The story of Viola Tabo

Tommy Trenchard

16/03/2017

« I feel safe here »

“It’s much too dangerous to go home,” says Viola Tabo. She was at home in South Sudan’s Loka village, in Lanya County, when soldiers arrived last September.

“Three of my brothers were beheaded by government soldiers. The soldiers intercepted them coming home to the village. We heard some gun shots and then screaming. We ran away to the bush, and we only found out later what had happened.”

Aged just 22, Viola took her five-year-old son Charles and made for the Ugandan border. She found her way to Bidi Bidi, and refuge. Her brave decision saved their lives. This January, eight more of her family were killed back in South Sudan.

“It’s even worse than it was before,” says Viola. Her new country imploded into civil war in 2013. There is no end in sight to the suffering of its civilians.

Viola is growing accustomed to her new life in the camp, as things become gradually more organised. “At first there was little food here,” she remembers. “Life was very hard. But now we are getting some good supplies.”