Pope in Africa: 'Future of South Sudan cannot lie in refugee camps'

Pope Francis on Saturday met children of South Sudan who have been displaced by conflict in the region. The pope told children that they would build a better future for South Sudan by replacing ethnic hatred with forgiveness. The pope was visiting South Sudan with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Church of Scotland Moderator Iain Greenshields, in what was cited asan unprecedented joint "pilgrimage of peace".

There are 2.2 million internally displaced people in South Sudan, out of a total population of about 11.6 million. Another 2.3 million have fled the country as refugees, according to the United Nations. Extreme poverty and hunger are prevalent across the country. About two-thirds of the country'spopulation need humanitarian assistance as a result of conflict as well as three years of catastrophic floods.

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The three religious leadersled about 50,000 people in an open-air ecumenical prayer vigil at dusk at a mausoleum for South Sudan's liberation hero John Garang.

John Garang died in a helicopter crash in 2005 six years before the country gained independence in 2011.

At a meeting in the capital Juba earlier, the Christian leaders listened to testimonies from displaced children including Johnson Juma Alex, 14, who has been living in a camp since 2014 after fleeing his hometown because of fighting.

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"Life in the camp is not good because the area is small and crowded," he told them.

"There is not enough space to play football. Many children do not go to school because there are not enough teachers and schools for all of us," he said. After he spoke, the pope, the archbishop and the moderator warmly shook his hand.

'A field to play football'

"The future cannot lie in refugee camps," the pope told the children after hearing their stories at the event. "As you said, Johnson, there is a need for all children like yourself to have the opportunity to go to school, and to have a field to play football!"

Francis said hope for South Sudan's future rests in children from different ethnic groups, who must let go of their past to begin afresh.

"Although conflict, violence and hatred have replaced good memories on the first pages of the life of this republic, you must be the ones to rewrite its history as a history of peace!" he said.

"You bear the burden of a painful past, yet you never stop dreaming of a better future. In our meeting today, we would like to give wings to your hope," he said.

On Sunday morning, the three Christian leaders will return to the mausoleum to celebrate Mass, their last major event in South Sudan before leaving the country.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war in 2013 with ethnic groups turning on each other. Despite a 2018 peace deal between the two main antagonists, episodesof inter-ethnic fighting have continued to kill and displace large numbers of civilians.

(With inputs from agencies)

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