau: A Disaster Averted
Publication Summary
After a harrowing period of violence that was witnessed in Wau town between December 8 and 23rd, 2012, the fighting, which had pitted the Dinka and the Fertit, finally ended just before Christmas, to the relief of all. The Sudd Institute’s last weekly brief described those events and attempted to contextualize the clashes, which had been most shocking to everyone due to how fast they escalated and because of their level of brutality and destruction. They were even more decried for the damage they created in ethnic relations, something that will be difficult to repair, and could continue to cause violence if not addressed sufficiently.
This week’s review is a follow up; a look at the aftermath and the way forward for the diverse populations that reside in the town, for they will still need to live in the same town, side by side, and must find ways to move beyond these tragic events.
Jok Madut Jok is trained in the anthropology of health and holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a fellow of Rift Valley Institute and Director of the Sudd Institute. Jok has held fellowship positions at a number of other institutions, including the United States Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He also served in the Government of South Sudan as undersecretary in the Ministry of Culture and Heritage for three years. He has also worked in aid and development and author of four books and numerous articles covering gender, sexuality and reproductive health, humanitarian aid, ethnography of political violence, gender-based violence, war and slavery, and the politics of identity in South Sudan and Sudan. His book Breaking Sudan: The Search for Peace, was published in 2017 by OneWorld.