FORMER Moyross Priest Fr Tony O’Riordan has vowed to continue his missionary work in South Sudan, despite a terrifying ordeal, waiting in his compound while a baying mob laid siege to its doors.
The attack on Fr O’Riordan’s mission was one in a long list of violence which has crippled the country during five years of civil war.
The eastern African nation gained independence from neighbouring Sudan in 2011, but ethnic violence broke out two years later, dislodging millions from their homes and leaving 300,000 dead.
Fr O’Riordan is located in Maban County in South Sudan where he leads 100-staff at the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in an area which is home to one of the world’s most remote refugee camps with over 150,000 people. Fr Tony, who served in Corpus Christi in Moyross from 2011 to 2016, is currently overseeing a school building project and teacher training programme.
During his six-year ministry in Limerick, the long-serving parish priest helped many young people to break free from the clutches of drug gangs by finding them employment and putting them on a path to a better life.
Last week the West Cork priest found himself on the front lines in South Sudan as 2,000 protesters went on the rampage, wreaking havoc and destruction across camps run by humanitarian aid workers.
“Most of the compounds of NGOs are about 3km from us, ours is closer to the market are, what you might call the town. News was filtering through on the radio of serious damage being done to property, buildings and warehouses were being set on fire, cars were being trashed and property was being looted.
“The closest compound to us is only 300 metres away, soon we could hear that they were under attack. We could see a pall of black smoke rising and we could get the smell of burning rubber. We knew it was only a matter of time before a raiding party would arrive at our compound,” Fr Tony recalled.
“We had locked up what we could. Local staff had run to their homes. Those of us remaining in the compound took shelter in our four strongest rooms. We feared the worst. We could hear the commotion of the 200 to 300 attackers who set out to cause mayhem. Like all the other NGOs we had radioed for assistance for the United Nations soldiers to come an extract us, but the event had caught everyone by surprise and the troops were overwhelmed.
“The fence to our compound is made of zinc metal sheets. We could hear the sheets being pelted. We could hear the shrieks of a baying mob. Occasionally we could hear gun shots.
“Minutes ticked by and I was peering out through the crack in the door frame. I was waiting to see the mob enter. And then the miracle. I saw approaching four members of the local Catholic Parish Council. These brave men had stood between us and the attackers. They had remonstrated with them and using every argument available to them. It worked.”
By midday, the attacks were over. No lives had been lost and the extent of the destruction was filtering in. As events were unfolding it was clear that this was an unprecedented and well-planned attack. It was decided to evacuate more than 500 humanitarian workers with Fr Tony one of the few to remain.
“These attacks have brought almost all humanitarian work to a standstill. Humanitarian workers rely heavily on cars to get to and from the camps. Almost all cars were attacked and rendered unusable. Only a small number of us remain here to support lifesaving operations and to assess the situation.
‘However, we cannot give up. The immediate task is to accompany those affected by the loss of these services and supports. It is a time of great uncertainty and questioning. For example, I think of Simon, one of our trainee teachers. I am not able to give him an answer as to when we will be able to resume teacher training but I think it is important to listen to his disappointment and his hopes. I see his determination and I think our determination must match his. He is only one of many of the people supported by JRS who I have spent time within the last two weeks whose dreams and lives are shattered.
“I think too of our local staff who work incredibly hard and who rely on their jobs to support their families. While we hope that in some time we can begin to slowly build up our services we cannot at this time say when and how we can begin again.
“Maybe for some time our mission is to be with the refugees and people of Maban in this time of uncertainty and help each other live in this uncertainty. That is probably the best service we can give at this time, until we are clearer about the overall security situation,” he concluded.
