South Sudan Diary

The arrival and departure areas at Juba International airport are large tents through which hot air blows all day long. The degree of chaos differs depending on the number of planes arriving or taking off at a point. With many parts of the country under rebel control, road journeys are less and less possible, so scores of operators offer light planes to ferry people. The tents are full of people…arriving, waiting, lugging food, kids and elders often sitting on bagg­age (there are only a few bent and buckled seats). The scene hasn’t changed much from the time I first travelled to South Sudan a month after it became the world’s newest nation.