It is the youngest country in the world, having endured two civil wars in half a century, only declaring independence in 2011 and still in conflict today: South Sudan.
In May 1983, Sudan broke out in the second civil war, one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in Africa.
South Sudan's journey to independence has been fraught with hardship, with the longest and bloodiest conflict in Africa, nearly 2 million people killed in fratricidal fighting and 4 million displaced.
Kati Babanat Female Veteran Amer Aluke:
The situation was dangerous and people were living in panic. I remember one day, a group of people came to the school and intimidated us. The students were so frightened that some ran under their beds and hid. They took two girls with them. They didn't come back all night, and the next morning at 5 a.m., they came back crying. I don't know what those people did to the two girls, whether they raped them or what, and the two girls cried for a day and a night.
Amer was the first girl in her area to join the military, came to Canada in 2002 and 20 years later is ready to return to South Sudan, Kenya and across Canada to reunite with her fellow Khati Babanat veteran sisters and relive the past.
Kati Babanat Veteran Lucy Antros:
I was as if I was only 9 years old, and I was taking on the role of a mother at home, taking care of all the children in the house. I always carried the youngest child on my back and went out to find something to eat. When I came back to put her down, I realized that she was no longer breathing. She died on my back, and I didn't know it. The neighbor came and took the child away and buried it next to my mother.
In order to survive, women from all over Sudan traveled to Ethiopia, some fell ill on the way, some died in the war, and many of the girls who left in 1984 never returned home.
Kati Babanat Veteran Yar Aguto:
There were fighter jets in the sky tracking us, so we had to hide during the day and rush at night. We just walked aimlessly until we got tired of walking.
Some were fleeing the war, while others were taking part in the revolution.
The girls were trained in the Kati Babanat Women's Barnath Battalion.
During the training, there is no gender distinction, no distinction between men and women.
Kati Babanat Female Veteran Amer Aluke:
Chagai is our training instructor and is responsible for training at Camp Bilpam. At one point, we were "tortured" all night until dawn. They pressed our heads into the water, pulled them out, and pressed them back in. Then we were kept rolling around on the training ground, and we were ordered to squat and jump, running in circles. We are exhausted.
The female soldiers can still remember the song they sang: "We beg you...... Go and tell John Garang about our determination. We would rather live and die with the motherland, our lives are our home...... Children of Sudan...... Our lives are our home. ”
John Garang de Mabiol is the leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.
The women still remember that John Garão de Mabiol often said to them, "We have no home, our home has been taken away." Now, you have to fight for your independence. ”
Kati Babanat Veteran Amira Buller:
When there is too little food, we give it to younger children, who are hungry, and older girls do that. When we were hungry, we would form a circle and dance together to entertain ourselves. We will also sing on the radio to boost morale and call on children and young people across Sudan to take up arms and rebel against the government as Kati Babanat female soldiers.
Kati Babanat Female Veteran Amer Aluke:
We got our hands on the Kalashnikov automatic rifle, which was a "custom version for women". I lay the rifle flat on the ground and began to disassemble it. But when it was time to reassemble it, it couldn't be put back on. I was about to cry. They have already said, let's not disassemble these guns, but I dismantle them anyway. I begged for help, but no one had ever seen a gun like this. As hard as it was, I made up my mind. I kept trying, kept praying, and finally finally put the gun back together, thank goodness.
After completing the training, John Garang told the women that it was time to go to the front and fight for freedom. The first assault on Gico was carried out by female soldiers.
In Sudan's military history, the Battle of Jiko is also known as the "Raid of Female Warriors".
Kati Babanat Veteran Amira Buller:
We walked through the battlefield and crawled on enemy positions. Everyone is divided into small groups, and each team will relay the bullets, and finally pass the ammunition to the battlefield ahead.
Kati Babanat Female Veteran Amer Aluke:
At first (I felt) there were gunshots everywhere (scared). By the time we arrived in Jiko, we had become accustomed to the sound, like the sound of a "da-da-da" drum. We are no longer afraid of these gunshots.
The Battle of Jiko lasted for many days, and the enemy continued to send reinforcements, sending tens of thousands of soldiers.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) simply cannot withstand so many enemy forces.
So John Garang decided to let the female soldiers go back.
Kati Babanat Female Veteran Amer Aluke:
Many people were killed in the battle of Giko, we saw people who were shot, some who were badly wounded, all over their bodies, who lost limbs, whose legs or hands were amputated. We've never seen anything like that before, and it's terrifying.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) has suffered heavy casualties as a result of the ongoing fighting. In the end, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) failed to capture Jiko.
In 1986, John Garang disbanded the Kati Barbanat Women's Barracks.
After the disbandment of the women's barracks, what happened to these young girls?
Watch Phoenix Vision's "Sisters in the Field: The Legend of the Sudanese Female Soldier," April 22-26, 8 p.m. every night.
Source: "Phoenix Vision"
Editor: yii