 To the children whose birthwater is broken by whizzing of shrapnel, this is our portion. We know war in sunken eyes, we know it in the jabbing hunger pains, we know it in our heavily blistered callous feet. Home is living between two tectonic plates, deep orange skies that invite birds that squat, scrap and scavenge. The blood has made it to the groundwater. We know the reeking smell of almost entirely well. We cannot hold it to our cracked lips, so we bite down on our children and our kin bleed. There is time to perish, but there is no time to mourn. There is time to rot, but there is no time to bury. Home is suspicion, home is crutch faced down on cement pavement. What is sanctum on unceded land? We say we have survived and you chaos embraces us softly, quietly. They're dead now. Do not motivate our fathers to get up from under the trees. They pour another cup. This is a bottomless tea. They're dead now. Do not motivate our mothers to teach their son substance. Our black skin hangs loose. Lather it with oil to keep it from running. Fear punches holes in the future. Fear cannot mend them. It siphons the chaos for later. Home always comes late of it all. Later always comes so soon. We cannot swing across oceans with these mangled roots. When war breaks, we run. We will not carry our language. War is raging behind clenched teeth. To fathers that sleep with guns in their hands but will never hold their children. Legacy does not fill the gaps. You've turned our names to weights that crush our backs. You've turned our names into sinking sand. What are hunger pains to torn limbs? What is plumbing to broken spirits? What are roots if they choke you? We say home is so far. The same oceans are sitting between folks looking into each other's eyes. Our portion is silence. They imagine home is subtle soot. They imagine country is running. We now know refuge is both. Good morning and happy International Women's Day. My name is Joseph Sonny, vice president at USIP. And I lead the Africa Center. On behalf of USIP and our partners in this event, Oxfarm and Fem Right, the Ugandan Women Writers Association, I would like to welcome everyone here with us today. Let me begin by presenting the United States Institute of Peace, USIP. The US Congress founded USIP in 1984 as an independent non-partisan national institute dedicated to preventing, mitigating, and resolving violent conflicts. In October 2020, the United States Institute of Peace established the Africa Center. This decision reflected our institute commitment to expand and transform its already considerable work in Africa. Our mission here at the Africa Center is to inform US policy toward Africa and strengthen peace and security with innovative and effective programming throughout the continent. For example, in South Sudan, we support and amplify the hard-worn efforts of South Sudanese peace builders and civic leaders. USIP's South Sudan program includes a community of more than 60 civic leaders and peace builders. Many of them are women and youth. Their work spans gender equity and participation, strategic nonviolent action, research on conflict and peace, strengthening institution and understanding citizen perception of peace. As we all well know, South Sudanese women have made significant strides in their push for inclusion in national peace processes and sustainable peace. This contribution, while critical, is still vastly underappreciated. Today, as we celebrate International Women's Day, we celebrate South Sudanese women's stories. Stories forge in pain and survival, transformed by resilience and sustained by hope and commitment to peace. USIP's honor to join with Oxfam International Femme Wright, the Uganda Women Writers Association, to recognize and celebrate women's constitution to a deeper understanding of the impact of conflict in South Sudan. USIP looks forward to continuing the recognition of women's building peace across the globe to our annual Women's Building Peace Award later this year. Today, we are fortunate to have with us Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins. Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins has had an incredible career in diplomacy and global security. She served as ambassador at the US Department of State under the Obama administration, where she worked for eight years as coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation. She is also a leading voice on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as women empowerment. In 2017, she founded her own nonprofit, the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation. Ambassador Jenkins, thank you for your work and contribution to our global security and for being a champion of women in the field of peace and security. Please, the floor is yours now. Thank you. Well, thank you for that wonderful introduction. I really do appreciate it and I can't say how honored I am to be here today on International Women's Day to be a part of this amazing event and the importance of these kind of events on this day and every day to champion the work of women around the world and to champion their voices and the importance of their taking part in issues of peace and security and discussions and policies of peace and security. So I want to thank you, USIP and all the organizers and everyone who helped put this together today. And what a wonderful video that was. You know, it really, I think, sets the stage for what I think will be a great discussion. When I started my organization in 2017, my goal and mission was and actually still remains giving a voice and space for women, particularly women of color around the world, so they can impact the policies that affect their lives. When there is a lack of peace and security, it is women who bear the brunt of that loss. And yet our voices remain absent or very much absent from the very policies that will affect us. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is a way to help promote that same goal on an international scale and for women around the world who should be involved in all levels of peace making and conflict resolution to be involved. In the case of Sudan, we know that South Sudanese women have made significant strides in their push for inclusion. Women negotiators were crucial in shaping the 2018 peace agreement. However, there's more to be done and this event has already noted that women's voices remain conspicuously absent among publicly written narratives of South Sudan. So thank you for putting this together and highlighting that point. Programs like these here today and all today and this week and this month are important because it provides an opportunity to continue to push for change and ensure that these voices are being heard. I also want to take a moment to highlight the importance of art in the promotion of peace and security. And again, my organization in 2017 had an initiative on art and policy. And the reason it's clear is because art in so many ways to pick life and life experiences was the joys and the sorrows. And many types of art is universal. One need not speak to understand. And oftentimes, it's very easy to understand from what we see and what we hear. And I've always felt that understanding the role of art in peacemaking is an important component of our work. So I'm pleased to see the video that we've seen and what else we will see today. With that, I do recognize that I only have five minutes and my five minutes are up. However, on this International Women's Day, I want to say thank you to all the women who dedicate their lives to promoting peace and security, both within their spaces and around the world. I also want to thank all of our allies who are there with us in our efforts. And again, thank you to all the organizers for hosting this important event and for all the work that you do to promote peace and security and women involvement. