Chinese peacekeeping taskforce provides help to South Sudan's post-war reconstruction

MAPLE, July 19 (ChinaMil) -- 10 days before the departure for China, Huo Hongkai, leader of the Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment, once again came to the Veterans Transitional Training Center in Maple town to inspect the quality of the construction project. This training center constructed by the Chinese peacekeeping taskforce and referred to as the "Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration" (DDR) center by the U.N. is South Sudan's first training institution dedicated to veterans.

Since its independence in 2011, the Republic of South Sudan has had approximately 162,000 combatants laying down their arms and needing to be relocated. In order to help them acquire basic skills of life and work, the U.N. plans to construct 3 "DDR" centers in South Sudan to reintegrate them back into the society. This project was assigned to the Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment.

With the absence of water, electricity, shelter, construction data and building model, the officers and men of the Chinese peacekeeping engineers sought for their own drinking water, brought their own generators, and spent 205 days and nights to complete South Sudan's first "DDR" Center ahead of time in April of 2013, which took in the first batch of approximately 400 people.

When an UN official responsible for the peacekeeping operation inspected the transitional training center, he praised that: "I am so happy to see the presence of the Chinese peacekeepers here. China has always been actively supporting U.N.'s peacekeeping operation."

In fact, the Chinese peacekeeping engineers always appear where they are mostly needed by local people. The only road in Zhuerhe County of Bahr el Ghazal State connected to Wau, the capital city of the state, was often drowned and disrupted in floods during the raining season. After completing the construction of the "DDR" center, the Chinese peacekeeping engineers immediately carried the construction machinery into the vast tropical jungle and opened up a straight channel among primeval forest and swamps between the two locations, which shortens the original 20-odd kilometers of the winding road into a route of 3.6 kilometers.

Prior to this, the Chinese peacekeeping engineers spent a span of 26 days leveling out a flat of 3,000 square meters of parking lot for Wau, the second largest city in South Sudan, revamping a road of 1,200 meters, and building up a waiting shelter in order to equip Wau with a bus station in its true sense.

In addition to that, starting from the beginning of this year, the Chinese peacekeeping engineers have trudged 320 kilometers all the way to Raja and spent more than 3 months successfully constructing an airplane runway, 1,200 meters long and 107 meters wide, which has greatly improved the local traffic conditions.

Ruizeke Hassan, governor of Bahr el Ghazal State, said that: "The Chinese peacekeeping taskforce has used practical actions to establish a close and friendly tie between the two countries. I will report its excellent performance to the Chinese Embassy in South Sudan at an appropriate time."

While the Chinese peacekeeping taskforce is spreading friendship by helping construct each project, local people's life has also been quietly changed. Rabic Akon, a female veteran currently receiving training of sewing in the "DDR" center, is filled with gratitude toward the Chinese peacekeeping taskforce. "In the past, I would never imagine that my life will become like this. Now, I have food and income, and my income is able to feed my whole family," said Rubic Akon.

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