Red Cross deploys Starlink at South Sudan refugee camp

from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – THE world’s largest humanitarian network, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has deployed communications technology to enhance connectivity in South Sudan’s main refugee settlement.

This enables communities to find loved ones again through the power of digital connectivity at Gorom Refugee Settlement.

The initiative aims to complement the ICRC’s existing family tracing services by helping people separated by conflict, including internally displaced communities in South Sudan and refugees arriving from Sudan, reconnect more conveniently through a satellite-based solution using Starlink technology.

ICRC teams visit the refugee settlement once a month to offer the service, which involves distributing coupons with usernames and passwords.

These unique credentials enable users to log in and connect their personal devices, including smartphones and tablets, to the internet and search for missing relatives or reconnect with loved ones on their own.

The system allows many people to connect to the network at the same time, making it easier for large groups of displaced people to search for and connect with their families.

ICT teams also offer guidance on the safe and responsible use of the service, something they often try to balance with user autonomy.

“The service has strong potential to support efforts to locate missing family members and reconnect separated relatives in South Sudan,” Talent Moyo, ICRC Deputy Protection Coordinator, said.

Amit Dhar, ICRC Coordinator in charge of Information and Communication Technology, said, “With this new service, they can stay on the phone (or other device such as a tablet) with relatives even for up to an hour or more, depending on the need.”

The conflict in South Sudan and neighbouring Sudan has forced populations to flee to countries where their telephone networks do not work.

– CAJ News