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ambassador Jenkins. Thank you for your leadership and thank you for joining with us today and adding your voice to this event. My name is Susan Stegant. I'm the director of the Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and it is my honor to moderate today's event. Let me also wish everybody a happy International Women's Day and greet you good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you're joining us from. Today's event highlights pieces from no time to mourn, an anthology of contributions of 41 South Sudanese women. Over the course of the event, you will see and hear from the women contributors, their words, their experiences, their vision, in their voices, and through their art. I'm so pleased also to be joined by two outstanding South Sudanese leaders. I'm Yachen Kwa Tsurambang Tai, who is the special assistant to the chairperson's advisor to the African Union, and the youth country liaison to South Sudan and Uganda with the U.S. Institute of Peace. And Rita Lopidia, who is the executive director of the EVE organization for women, and the 2020 Women Building Peace Award recipient from the United States Institute of Peace. We will hear from them their own reflections on International Women's Day and the poetry, stories, and art that we hear. Before we turn to listening to the first readings, I wanted to give an special acknowledgement to Elizabeth Ishamudang and Hilda Twangare, who had the vision and who co-edited the anthology that inspired the event today. For the USIP and around Washington, we often talk about our commitment to raise or elevate voices of women, of youth, of partners. But we aren't often very good at doing that. And I was really struck by something that Elizabeth recently wrote and wanted to share because I think beyond the tremendous stories you'll hear today, the approach that this anthology brings will stretch us and call upon us to expand our imagination and our approach to think creatively and act creatively and explore new places. So Elizabeth, who is a human rights activist and has done reporting on human rights for various organizations wrote, for the first time, I had the chance to raise voices outside the boundaries of any prescribed format. No cutting and editing quotes to fit into reports, no three minute timelines, no predetermined formula, no 800 word counts, no policy recommendations required. The women who contributed expressed themselves as they wanted, be it through poetry, short story, memoir, visual art. And the process was as beautiful as the product. We started with a retreat for 18 women, an incredible week of learning, many tears, some dancing, and a lot of writing that ended up creating a sisterhood of writers. So now let's listen to the first of those readings, the undone journey and house in flames. She picked some basic food stuff from the store, some flour, ground nuts, cooking oil, salt, sugar, two saucepans, a few plates, cups and spoons. And she entered our bedroom and picked a few clothes and shoes. She went into their bedroom and picked a few of her Baba's clothes, of her and Baba's clothes, some beddings and a small mattress. She dashed back and picked flashlight. I had almost forgotten this, she said, and she stuffed the flashlight into a small cloth bag where she was putting a few other things. I followed her everywhere she went and continued asking her questions. Mama, why are you packing? She disregarded my question. Are we going to move to another house again? Our father usually moved to different houses from time to time. For a moment I thought we were just moving to another home. My father was a pastor and sometimes would move from parish to parish. We are not moving to another house, she said. We are going for only a few days to a town nearby called Nzara and then we will come back. Why are we going to Nzara? I asked again categorically because the government has announced over the megaphones that people should live now, Gori, she said. I continued asking her many other questions but she did not give much information. I began to sense that something serious was about to happen. When my father arrived, some minutes later with my sister, Mama said we were ready to live. Baba said that we should only carry the very basics. Like Mama, he said that there was no need to take a lot of our stuff because we were only going to Nzara and after a week or two we would be back. Mama put the items she had sorted to two large pieces of kitenge cloth and tied them up into bundles. She put up the lighter bundle on my head and she carried the other. She tied my baby sister on her back and held my other sister's hand. Baba tied a mattress and a few other things onto a bicycle. We left our three-roomed house near Nagori Parish next to the Nzara road just like that. Everything was happening too fast. As we approached the main road to Nzara, I saw that it was jam-packed with people. Many families were leaving their homes. Moving cars and motorbikes were rushing at a very high speed and raising a lot of dust into the air in the process. Pedestrians were being pressed against the roadside bushes along with the people on bicycles. Some people pulled reluctant goats behind them. Sheep and dogs followed along too. Women balanced their luggage on their heads with babies crying on their backs held there by pieces of kitenge sheets the African way. Some people were rushing in the opposite direction to go and gather their families. The two-lane dirt road was filled with dust being raised in the air by people's feet, the cars and bicycles. The air was filled with sounds of hooting cars, honking trucks, ringing bicycle bells, motorbikes beeping, people talking on the top of their voices as well as the frightened cries of children. That is how we left our beloved Nagori and Nzara never became our destination. Little did my parents know that it would be at least 10 years before we returned to Nagori. As for me, I simply believed everything they told me. This was just the beginning of our an ending journey. A mother's hug is a child's heaven. A fresh breeze from green gardens but where do you turn to when her body is in flames? When home is a burning bush but our knees cannot go down to worship because this fire is not holy. Would you leave to save your life? It is hard to build a home away from home. We have tried but we are stuck in other lands, lands that do not know how to pronounce our names, strangers we remain. However much we twist our tongues, sometimes we miss a vowel or the silent letters. It is hard to build a home away from home. Would you stay to put out the fire? But what do you do when you pour the nile to extinguish the fire while others feed it oily wood from our forest? When home burns to ashes, what do you do? These first readings, the unending journey by Charity Name Nagapai and House in Flames by Lydia Kape tell a really powerful story of the impact of displacement. And this has been a reality for so many South Sudanese. I want to bring you into the conversation and a couple of things that really struck me in those pieces is the incredibly difficult role that women and mothers play explaining to their children what's taking place and the depth and the length of the experience with displacement. Nishankath, over to you. Thank you, Susan. Thank you, USIP, Oxpam, all the people who were behind this amazing work of South Sudanese women talking about the reality that we have been facing in South Sudan for so long. I think the two pieces spoke personally to me in so many different ways. The piece on the