Hunger for Cattle is Killing Case study of conflicts along migration routes in Jonglei state, South Sudan January 2012 Janneke Vreugdenhil Wageningen University Cover picture: June 2011, Kuerluot boma, Uror county, Jonglei state For the title I have been inspired by the answer of a respondent to the question if there is a solution to cattle raiding: ‘There is no solution, people are hungry for cattle’ (D-14). Hunger for Cattle is Killing Case study of conflicts along migration routes in Jonglei state, South Sudan Master thesis for the chair group Disaster Studies, submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science in International Development Studies at Wageningen University, The Netherlands Course code: RDS-80733 Wageningen University and Research Centre January 2012 Janneke Vreugdenhil Student no: 801113910090 Supervisors: Dr. ir. G. van der Haar Chair group: Disaster Studies Dr. ir. M. Zwarteveen Chair group: Irrigation and Water Management/Gender Studies Hunger for Cattle is Killing - Summary Summary The Lutheran World Federation is active in Duk and Twic East county in Jonglei state, South Sudan and was planning to extend their projects to another county, Uror. Before doing so a baseline survey had to provide more information about the conflicts that are taking place in Jonglei state. As the people inhabiting Jonglei state are pastoralists, their lives are built around the cattle. In the dry season the people from Uror, the Nuer, migrate to the Nile in Dinkaland where there is enough water and pasture for their cattle. Conflicts involving cattle, cattle raiding, is an integral part of their society but seems to take place a lot more when this seasonal migration takes place. For centuries cattle raiding is used to restock the herds, all within certain cultural rules and codes designed by elders and chiefs. However, the conflicts seem to increase and change in nature, more deaths, more intense, more cattle taken at once, use of automatic weapons etc. It has been argued by LWF that resource scarcity might play a role in the conflicts along themigration routes and LWF expects water provision to prevent the Nuer from migrating through Dinkaland and thereby decreasing the conflict between the Dinka and Nuer. This thesis intends to look beyond the resource scarcity theory as an explanation, but in stead tries to construct the political ecology of the conflicts along the migration routes. This research has been based on the following research question: ‘How can cattle raiding (along the migration routes) in Twic East, Duk and Uror county be explained with reference to ecological, political, economic and social factors and to what extent does the availability of water play a role in a possible solution?’ This research showed that resource scarcity does not play a role in the conflicts along the migration routes as there is enough water and pasture available for all cattle to be satisfied. The lack of water and pasture does force people from Uror to migrate to Duk, so indirectly climate conditions do play a role, but not the scarcity of water and pastures as such. Also population pressure or climate change do not seem to be features in the occurrence of cattle raiding. In the beginning it has been assumed that the Dinka and the Nuer are the main actors in the conflicts. However, during the field work it turned out that there are in fact two conflicts affecting Jonglei state: between the Dinka and Nuer (which is related to the migration routes) and the one between the Murle and the rest of Jonglei state. The Murle are a tribe from Pibor county and known for their fearless raiding. In addition to cattle they do abduct children. The tensions between the Dinka and the Nuer have mainly been influenced by the Bor massacre that took place in 1991 when many Nuer killed over 2000 Dinka at Bor. This event changed the relation between the Dinka and Nuer in a seemingly irreparable way. The continuing clashes between the Dinka and Nuer during the seasonal migration are a result of this massacre. The conflicts between the Murle and the rest of Jonglei state does not have such a clear beginning or reason. The North- South conflict played a role as the Murle received support from the GOS and did not join the SPLA at this time which does not make them very popular. Respondents argued that it is greed that makes the Murle raid as the Murle do not have to migrate in search for water and pasture for their cattle. The North-South conflict did not only cause a divide between the Murle and the rest of Jonglei, it also caused the proliferation of automatic weapons which contributed to the intensification of cattle raiding. The availability of weapons does not only make the practice of cattle raiding more lethal, it also diminishes the respect for the elders and chiefs. As a result the traditional peace making deals are not capable of solving the cattle raiding conflicts; the scope is too big and the conflicts end up in cycles of revenge. In addition to that, the North-South conflict caused poverty and destitution which made people resort to raiding. The disarmament policies do not bring the relief they should as not all counties are being disarmed at the same time which renders some counties more vulnerable towards v Hunger for Cattle is Killing - Summary attacks from others. These disarmament policies are expected to be influenced at the political level in Juba and Bor. Cattle raiding is not an apolitical act as respondents argued that politics do play a role as well. Some people feel the struggles for leadership in Juba and Bor are trickling down to the rural areas and hereby influencing the local situation. Cattle are very important in the pastoralist societies in Jonglei state, and the most important role of the cattle is to serve as the bride price. The bride price has to be paid by the family of the man to the family of the woman and hereby validating the marriage. One’s status in the community is determined by the amount of cattle and therefore indirectly also by the number of wives one has. Marriage and producing children are a central part in Dinka and Nuer society as becomes clear from the rules and regulations concerning marriage and producing. Bride prices are increasing for several reasons and the herds are diminishing as a result of the cattle raiding, which puts pressure on the need for cattle as people continue to get married. Somehow there is a link between the need for cattle in order to meet the bride price and the occurrence of cattle raiding, however very few respondents confirmed this link. Of course the cultural practice of bride price as such is not causing the conflicts, but it creates a need for cattle. And this need combined with the availability of automatic weapons, unequal disarmament policies and the diminishing respect for the elders seems to make the practice of bride price rather dangerous. Many solutions have been mentioned of which equal disarmament has been the one mentioned the most. Interestingly the respondents only expect the government to solve the problems of cattle raiding; they do not seem to see a role for themselves. Apart from disarmament, peaceful dialogues and the provision of water have been mentioned. Water provision would decrease the seasonal migration and hereby decreasing the clashes between the Dinka and Nuer. In addition, when people can stay at their communities, they will be able to defend themselves against the Murle. However, not all respondents think the provision of water is promising. Jonglei state should also be developed and alternatives should be provided in terms of eduction and jobs, especially for the youth as they are prone to fighting. It is worth mentioning that as a result of the report of the base-line survey for LWF, activities have been started in Uror county. Peace committees are being formed and trained and LWF looks into the possibilities of providing water in Uror county. In addition, possibilities for education are investigated further. vi Hunger for Cattle is Killing – Acknowledgements Acknowledgements First of all I am very grateful to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in South Sudan for having me on board for a couple of months and especially to Arie den Toom for entrusting me with an assignment for a base line study. This enabled me to gather the data necessary for my thesis. The support of Mary Obara from the head office in Juba has been very valuable. Special thanks to Mokili Elias Justin who accompanied me during the research. We have been in quite funny and also quite stressful situations and without having him, his humour and his capability to put things into perspective, it would have been rather unbearable, nor would we have had a proper security plan in Uror county. Matthew Masai and Julius Kibet felt very responsible and took good care of me while being in the field. For most of the transport I was entrusted to the skills of Mark Kok and Thuc Ayiik. They made sure the long trips were never boring as they shared their stories and ideas. Unfortunately I just missed Koks wedding, which was extra unfortunate as marriage turned out to play a special role in this thesis. Manyok Ajangdit and Mary Abuk Dau have been, apart from assisting preparing the fieldtrips, a great source of information. Our stay and introduction to the communities in Uror county have been made possible by the enthusiastic Bill Gai Goal. Pastor Moses of the Presbyterian Church in Yuai has been so kind to provide us with a place to stay.