CAUGHT IN THE EYE OF A

HURRICANE South Sudan had their hopes set up for the

celebration of their fifth year as an independent

state. Those hopes were soon crushed.

Fast forward to Sunday, the nightmare has just begun. A shot is heard in the capital city of Juba, abruptly breaking the

morning silence sending shivers down the spine of a thousand people caged in the heart of the violence. Still trapped in precarious shelters with nothing to do and nowhere else to go, dozens of people battle hunger, swarms of mosquitoes and fear for their lives, but they know it is not over yet. They know that the peace they were promised is crumbling right in front of their eyes.

Not far from Juba, six engineer consultants working in South Sudan for one of Falck Global Assistance’s (FGA) Danish customers are well aware of the horror that is unfolding in the nearby city. They must get out of the country. Now!

Still holding on to a hint of serenity thinking they are in a safe distance from the hurricane of violence, the situation escalates. Realising that their lives are about as safe as a ticking time bomb,

they take refuge in a nearby UN camp. Back in Denmark, Søren Boss Hegner

Rasmussen, Global Security Manager at FGA, is mobilising all forces - putting every ounce of energy into getting a flight in over the borders of South Sudan to rescue the six expats.

Maybe you are now thinking: how hard can it be? In this situation, very, very hard.

About 120 kilometres east of Juba you find the city of Torit where the governor of the Sudanese state Eastern Equatoria lives. Every expat working in South Sudan must visit the governor and sign an agreement stating that they will return to the country when peace is restored before they are allowed to leave. Not a problem. FGA’s security partner just has to ensure safe travels through the hostile environment to Torit and our six expats can board the airplane waiting to take them to safe grounds. But we are missing an important point: any airplane arriving to- and leaving South Sudan must

stop by Juba to receive the needed permits to land. An important point that this airplane had missed. Stuck in Torit without an airplane, in a state of uncertainty and back to square one, the short-lived serenity had turned into fear.

Escaping terror Heavy clouds cover the sun as darkness falls over the city. FGA has managed to get our six expats into safety in a secured hotel in Torit and now all they can do is wait, and put their lives in the hands of Søren and his team back in Denmark.

But the good news is not far away. Through their extensive network, FGA found an airplane that was to arrive the first thing the following morning. This good news would turn out to be very short-lived. The ceasefire enforced in Juba has been violated and the airport has been shut down.

Steve Evans

By Sofie Henriksen

PAGE 4 FALCK HELP SEPTEMBER 2016

No one can get in or out of the country. The expats are stuck - stuck in the eye of the hurricane of violence. Just as the last drop of hope is draining away, FGA successfully gets a licensed airplane to Torit the morning after. Navigating through the many checkpoints manned by unruly, trigger-happy soldiers, FGA’s security partner ensures safe transport to the airport where all hell has broken loose. Escorted through the maze of an overcrowded and chaotic landing strip, the six expats depart unsafe grounds and are flown into safety in Kampala, Uganda.

When FGA flexes its safety muscle This case embodies much of what Falck Global Assistance is all about – helping companies ensure the safety of their employees abroad.

What the story does not tell us is that right before the fights escalated in Juba, FGA was preparing their trip to the region, bringing in a thorough evacuation plan as a preventive action against the unfold of a very hostile and dangerous environment.

As nobody could have predicted the sudden outbreak of violence that day, on July 10, FGA was forced to carry out the evacuation plan without a test run. Trying to solve a complex maze of many different actors and communication lines in a race against time, while knowing that six people’s lives on another continent are depending on you, is in modest terms an extremely difficult task. Nonetheless, that was what FGA successfully accomplished.

When reconciliation has been restored, the six expats plan to return to South Sudan, but this time things will be different. FGA takes no chances. They are currently doing an extensive evaluation of the social and political environment in the region, in addition to an advanced evacuation scheme that will ensure the safety of their client’s employees. Making sure that global travellers and expatriates feel in safe hands.

Five of the six expats after arriving safely in Kampala, Uganda. They are in a good spirit despite what they just went through.

Civilians are caught in the middle of the war between the two opposing troops that has violated the ceasefire in Juba.

Following two

years of civil

war where tens

of thousands

of people were

killed, president Salva Kiir signed a peace

agreement with rebel leader and former

vice president, Riek Machar on August

26, 2015, who was sworn back to Juba

and re-appointed.

Despite the alleged peace between the

two men, clashes re-erupted early July

this year as disagreements once again

flared up. Troops on each side has been

impossible to control and the country

is still in a condition of violence and

uncertainty, many fearing a new civil war.

What is happening in South Sudan?

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