unending journey and also the other piece by Lydia, Home in Flames. To me, I think if I reflect back on the two pieces, this is a reality that many South Sudanese were forced to live with. It has been happening since the country liberation times when South Sudan was the frontline of the longest war in Africa. Many South Sudanese families live displaced. Many children were born on the run, as others could not even make it out alive. I say it speaks volumes to me personally because I come from a displaced home where my parents left home many, many years ago because of the conflict. And I was born, me and my siblings in northern part of the country in a place called Shandy in River Nile, the state, and I grew up there. And when we came back home thinking that we finally got our peace, we got separation and we have home, little did we know that, you know, we are still going to face the same situation. Years later after I grew up, I had to be forced to get married in the same place where I seek refuge and where I was born so many years ago. And it became, you know, a generational displacement in a way that until today my kids also are living away from their home, they're living outside the country. So to me, I think these two pieces, they speak reality to so many South Sudanese. And I might say that I might be in a better position whereby at some points I was able to provide for my kids to have a better life though they are living in a different country. And this is maybe might be the better version of a displacement story. There are worse versions of these stories whereby people had to cross rivers, people had to walk on foot, some did not even make it alive. Some did not even manage to get food or water and they died on the way because of hunger. You know, people who had to go through insecurity, through rape, women and children they had to cross and eventually they had to live in a place that they tried to call home but they never blended or they never felt that they're home. So for me, I think these pieces, they speak realities of so many South Sudanese as I mentioned earlier. And I'm happy that at least these pieces that are out there and they are being shared with the world for people to know that these untold stories are being told by people who face these realities and by people who have these experiences and they want the world to know and to have at least a small window of how these things have been happening, how the displacement has affected so many South Sudanese, so many women, so many girls and so many children. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your reflections and your story with us today. I was also really struck in that those two pieces and the opening poem, the sense of identity and the sense of home. And as we think towards July, the 10-year anniversary of South Sudan's independence, what I hear in the readings is such a longing for a sense of home for so many people. I'd like to turn to listen to the next two readings. The first is My Country by Helena Real Isaac Nyariel. And the second is Just a Single Drop by Susan Thomas Perambeta. Hello, great women. Thank you for having me today. My name is Real Isaac, a South Sudanese by heart. I am currently studying social transformation in Nairobi Kenya. I welcome you all to this event. I was in love with you, My Country, but you took away our happiness and destroyed us, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. You demolished us. See, we are in disarray. We no longer know who you are. We have lived in war for decades. We have been made slaves, treated like pigs. We keep slaughtering each other in useless pursuit. It scattered all over the world. Won't you all stop this and start to live even in great places in peace? Thank you. I am called Susan Thomas Perambeta. I'm a South Sudanese currently living in Uganda as a refugees. I'm glad to be one of the contributors to this great book, No Time to Mourn. I ran from Cuba in 2016 during the war on the dead bodies. And this has made me compose this first poem in this book. The title of the poem is just a single drop by Susan. Motherland, shocked in pools of agony, laments of anguish and pain. Who will save your children? See how full of tears we are. How sorrowous and gunshot surrenders. How flames and gulf are still all is done to ashes. Living your children, life centers to exile. Motherland, to live as a refugee is to sign away your life. With best-side defilers and killers. They rape, they kill. Motherland, where beautiful memories are under siege. No one dares to care. And no life is spared. Dearest Motherland, your own children rebel against you. On our news, we seek peace. Even just a single drop. Happy Women's Day 2021. I wish you all the best. Rita, I want to bring you into the conversation here. As I listen to those, I'm thinking back, you know, 10 years ago and in the period leading into South Sudan's independence and the mobilization and the enthusiasm and the great, great hope that people had. The high expectations and the deep disappointment, I think that we hear in the pain that many have experienced since then. And I'd love to hear some of your reflections on the readings that we've heard so far. Rita, you're still on mute. Thank you so much, Susan. Reflecting on the two videos or even reflecting in the whole series that we have watched. It reminds me as well of my childhood, how I used to fight the odds to survive and also dream. And two things that I've taken from these short videos. One is the hope and love of South Sudanese to the country. The expression of pain, the expression of anger and the expression of the experiences of war. It's just a reflection that South Sudanese women and girls who are out there, who are being displaced, who are in the refugee camps, their hearts are still home. And I want to quote Lucky Dube in his song called God Bless the Woman. There is a phrase that always keep on motivating me. And he says that women do not run away from anything, but they stand and fight for what is right. And I think this is a reflection of what these young women are talking about. Yes, they might be desperate. Yes, they might be going through difficult moments, but they are not giving up. They are holding up to hope that one day, South Sudan will be a better place. And this is something that always keeps me motivated as a person that no matter how long it will take, eventually we will have sustainable peace in this country. And I've always spoken about this in many forums that one day South Sudan will receive not food aid, but will receive tourists who will come and see the beautiful land, the beautiful villages and the many resources that we have in this country. We'll be talking about nice stuff, but not really talking about painful moments that the country has gone through. The second point I've taken is the urge of having a space to express ourselves. And this is the gist of all of this. And I think it is one of the reasons me and my friends form EF organization creating this space for women to be able to express themselves. Talking about that, when you have the space to voice your pains, when you have the space to speak about issues that affect you, when you have the space to vent out the anger, it is a process of healing. And I think this is what many young South Sudanese women and even the other women, even other general, the citizens are looking for spaces to vent, to dialogue and to speak out. It is a way of healing. It is a way of reflecting. It is a way of trying to find solutions to the problems we have in this country. So S.E. for organization, one of the programs that we run is the incubator program, which gives space for young women to learn and to be able to express themselves. And