Tears of disabled soldiers abandoned by the SSPDF to fend for themselves
Meet Major Bol Macuor who needs four emergency surgeries but no one dares to help him, not even the SSPDF he served for despite his sacrifices for the nation as a disabled soldier since the 1980s.
by Winnie Cirino
A major in the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) with a physical disability has accused the minister of defense of ignoring his plea for financial support to undergo surgery for injuries on his leg sustained in the line of duty.
60-year-old Bol Macuor was born disabled due to polio but joined the SPLA in 1986 despite his disability, to fight for his people’s freedom. While he was in charge of an Archive Unit at Bilpam Military Headquarters in 2016, Maj. Macuor fell down a flight of stairs and broke one of his legs. He had requested the leadership of the army to put ramps on stair cases for the disabled, but no one took action.
Maj. Macuor would, later be taken to Juba Military Hospital, where doctors inserted an iron rod in his leg to support it, but the rod did not work. Macuor was since referred to a hospital in neighbouring Khartoum, Sudan where doctors operated on his spinal cord claiming he had Spondylosis, a painful condition of the spine resulting from the degeneration of the intervertebral disks.
Macuor says he has been living with a lot of pain and believes the metal rod in his leg is breaking down due to an infection.
The war veteran said he has a letter from the Director of Juba Military Hospital requesting that the ministry of defense and well-wishers provide him with financial support to address his injuries.
“I met with the minister of defense (Angelina Teny). She promised me some months back that she will do something, maybe she had a lot of work, I don’t know. She said she misplaced my papers, she told me to bring a photocopy, I took it (But) she said she needed the original copy from the doctor.”
Unfortunately for him, the doctor said he would not be going to diagnosis him for the second time just to acquire original documents to present to the minister.
“So, I was left like that,” Macuor told The Insider.
He says he has noticed that most people with disabilities are neglected in the SSPDF. He said he was surprised to be told by officials at military headquarters that he cannot receive financial support because he was born disabled.
Macuor needs four emergency operations, on the leg, a knee, his hip and his back due to dislocations caused by the effect of his landing.
“If there is somebody who can come across to help my situation because I am very desperate, I have been psychologically down because I have tried the leadership of the government to help me. Yes, I joined the SPLA as a person with disability thinking one day, I will be appreciated but unfortunately, I didn’t know, I would be told, you are not wounded by bullets, that you came as it is, SPLA considers people who are wounded at the battlefield,” said Macuor.
He says if he had known the definition of disability in the SPLA movement, he would have thought twice before joining. He said he has remained in the rank of major since he was promoted several years ago by Dr. John Garang, yet his colleagues and juniors now have higher ranks.
“If they don’t need me in the military, I can be taken to civil service, I can be a businessperson if I am given a loan. I can stand on my own but I cannot be neglected.” Macuor demanded.
“South Sudan has many rooms to help and give chance to others. There are some people who can come today and they are given chances and ranks without education. It is my right constitutionally to do something and the worst thing when you talk, people will give quick conclusion, ‘these are mentally disturbed, he has amnesia and [yet] we know many of them are not capable like us, but they throw us away,” said Macuor.
Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel, press secretary in the office of the Minister for Defense Angelina Teny, said he confirmed from Teny that she did not receive any documents from Macuor.
“We went through the list of people who came to us for help in the Ministry of Defense on individual basis, we missed that name, up to now we don’t have that name in our list but we would refer him to go back to his unit to find out if his name is in one of those lists because we always receive lists that comes from the military unit or from the headquarters of the SSPDF.”
When the SSPDF spokesman Major General Lul Ruai Koang was contacted for comment, Koang made a referral to the commission for wounded heroes. The person in charge of wounded soldiers declined to comment, saying he had a seminar to attend.
Many families of wounded soldiers and widows have often mentioned that the government of South Sudan has ignored them despite the sacrifices made by their loved ones during the war for independence.
“Now that list, either the minister will refer it back to the chief for verification to make sure that these are genuine cases because we have people who just want to receive money, but they are not sick,” says Gabriel.
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