The shocking and slightly ridiculous image has already gone viral: dozens of South Sudan soldiers marching through the bush, each wearing a cheery child-sized bright-blue UNICEF school bag on his back.
The United Nations children's agency had intended to donate the backpacks to schoolchildren. Instead they were looted and given to South Sudan's soldiers. Some of the backpacks have even ended up in the hands of rebel fighters.
Photos of the soldiers and their stolen backpacks have become an iconic image of the war: a symbol of looting on a massive scale, where nothing was sacred, where even impoverished children were robbed of what should have been theirs.
The theft, protested strongly by UNICEF this week, is an example of why so many of the world's leading donors are reconsidering how to help South Sudan. Relief agencies and other donors – including Canadian groups – are trying to recalibrate their aid. Most will become more cautious and more skeptical, attaching more conditions to their aid.
The destruction and killing was not a result of external enemies. It was inflicted by some of the country's top leaders and factions – the same politicians who had welcomed foreign aid. And it is of such vast proportions, destroying so many towns, hospitals and food warehouses, that a rethinking of aid policies is inevitable.
For years, when donors were considering their Africa options, the oppressed people of southern Sudan were an easy choice. Certainly they were among the poorest and neediest in the world, still recovering from decades of devastating war. But other factors were at play too. Christian evangelical groups wanted to help them because they seemed to be the victims of persecution by an extreme Islamist regime in Khartoum. Politicians in the United States and Canada supported them because, in the words of one aid worker, their cause seemed "sexy" – and they were endorsed by Hollywood celebrities such as George Clooney.
For more than two years after their independence in 2011, the South Sudanese seemed to have almost a blank cheque from foreign donors. There was a sense of optimism and progress, and a confidence that South Sudan had turned the corner towards democracy and peace.
Analysts were forecasting that South Sudan would have one of the world's fastest-growing economies this year. The IMF was preparing to provide support to the country's budget. Hundreds of potential investors flocked to a South Sudan investment conference in early December. Oil revenue was beginning to flow into its coffers, providing new money for health and education. The United Nations food agency was planning to expand into long-term development projects in South Sudan, rather than just basic food aid – a sign that South Sudan was switching into a rebuilding phase, not just staving off starvation.
Then came the disaster. It was not a flood or typhoon or earthquake. It was largely a self-inflicted disaster by the country's top politicians. In a squabble over power and the rules of the game, they refused to compromise, escalated their dispute into violent clashes, and allowed their followers to attack and kill. Ethnic retribution followed, and soon an estimated 10,000 South Sudanese were dead, with nearly 900,000 forced to flee their homes.
This was accompanied by a wave of looting, often targeting the same donors who were trying to help the country. Vehicles, food stockpiles, hospitals and medical supplies were among the huge amounts of humanitarian supplies that were stolen.
In the city of Malakal, where rebels and soldiers had swept in and out during the fighting, I saw entire streets of market stalls that had been torched and looted. The destruction was comprehensive. Food warehouses of the UN's World Food Program were emptied by thousands of looters. Even its administrative offices had been ransacked and robbed.
Canadian donors are among those who have to decide what to do now. The Canadian government is a heavy supporter of the WFP, giving $31-million to the WFP's efforts in South Sudan last year alone. The food that it financed was almost certainly among the stockpiles affected by the looting.
One charity based in London, Ont., suffered heavy losses at its farm project in South Sudan. The group – Canadian Economic Development Assistance for South Sudan – has been working with local villagers since 2008 to develop a mechanized farm near the banks of the White Nile. But the farm is on the main road between the capital, Juba, and the war-ravaged town of Bor. "All the military movement was directly through our farm," said Jeff Lang, co-founder of the Canadian project. "This resulted in much of the crop being 'borrowed' by troops moving north."
Because of the fighting, the farm lost much of its harvest this year and all of its revenue, Mr. Lang said. "This revenue must now be raised through donations to support the project next year."
The United Nations has issued angry statements over the looting of school backpacks and similar incidents. "We are extremely concerned to see this flagrant abuse of UNICEF education materials by combatants," the children's agency said.
"A large amount of UNICEF supplies – along with humanitarian supplies from other organizations, as well as stores from schools and hospitals – have been looted in many locations during the conflict in South Sudan. Such thefts display a complete disregard for the principle of protection of civilians and respect for humanitarian work."
Much of the foreign support for the South Sudan government's budget, including the planned IMF assistance, is now likely to be suspended or reconsidered. "The credibility of this government is below zero," one aid worker said in Juba. "The blank cheque has been withdrawn. It's not a Western darling any more."
The WFP, which suffered the loss of 4,400 tonnes of food in a dozen looting attacks across the country, must now shift its aid strategy, abandoning its long-term development projects and switching back to emergency aid, while putting its food stocks into a much smaller number of warehouses to discourage looting.
"Now it's back to basics, back to emergency work," said Valerie Guarnieri, regional director for the WFP in Eastern and Central Africa. "It's just sad. It's depressing."
At the Canadian farm project near Juba, the volunteers admit that the fighting has taken a toll on the morale of the local farmers. But they are refusing to walk away. "We are determined to continue," Mr. Lang said. "Our commitment to the project stays firm."
Geoffrey York