I think these are the spaces that we need to expand. These are the spaces that we need to open up for young women to express. We do the incubator programs both in South Sudan and for the young women refugees in Uganda. And I am so happy and proud that I could even see some of those who have been in our programs being part of this. And I'm so happy that they have become, very powerful women who are able to express themselves out and they're doing so many other things. And this is very important for South Sudan. Thanks, Rita. And thanks for bringing us to this reality of hope because I think it's so important. I can remember traveling around South Sudan and even when people were in the most difficult of circumstances they would come together and dance. In the moments where the trade started to move across the borders again and people got the beautiful cloth and new dresses, the way that people held themselves with such pride. It's really, really incredible, I think. And I guess, Nyashankwath, I wanted to bring you into this part of the conversation to reflect a little bit on the great strength that exists among South Sudanese women and this deep reservoir of hope, even and perhaps because of the tremendous challenges that are there and that must be faced. Yeah, talking about the strength South Sudanese have as a woman who is born within this community and as a woman who saw my grandmother, my mother and different women within my community going through the hardship. You know, going through a lot, starting from harmful cultural practices, starting from women being treated as second class citizens. It's starting from women living in the front lines, fighting climate change and floods. I shared some few weeks ago a picture of women in the front line trying to fight climate change and floods but by the end of the day I don't even get recognized for the efforts that they do. Women who cross rivers to have access to health facilities, to have access to food, to have access to protection. And these are things that happen maybe in some other parts of the world. It is difficult to believe this is the reality of some women in some other parts of the world but these are realities happening in South Sudan. But nevertheless, these women still, they're so resilient. These women are strong to an extent whereby you don't even see the challenges that they go through. And on top of that seeing young women rising within South Sudan society is claiming for women spaces in different platforms, in different spaces whereby decisions are being made and looking at just, this story is being shared by young amazing women and tells you that South Sudan has big hope. And really these strong women who gave birth to these young women are now feeling proud looking at the younger generation trying to take over from where they left and trying to do more to that and seeing that things at least have changed. People can become vocal especially women and girls and come and start speaking about things that has been a taboo before. Some few months ago, when I briefed the UN Security Council in September I made sure that I mentioned the parts whereby young South Sudanese women who are from different parts of the world came up under the hashtag of South Sudan survivor talking about how difficult, traumatic experiences that they face being raped by people that they call relatives perpetrators that are not coming from far, coming from within. I would say that South Sudanese women are resilient and I would say that there is a big change because on top of the taboo, on top of the stereotype and the culture, these women decided to come out and they came out and they started naming the perpetrators and also they started supporting each other and a group on Facebook, they call South Sudanese love and that shows that there is a lot of strength within the South Sudanese women that they can do if only given the chance. Over to you. Thanks. I want to invite those who are joining us on the event webpage to send any questions along so that we can bring that into the conversation. We'll be watching that as we continue our discussion. I know that one of the major questions that people are thinking about and are actively advocating around right now is women's representation and women's active participation in the transition. And I'd love to hear some of your reflections on how is that process going? Where are you making the biggest strides? What do you think is working the best in getting traction to get attention and then meaningful participation for women? Rita, do you want to lead us off? Thank you again. I think with the issue of women's participation in the transitional government of national unity is a big debate in South Sudan. Particularly today from morning, I think all the media houses have been focusing on that. But I want to bring in a different perspective into this discussion. South Sudan have really come a long way in terms of ensuring that women participate in decision making. Remember when we got our independence, it was 25%. And that 25% has not been met by the time we got our sovereign states and we thought it's time that we could... I mean, all South Sudanese will give opportunities for women because women equally participated in the fight for the independence of this country. But unfortunately, the 25% was not met. And during the revitalization, we said, okay, this is an opportunity. Let's push for an increase for the affirmative action from 25, that is now 35%. But the implementation is the biggest challenge that we are facing for a number of reasons. One is we need to understand that the background we are coming from is a tough one. And secondly, I mean, when I say tough in terms of the cultural background that we come from, there are structural discriminations in our cultures that do not give space for women. This is one of the fights. And secondly, we also realized that the agreement itself was brought about after people pick arms and those who held arms felt that they should have that opportunity to get the power. Even if you look at how the agreement is framed and including the parties to the agreement, those who were having the bigger guns got the bigger share. And those are the political parties that are in opposition but not necessarily having guns. They got smaller percentages. Now the women having 35% being in whatever party you are in. Of course, it has been reduced to distribution of the pie who gets the pie. So you find that in the process the men really neglect the women be it in their political parties and stuff and they take over the position. But I also think the position of women in the political parties they were not able to push their male counterparts to open up the space. So these are some of the challenges that needs to be addressed. And this will take as I've mentioned before both a short-term and a long-term approach. In the short-term we'll keep on pushing of course as civil society and women's activists we'll keep on talking and reminding the parties but in the long-term some of these courses need to be addressed. For instance, having more women in the political parties but before that to even ensure we have a level playing ground for the women in the political parties to be able to go up the ladder not to be at lower positions where they don't have power. So these are some of the things that we need to look into. Of course, the apathematic action is not met but we still say congratulations for the women who are able to get into the transitional government we'll still work with them but there needs to be more coordination between the women in the political parties and women in the civil society to ensure that our voices complement each other and we ensure