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By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
KAMPALA, UGANDA (ANS)--In an update to the medical outreach in the Sudanese Refugee
Camp at Kiryandango, Uganda, that turned into a rescue mission May 27 for Dr. Michael
Gantt and his team from Friends of Sudan, one of the Saving Grace Refugee Services
missionaries, Katie Polynard, tells of more bloodshed and hatred between the warring
tribes.
Polynard told ASSIST News Service (ANS):"In the past week we have seen a lot of
bloodshed and hatred between tribes here in the Sudanese refugee settlement."
"Sunday night here in the refugee settlement there was a party and a fight broke out
between some young men of different tribes, the Acholis and the Lotugos. The tension
escalated throughout the night and when I arrived at the health center Monday morning, I
was told that there were two boys with stab wounds being stitched up. I went to work at
the feeding center," Polynard wrote.
"Then, shortly after lunchtime I heard sounds like an angry mob passing by on the
road. I went outside and saw hundreds of young men running past with machetes and bow and
arrows. Someone pointed in the direction they were running from and I saw several grass
roved homes going up in flames. Only a few minutes later a boy about 16-years-old was
dragged in with an arrow sticking out of his back. The arrows typically have three rows of
barbs and none were visible, so I guessed that the arrow had gone in about three
inches," she said.
"It was hard to tell whether or not the arrow had pierced the boy's lung. Since there
was no doctor present and mine was the only vehicle around, I decided to drive the boy to
a large hospital up north where they could do an operation. It was almost a three hour
drive and by the time we reached the hospital the boy was cold and in shock. He went into
surgery about 9:30 pm and the operation was successful. The Lord spared his life. The
arrow had touched the tissue around his lung and missed piercing his lung by a hair. By
this time it was late and I didn't know what the situation would be like in the settlement
during the night. I decided to stay the night near the hospital and drive back early in
the morning," Polynard said.
"The next morning when I reached the edge of the settlement I found Joe Horner there
with our armed guard. He explained that a Lotugo man had been cut and beat to death during
the night and many more houses had been burned. The Lotugo people were being
evacuated from the settlement and under police protection. He also told me that a nurse at
the health center had locked a group of Lotugo people in a room in order to protect them
from an angry Acholi mob.
"Our own guard was standing by the door, as the police had not yet arrived. As we
drove into the settlement I saw a group of Lotugo people with a few police officers
waiting to be escorted out. Most of them were women and children. All of them looked
terrified. Most of the children were crying. I got out of the car and went to hug and try
to comfort some of the children as Joe talked to the police. There was so much fear in
those children's eyes. It broke my heart," said Polynard.
When Polynard reached the health center she saw that the crowd had dispersed.
"Then our guard told us that the mob had closed in and started kicking in the door. A
young Lotugo man had jumped out the back window and ran for his life. The mob chased him
and caught him near the feeding center where they shot him with arrows, threw bricks and
rocks at him and cut him with their
machetes.
"When the mob left, everyone had thought he was dead, but our guard and Dr. Shadrack
carried him in to the health center and found he was still alive. When we came in we found
Dr. Shadrack had already removed an arrow from his head and was attending to his many
wounds. Joe Horner began to assist Dr. Shadrack. I went outside and found a baby burned
over much of it's body. The mother said that when she had fled from the fighting she had
accidentally dropped the baby in boiling water. A nurse, Anna and I tried to drain the
blisters and applied burn medicine. We knew it would be a long time before the doctor
would be free to see the baby," Polynard said.
"A few minutes later an old man was carried in with a broken leg. He was a kind old
man and was attacked only because he is a Lotugo. We gave him a shot of pain medicine and
put him in the line. It felt like a war. The wounded being carried in from all over and
little means to help them properly. A little while later as I stood holding a flashlight
while Dr. Shadrack stitched a man's arm, we heard a gun shot. My heart leapt. My mind went
instantly back to the night last October when we were robbed and I had heard the same
sound. People ran past the window where I was standing. Everyone was talking excitedly. I
considered dropping the flashlight and running myself but managed to call upon the Lord to
calm my heart and wait to see what would happen next.
"We were soon informed that the shot was fired by our guard. He fired in order to
scare two Acholi men who were approaching the health center with bow and arrows. The men
were arrested by our guards without incident. It turned out that they were drunk. The day
continued like this until the military and riot police finally arrived late in the
afternoon. The drive home was eerie. Every shop and house was closed up and nobody was
walking on the road. It was like a ghost town. The night was relatively quiet. All the
Lotugos had either been evacuated or were hiding in the bush," Polynard said.
The next morning one of the team's builders came to inform Polynard that a Lotugo woman
with her baby and small son had come to their gate. "They had been hiding in the bush
for two nights and had not eaten. We brought them in and hid them in our guesthouse. We
gave them something to eat. The baby gave me the hugest smile when I set the food in front
of them. Later, Joe and two of our guards drove them to where all the other Lotugos had
been taken."
All of this fighting took place on Monday and Tuesday, said Polynard.
"By Thursday, the Lotugo people, who had fled with only the clothes on their back,
had still not eaten. The UN was moving as fast as possible but still had not managed to
get any food to the people. We at Saving Grace Refugee Services wereable to take enough
maize, beans, oil and salt to give everyone a meal. We also took Bibles, soap and medical
supplies. We spoke to them about the
love of Jesus and forgiveness, distributed the food and set up a medical station for
medicine and wound care," she said.
Polynard added:"It was wonderful to be able to offer the love of Jesus in such a
tangible way to hurting, hungry people. Please pray for healing in our community. Pray
that God will provide food and a home for the Lotugo people. Pray that the fighting will
not continue here or anywhere else that the Acholi and Lotugo people live together. Pray
that God will give us at Saving Grace wisdom to know how to handle each situation that
arises."
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