Story

Displaced by War, Thousands Living Underwater on U.N. Base in South Sudan

September 04, 2014 | Pulitzer Center
By
Ty McCormick

A woman stands in the flooded "protection of civilians" (POC) site on the U.N. base in Malakal, South Sudan. Thousands continue to live partially submerged in contaminated water. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A flooded portion of the "protection of civilians" site on the U.N. base in Malakal. Once the second largest city in South Sudan, Malakal is now a virtual ghost town. A few brave traders venture out during the day, but almost all civilians return to the POC at night. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A smiling child carries a bucket of human waste in the POC on the U.N. base in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A child leans against a shipping crate in the POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A woman tends to her child in the flooded POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A woman wades through the flooded POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A woman carries her granddaughter in the POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

Walking through the flooded POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

A man gets a haircut inside the POC in Malakal. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

Displaced civilians hold their place in the line for water in the Malakal POC by leaving their containers. Image by Ty McCormick. South Sudan, 2014.

When civil war broke out here in December 2013, the UN mission made the unprecedented decision to open its bases to fleeing civilians. Since the bases were not designed to house civilians, however, the conditions in the impromptu camps quickly deteriorated. In Malakal, a base now designated for "protection of civilians" (POC), more than half of the 17,000 currently living in the site have been moved to new camps on higher ground, but thousands continue to live partially submerged in contaminated water.