that there is push from the different angles and using different entry points to ensure that women get into leadership position because I firmly believe that it is important that there are equal rights and equal participation for us to have a sustainable peace in South Sudan without the participation of women I don't think we'll be able to achieve the sustainable peace because the participation of women is really crucial because they bring in different perspective into the transition and into elections and post the conflict reconstruction there are so many contributions that women can bring in and as I said from the beginning we never give up so this is going to be a long fight thank you I think that the sheer determination is a great promise as you were talking and as you were listening to some of the video recordings I was also remembering a conversation now several years ago where some of my colleagues in South Sudan were talking about women being given 25% and I used to give my teammates a really hard time and said it's not a gift it's not given it's guaranteed and I'm curious how you see this sort of language and the culture of what it means for women's participation and really genuine participation in a way that reflects the tremendous value the necessary role that women play and maybe I'll go to if she wants to jump in and we'll bring you back Rita as well thank you Susan most of the times I also keep making corrections because we have so many people including some women sometimes that were given this percentage not knowing that it's a human right so in most cases I ask and I'm like ok so if the other gender is saying that we have given women this right who gave you the authority to give because we are all human beings with equal rights so just to to comment a little bit on the women participation and women inclusion in governance and also in decision making recently I think all of us have been following how the the government of national unity has been formed and I just want to give like some few examples of some states and the women percentages and not in all position but just women who are ministers like we see in central equatoria state we have at least 20% of women state ministers in northern bargazal state we also have only 17% .6 we also have in unity state only 17% .6 and what are the states we have only women who are 11.8% as women ministers as well in junglee we have 11.8% and in western equatoria we have 23.5% and that tells you that there is a big gap we did even reach the 25% quota and that tells you that there is a lot of work you know needs to be done in order for women participation and inclusion to be reflecting and to be a reality we still struggle with women you know being part of these political parties being included in leadership in governance and so many challenges are coming up things to do with that people say that you know women have not been joining political parties so how can you include some of the women who are not part of the political parties and you just give them a position but I believe also it's just it's like an excuse like any other excuse the society always make looking at the culture and the background where we come from and we also see so many barriers from women not getting that conducive environment politically whereby they feel safe enough to participate in these spaces they feel threatened and at some point women decide to just not be part of any decision making process because they go through a lot of intimidation these are so many challenges so it's a challenge to not 1325 and I think it will take a lot of work but looking also at the bright side and looking at how some actions has been taken we have been seeing so many South Sudanese forums coming out making statements like the women coalition like born to lead in which that I'm a member of the steering committee coming out and saying that you know what as women it is written in the nationalized peace agreement that women are supposed to get 35% affirmative action plan we want that written we want that implemented we don't want it just in paper you know and I think also it's a sign of hope that South Sudanese women are waking up South Sudanese women are demanding South Sudanese women are creating spaces and are bringing their seats to put in tables where you know they don't have chairs and they're saying that this is our fundamental human right and we want this and it shows that within time and when the next generation comes things are going to change and we are going to see a lot of positive you know impact and women are not only going to you know fight for the 35% but in fact women are going to fight for 65% and for once let us give the men 35% the way they claim that they are giving us we are going to see how it's going to feel over to you Thanks I know Rita's having a little bit of a connectivity issue so we'll bring her back in as soon as we can I wanted to pick up this thread a bit more about elevating women's voices and women's roles and you just talked a little bit about the born to lead initiative I remember several years ago we were joined by colleagues when they started the South Sudan is watching the campaign and I know that women were very active in and around the negotiations to remind those who were negotiating that there were expectations that people wanted to see the violence end and wanted to see all of the promise of what was in the peace agreement to be delivered and I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit more about what are the ways that you think are working to elevate women's voices. What do we need to be doing more to listen and creating spaces like no time to mourn has done with this incredible anthology or the work that Rita is doing to connect with men who are allies and who need to be brought along as champions I think one of the ways to elevate women's voices and also women's contribution also for women to be part of different decision-making tables there is power in mentoring there are so many women who have been in politics for very long time within South Sudan named the Mama Rebekah Nyandeng named Dr. Anna Ito like people who have been in deliberation women who contributed during the war we have a whole list of Katiba, Banat and Katiba young women who left this city to go to the bush and they contributed into deliberating this country but unfortunately their stories were never captured their stories were never written their stories were never shared with the world now some of them are no more but still like you just hear their stories from other colleagues so I think one of the ways is to make use of power of mentoring to be together with leaders women who have been part of this journey for so long and try to learn from them what has worked for them what didn't work any recommendations that they have so at least the younger generation can adjust and also give the space to younger generation to young women young women are still fighting to get spaces you know to be recognized as leaders we see that some of these spaces are being dominated when young women comes to spaces of youth they are fighting for youth agenda they are told that you have a 35% affirmative action plan you are not part of us when young women go to these spaces with elderly women they are told to do services to bring tea to carry handbags to do paperwork and to do all that and I think if young women are given the opportunity through mentorship and through programs that will allow them also to have those spaces where they can be able to express how they feel and be able to help and support during the peace agreement we have seen the contribution of young women in that we had the elderly women who had the connections you know who have