The concert titled “Health for Peace Concert” brought together the once-conflicting Azande and Balanda tribes as well as Dinka and Jur Chol early this week.

The event was organized by Rescue Initiative, a non-governmental organization operating in the area.

The manager, Tobijo Denis Duku told Eye Radio that the purpose of the concert was to bring those communities into one place to interact with each other.

It was also to conduct awareness on HIV prevention.

“The way people were living together during the conflict at that time was difficult, but today [Thursday, January 24, 2023, during the peace concert. We have seen people from Balanda and Zandi together,” said Duku.

“They even chatted about peace and they said that there is no chance of war in Tambura, this is what we did in the programming community for the health for peace concert.”

Some of the participants who spoke to Eye Radio said they were happy to come together as different communities.

According to them the concert has reconnected them and brought peace to the area.

“My name is Justin Jullu Ngisa from the Balanda group. I have seen a lot of things during this program and what is important to me is how we can unite as one people in the county,” said one unnamed resident.

“People should cooperate with one another. No one should hold grudges against his brother. Look at a Zande the same way you will look at a Balanda because they are one people,

“This is what is important to me in this program we are attending today in Tambura County”.

“Tambura is good, there is no problem. We are living here with the Balanda, Zande, Jur, and Dinka altogether, we sing together, we dance together, and we talk together with all these people,” Roy Anderea Dumbata said.

“Peace has come, all the people in Tabura love peace there is nobody who does not want peace. I am comfortable with all these people there is no problem,

“The people of Izo have started to return home now including the people of Source Yubo and the people of Tambura are also coming back except for a few because their grass-thatched houses were all burnt.”

“I am very happy today with the organizations that have come to us with good things. Currently, we are not happy because the conflict has affected us badly,” said Peter Ranio from the Zande dancing community.

“We and our children are suffering, we have no means of getting or doing, we could not cultivate and get money to help our children, there is no food, there is nothing at all,

“The fighting was bad for us. I am happy that they have come to open our eyes to help us know what we can do in the future,

“They have also connected us with peace so that we can unite and do things together as before. We are happy with what they have brought for us”.

Since 2021, sub-national violence in Tambura County, Western Equatoria displaced nearly 80,000 people with reports of civilians killed and wounded.

Many of the people displaced have fled to neighboring Western Bahr El Ghazal State.