The Voice of Peace editorial team talk to Father Mark Kumbonyaki, a church and civil society leader from Yambio, WES in Southern Sudan:
Question: The Arrow Boys are a relatively new phenomenon in South Sudan and local people seem quite positive about them. But if we look at similar self-defence groups that have emerged in DRC and Uganda, it’s clear that there’s a risk of them abusing their position, turning on local populations and becoming a source of more conflict themselves. Is there any sign of this in Southern Sudan?
So far we haven’t heard anything like that happening. These are just local men and boys who keep watch over their villages at night. They are people who don’t go far from their villages. They have families living there. Sometimes if they have to go into the forest to pursue the LRA and rescue people who have been abducted after a raid, then the local village chiefs might ask the villagers to give food.
Question: Have there been any cases so far when the Arrow Boys have ended up being in conflict with the army?
We’ve heard some rumours that sometimes the soldiers feel resentful that the Arrow Boys are taking over their responsibilities, and getting money and support from the government. But that’s only rumours and the fact is that the Arrow Boys haven’t actually got anything from the government so far.
Question: Could the Arrow Boys be a model for how other communities in affected areas can protect themselves from the LRA? Could this be a good example for DRC for example?
It depends. In South Sudan the scale of LRA attacks has gone down since the Arrow Boys have been protecting their villages. But it depends how each country wants to defend itself against the LRA.
Question: If the LRA threat ends, is there a danger of the Arrow Boys’ role changing and of them becoming a threat to local communities themselves?
There are two ways of looking at it.One is positive. They’re people from the same village who are all related to each other and who have joined hands to protect themselves. So why would they start attacking each other? The negative view is that there will always be conflicts in society and in families and if someone has a weapon at home there’s always a danger he will go home, get it, and use it. It’s possible this could happen as some of the Arrow Boys have captured weapons from the LRA and haven’t surrendered them. But so far there haven’t been any problems of this kind.
This interview was firstly featured in the Voice of Peace, Issue 1, December 2011- February 2012, and can be accessed at http://www.c-r.org/sites/c-r.org/files/VoiceofPeace_201202.pdf