been part of these platforms for a very long time they were inside in these rooms negotiating but when they come back we had group of young women named them those of Ayak Sholalak those of Rhea different women who have been doing the paperwork they haven't been sleeping to make sure that women interest is included you know within these tables and by the end of the day the 35% affirmative action plan did not come out of the blue it came because these women did a lot of remarkable work a lot of hard work they could not even sleep and some of them were sitting outside these rooms waiting to hear outcomes and also making you know a statement for these other women to go and represent so I think there is power in unity intergenerational unity between the younger and between the elderly they could all go and come together I think South Sudanese women voices can be elevated and it can be heard another thing also that I can add is the power of information sharing we have so many people in the villages in the grassroots who are disconnected and because of the conflict because of the lack of IEC materials radios before because of the disconnection from the grassroots so because of lack of linking the grassroots to the national and international level there are some of the stories that are going uncaptured there are also really stories of women fighting for women inclusion in the grassroots from the ABC traditional courts from different places and these stories needs to be documented and only it can only happen you know using the power of media and also using IEC materials and also linking the grassroots to the national and also to the international level where these stories can be told and these platforms can be created for so many women to come together and this way so many South Sudanese women voices will be elevated and will be captured and so many women will hear so many different people from different parts of the world will hear these untold stories over to you Thanks I want to invite Ambassador Jenkins to come in here if she's interested and still able to join us because I know that this has very much been the mission of her career and also her organization WCAPS and we'll give her a moment if she wants to come in on that point we have a question as well and want to re-invite people to send your questions along if you're following on Twitter the hashtag is hashtag no time to mourn and the question relates to corruption and we've talked a lot about mass displacement about persistent violence about the impacts of impunity for some of that violence and the participant is curious about whether and how corruption at the levels that has been documented in South Sudan how that is impacting on women in particular we're still working on getting Rita back so I'm putting you into the hot seat for the moment if you're willing to reflect it all on that question from someone who's watching us today well just to comment on that I think when you talk of corruption in South Sudan on top of the list it is rare to see a woman named in the list of this corruption and sanctions and just to say that men are the one causing chaos in this country not women and women are peacemakers they're trying their level best to clean messes they're trying their level best to work and make things happen but it's still like you know men are the one causing all that and they're part of you know this corruption but I would say that it is good that at least as women of South Sudan we are being known for our resilient we are being known for our fighting and we haven't been part of corruption but for that I would say that corruption is affecting the women of South Sudan in so many different ways because there are spaces that women of South Sudan could speak women of South Sudan could make recommendations on how to tackle these issues and because of the effect of corruption in South Sudan and because of the effect on other people also women of South Sudan as part of the country they also get affected by that and they get deprived of their rights of being in part of these spaces because of corruption you know and name it like there are so many let's say things that are supposed to be utilized or resources that are supposed to be utilized in form of education you know educating children educating girls and because of corruption some of these funds are not going direct to education some of these funds are not going for development some of these funds are going for other different stuff or maybe let's say to personal pockets and of course this is directly affecting the development of this country and since South Sudanese women and also the young people you know are the majority in the country immediately they are the ones who are getting affected by this because by the end of the day it means depriving them of their basic human rights like education like having access to development like having access to basic health you know care system and and definitely it still comes back to South Sudanese women and girls especially the ones who can afford who cannot afford to travel outside for medication the ones who cannot afford to sponsor you know school fees for their kids outside it comes directly back to them it hits them because by the end of the day they are the ones who are going to carry that burden of dealing with the children in the country. Thanks. I saw you came on camera would you like to share any reflections in terms of the opportunities and approaches that effectively help to elevate women's voices any lessons learned from your incredible work. Hi, thanks again. You know I guess from my perspective you know it's a lot of obviously a lot of hard work a lot of perseverance a lot of holding each other up and bringing each other up and challenging a system and understanding the challenges and recognizing that it takes time I think we've heard today about taking time it's not something that happens overnight but you know when I think when people are working together you're working with people who are allies as well to help bring you along and you want to help lead the charge it takes a lot of work it takes a lot of camaraderie a lot of friendships a lot of strategies and patience you know and patience and support supporting each other providing a safe system a safe space for those times when it gets very challenging and you don't feel like you can you just need a moment just gather yourself and keep going around you who can do that so for me it's a lot of perseverance and a lot of keeping your what do you call it your eyes on the prize of what they say you know because that can keep you moving and just having your colleagues and around you and supporting you and lifting you up so just some thoughts I think those are really really powerful messages we're having some connection difficulties with both of our panelists here so I want to set out a couple of the questions that are coming through through on the chat line and we'll bring Rita and Yachenkoff back in when they're able to rejoin us I know that there's often power cuts when generators switch over or for other reasons where they're joining us from but we've had a couple of questions about how there's a possibility to systematically document some of the ways of artistic and other types of social political expression and related how are women at the grassroots being involved in shaping and contributing to some of this discourse and I think a recognition that this can sometimes be a bit complicated with varying levels of education access to media and information as has already been raised so Yachenkoff I don't know if you're able to reflect on either of those questions but essentially how do you ensure that these amazing reflections that we heard from the anthology and the voices of women in communities that are so powerful in understanding what are the needs and the priorities and knowing a way forward out of violence and conflict channeled effectively into policy and into decision making in a way that really takes advantage of that power and that hope and that deep knowledge Sorry I was off for a few seconds internet connection issue but just to answer you I think to include women in the grassroots in these processes and to make sure that their voices are elevated and their needs are being incorporated in policy papers policy recommendations it has worked for us before in assistant mission for Africa we went to next state in Euroneast and we had this big conference bringing together conflicting parties from Panijer County which was a rebel controlled area by then and also people from Euroneast which was a government controlled area and these are communities who intermarried, who stayed together for a very long time but because of the conflict since the conflict erupted in 2013 they were not able even to visit each other issues of revenge killing, issues of catarrhade other issues related to conflict were on the rise and the community recommended for AMA or the requested AMA to intervene and AMA facilitated a conference a peace conference and in that peace conference as a strategy we had the first two days of conference with everyone and then on the second day going to the end we asked the women do you feel like your needs your grievances, your demands are included in these two days conference and women were like no they demanded to have a conference women conference separate so we can come and sit also with everyone and conclude the conference and when we had that one day women conference with these women real issues came up real recommendations came up women were like for us we play a fundamental role whether in conflict or in peace when it comes to conflict we compose songs for youth to go and catarrate we give them moral support we show communities that our sons can catarrate their strong and there is nobody that can be like them and you see high rate of catarrating the same way we contributed to peace building because as a mother you are always at home when your son comes with something that is not yours or it doesn't belong to him you're the first person to know and you can make a decision by telling him that return it back where you got it from and we also make sure that we keep peace within communities because we are the first people who call for meetings when such issues are happening within our communities and we ask for solutions why is it we are not being included in border committees why are we not being included in peace committees why are we not being included in police committees we want to be included in different committees where men are and we want our voices to be heard we wrote these recommendations down and we went to the main conference the next day and we read their recommendations out and guess what these people came out especially the traditional courts leaders and they were like okay so your issue you want to be included it's fine for me like in the area where I come from there is no problem bring the names of the women leaders that you want included the women that you nominate include them and as a result these women until today they have been part of peace processes they have been part of you know solving conflicts through different you know peace committees different border committees that they have become part of and as a result they sign a community and in that community we came with recommendations and we share this recommendation with women leaders at the parliament here at the national level and they took it seriously I think different ways to create strategies to bring women from the grassroots or to bring their voices to these spaces one thing that women know what they want these women know their rights it's just that they don't get the right platform where they can feel free and they don't get the space where they can share their experiences and what they need and if we keep creating spaces for these women in every conference in every meeting that we do at the grassroots and bring their recommendations at some points bring these women to the national level and create that space where they can speak to the women leaders in the parliament I think their recommendations can be taken seriously and they can be incorporated in every policy paper that is taking place in this country thank you thanks Ambassador Jenkins did you want to come in here well it's hard to add to that because I think that you know because everything I think I would say has been captured I mean when I think about the work that I do with WCAPS and so much of it is building up a cadre of other experts and leaders and all pushing together and the access to those spaces is so important and want to highlight that is getting the access and then once you have that access to use it and to write the policy papers and spread out be everywhere it's not just writing the papers write other things or be on panels a lot of things that WCAPS have done we've done things we just did it and it's like I'm not waiting for a space I'm just going to what can we do it's different environments different locations of what you're able to do some more challenging and others but the idea of not waiting this is a space that needs to be open and we need to see how we can make it open work with our allies who can help us open it but in other ways you know find our own ways to do it and then to perpetuate it in as many ways as you can you know in as many spaces as you're able to that's actually a perfect bridge to my last question and I think what we hear from the authors from no time to more and the ones we've heard today and the others who write so eloquently and I think so in such a heartfelt way in the book is the tremendous challenges and the great hope in South Sudan and it strikes me that in this moment with a new administration in the United States with a new African Union chairperson new key positions in the African Union Commission in a year 2021 with the African Union that's anchored around arts as a theme and a lever towards the Africa that people want and desire and deserve I wonder, I'd love to hear your thoughts Nia Shankwas and Master Jenkins to the extent that you're able to weigh in what should the U.S. think about to be partners to be allies to South Sudanese women in addressing and getting traction on these challenges of the persistent generational displacement the continued violence the hope of meaningful representation the ability to move forward with a genuine implementation of the peace agreement and really a better future that we heard articulated in every single one of those poems and pieces of writing Nia Shankwas, over to you to start Thank you Susan I have few recommendations here to the American government or American administration and also to the international community just to focus on today's theme and how today's event is focusing more on IDPs more on refugees and more on displaced people. I think one of the policy recommendations that the international community or the American government needs to include refugees and IDPs in tables where decisions are being made on their behalf because these are the people who leave the experience, they are the right people who know what could work best for them and what cannot work for them and for that is good to have them represented in these tables whereby they can voice real issues that are affecting them and at the same time to be part of the solution to these issues and to these problems also displaced people needs more than workshops needs more than trainings and they need more than sympathy they need practical and fast solutions because the situations that they are in is not a situation that can wait so if there is a sense of agency when it comes to dealing with issues of refugees or displaced people it would really help so many of them and it would really save lives and would really have a meaningful contribution into their well-being also the international community of course must work together with national NGOs within South Sudan with international NGOs and also with the government or the new government of national unity to make sure that at least the revitalized peace agreement is implemented and there are no parts or sections that are being left like that it has to to come from the international community and from all these people who are working to come together and work together to make sure that the implementation of the peace agreement is happening in practice also another recommendation is women and children they have to be on top of the list of priorities especially when it comes to service delivery or when it comes to any emergency response we have seen just an example of the floods happening in places in South Sudan places like Jongle state like Apennai like unity state and other ones who get affected the most when it comes to crisis so if they can be prioritized when it comes to service delivery when it comes to emergency we have lost you for a moment again just as you're outlining some of those most important recommendations while we're waiting to get you back, Ambassador Jenkins I'll turn to you see if you wanted to come in on any of this and then we'll bring Nia Chenquat back in as soon as she's reconnected I guess for wait, did she come back? the thing I would just mention without really going into too much of what the administration should probably do is just to start by taking advantage of what we've been saying what the administration has been saying is going to be doing is being much more multilateral working with partners I think it's an opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with countries but also to strengthen our partnerships with entities within governments particularly with women and women groups in Sudan and South Sudan but I think all of Africa and so I think the efforts that are being made to do more outreach with countries and with partners is a good way to start but I think to go much deeper and also work much more and bring in more of these voices in terms of women in terms of women empowerment and making change so I think those are just some general thoughts on that maybe we can make sure that no time to mourn gets on the desk of everybody who has a decision making role related to South Sudan going forward Nia Chenquat welcome back I turn to you for very last remarks before we close out our event so thank you for hanging in there despite the internet challenges thank you I think my last remarks will be around how proud I am with these young South Sudanese women changing the narratives young South Sudanese women saying that we can do more than being a child bright we can do more than being a source of income we can really contribute into changing lives we can contribute into changing narratives and bringing positive change into our communities into our societies and I think they are paving the way for so many younger generations who are still growing up because this is a documentation and it's going to be a history and so many young women who grew up in a situation whereby they were told always that you know you cannot do it because you are born a woman because you are born a girl they will have something to to hold on into they have something to bring them hope something that can make them get motivated and be who they are and they will know that you know we are born as women we have a culture that says that women and girls cannot do this we have so many don'ts we have stereotypes we have harmful practices that say that you know we are second class citizens but in the other side we have strong women who paved the way for us and they say we can do it and we are going to do our level best to be who we are and thank you so much USIP, Oxfam and also thank you to the young women who really made headlines and made me proud and so many other South Sudanese I feel proud to be representing them and I'm looking forward also to have copies you know of these poets and the anthology shared thank you over to you Yeah Chiang Kwok you said it better than I can honestly so let me thank you for joining us today Ambassador Jenkins thank you so much for being with us sharing your wisdom and your inspiration we're so grateful to have you Rita unfortunately wasn't able to rejoin but we're so grateful that she was able to be with us and I also want to thank again the co-editors of No Time to More and Elizabeth Ding and Hilda Twangare I want to thank Oxfam and Ugandan Women Writers Association and I particularly want to thank Vigua and Charity and Lydia and Helena and Susan for the stories that they shared and for sharing them with all of us today I think at a time when many of us are so far separated the ability of poetry and stories and art to reconnect us and reconnect us in the challenges that are painful and more importantly reconnect us in the hope that people feel I encourage everybody who joined us online to read the other tremendous stories that are in this anthology there is a page on Facebook No Time to More and there's also a book available on Amazon so encourage you to continue to understand and benefit from these tremendous voices and we wanted to close off by playing again Birthwater and encourage you just to take a few minutes to listen to it after this really amazing conversation and the insights that our panelists and the other contributors have provided Happy International Women's Day wish everybody to stay well and safe and have a good year To the children whose birth water is broken by whizzing of shrapnel this is our portion we know war in sunken eyes we know it in the jabbing hunger pains we know it in our heavily blistered callous feet home is living between two tectonic plates deep orange skies that invite birds that squat scrap and scavenge the blood has made it to the ground water we know the reeking smell of almost entirely well we cannot hold it to our crack lips so we bite down on our children and our kin bleed there is time to perish but there is no time to mourn there is time to rot but there is no time to bury home is suspicion home is crutch faced down on cement pavement what is sanctum on unseeded land we say we have survived and you chaos embraces us softly quietly they're dead now do not motivate our fathers to get up from under the trees they pour another cup this is a bottomless tea they're dead now do not motivate our mothers to teach their son substance our black skin hangs loose lather it with oil to keep it from running fear punches holes in the future fear cannot mend them it siphons the chaos for later home always comes late of it all later always comes so soon we cannot swing across oceans with these mangled roots when war breaks we run we will not carry our language war is raging behind clenched teeth to fathers that sleep with guns in their hands but will never hold their children legacy does not fill the gaps you've turned our names to weights that crush our backs you've turned our names into sinking sand what are hunger pains to torn limbs what is plumbing to broken spirits what are roots if they choke you we say home is so far the same oceans are sitting between folks looking into each other's eyes our portion is silence they imagine home is subtle soot they imagine country is running we now know refuge is both