| Total population |
|---|
| 300,000 to 350,000 people |
| Regions with significant populations |
| South Sudan, Ethiopia |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Primarily Animism, but also Christianity |
| Related ethnic groups |
The Anuak , also known as the Anyuak, Agnwak and Anywaa, are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting parts of East Africa. They are primarily found in villages situated along the banks and rivers of southeastern South Sudan as well as southwestern Ethiopia, especially the Gambela Region. Group members number between 300,000 to 350,000 people worldwide.
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The "Anuak" are from the family of Nilotes. They have lived in the area of the Upper Nile for hundreds of years and consider their land to be their tribal land. The Anuak are ethnically, culturally, linguistically, historically and religiously different from most other Ethiopians. Their indigenous land is totally different from anywhere else in the country in both climate and geography. Hundreds of thousands of Anuak people live all across the United States but mostly in Minnesota or Northern United States.
Unlike other Nilotic people in the region whose economy is centered on raising cattle, the Anuak are herdsmen and farmers. They are believed to have a common origin with their northern neighbors, the Luo and Shilluk. Also, they share a similar language with their neighbors to the south, the Acholi.
The Luo people are scattered all over Eastern Africa including Sudan and Ethiopia and have been identifying themselves as a special entity who have preserved their cultural heritage wherever they reside. The Luo speaking people of Eastern Africa are found beyond the Sudan and Ethiopia in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Congo. Their language(s) and dialects belong to the broader cluster of Nilo-Saharan languages.
The Gambela region is hot and tropical with rich, fertile, well-watered soil coming from the rivers originating in the mountains of the highlands where there is a much cooler, dryer climate. The difference in geography has separated Ethiopians into distinctive categories of "lowlanders", such as the Anuak and other indigenous groups in the area, as opposed to the "highlanders" who comprise the vast majority of the population of Ethiopia, such as Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans, etc.
However, the Anuak and others, who live in the lowlands of Gambela are also distinguished by the colour of their skin and they have faced racial discrimination and marginalization by this government and by other ethnicities based on skin colour. It has affected the Anuak’s access to education, health care and other basic services as well as limiting opportunities for development of the area.
The Anuak of Sudan live in a grassy region that is flat and virtually treeless. During the rainy season, this area floods, so that much of it becomes swampland with various channels of deep water running through it.
The Anuak Justice Council (AJC) is an umbrella organization for the Anuak that advocates for non-violent solutions to the widespread human rights abuses being perpetrated against the Anuak in the Gambella region of Ethiopia by Ethiopian Defense Forces. The AJC's approach to restoring peace, justice and the rule of law to this area is by means of international advocacy, increasing public awareness and utilizing established legal processes. The AJC is a non-profit, non-political organization representing Anuaks in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and in the African diaspora. Since 2005, the AJC filed a several complaints against the government of Ethiopia with several international bodies including, International Criminal Court concerning December 2003 atrocities targeting the Anuak in the Gambella Region. However, the government has denied any involvement in the killing event though several eye witnesses who were US citizens and were in Gambella during the time of killing and testimonies of several international organizations such as Genocide Watch report = Today is the day of killing the Anuaks! and Human rights lawyers reports submitted to the "United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination amnesty international"[1].Yet the Government of Ethiopia still blames the victims of the killing [2] and uses the same tactics to kill other ethnic groups [3], They also shut down the media for speaking out the truth [4]. The December 13, 2003 killing of the Anuak people was alleged to have been sparked by the death of 8 Ethiopia highlanders who were killed by unknown groups. However,the killing of Anuak people by the Ethiopian government and unknown armed groups did not start in 2003 but earlier on are several groups in Ethiopia fighting the government of Ethiopia massacred the Anuaks of Itang in 2002 [5], the same location where the alleged ambush occurred, it is unlikely that Anuaks were culprits but the victims.
On December 13, 2003 Ethiopian troops and some highlander (non-Anuak Ethiopians) militia groups allegedly went into Gambela town, utilizing and relying on a list of educated Anuak men who were thought to be "anti-government" and massacred approximately four hundred and twenty four persons in less than three days. Many Anuak homes(Some Anuaks were put on fire) and crops were burned. Women were raped and others were imprisoned without charges. Many of the bodies were never identified before being buried in mass graves. The body were all taken by the troops and were never been able to be buried by familes. Similar actions were allegedly cast when action was taken by Government troops in the rural town of Gambella city, causing many more victims. The Ethiopian troops went to a ruaral country village called GOG and raped women and killed some men. Many Anuaks fled to the bush or to Sudan for refuge.
Over the past year or more, the Ethiopian military has continued to perpetrate these crimes against the Anuak with impunity. However Anuak Militants have also allegedly attacked Government forces and non-Anuak civilians as well, according to BBC and other sources.[1][2] Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on March 24, 2005 that documents systematic and widespread atrocities committed against the Anuak by Ethiopian military units and local Ethiopians defending themselves from Anuak Militants. HRW indicates that these acts meet the stringent definition of crimes against humanity, however no one really knows full details of what has occurred. Some critics have instead claimed the Anuak militants, not Government forces, should be held responsible for crimes. According to Anuak militants, Anuak men (and some women) continue to be subject to arbitrary arrest, beatings, detentions and extra judicial killings. Rape of Anuak women is allegedly widespread and believed to be almost universally suffered by Anuak women throughout the region. Anuaks continue to suffer huge problems with basic access to water, health care or clinics, food,and education, just like the rest of Ethiopia. Even though the country has one of the fastest growing economy in GDP currently, poverty still exists. Some non-government organizations are alleged to be extremely biased against the Anuak population and assisted Ethiopian Defense forces and highlander civilians in brutal retaliatory attacks against non-combatant Anuak people, including women and children. Entire generations of Anuak children are unable to attend school, and are growing up, if they are so lucky, without any formal or informal education at all. But all of these claims are allegations by Anuak militants and supporters, particularly since education coverage has recently improved very fast around the country.
According to exiled Anuaks, the Anuak has been the subject of military oppression from Ethiopian governments. Genocide Watch placed the Anuak massacre on their emergency list of ongoing genocides in the world. "The situation reminds me of Rwanda in 1993, when all the early warning signs were evident but no one paid attention," Dr. Gregory Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, said. Various external actors and governments are involved in proxy wars and conflicts in numerous borders in the unstable region of the horn of Africa, including in Gambella, thus ethnic conflicts could possibly spark and resume.[3]
Anuaks are mostly Christians. They all love to sing gospel songs and go to church in Ethiopia. Many Anuaks have built Churches to sing and Praise Jesus. In the United states most Anuaks are Christians too and come to America so their children can have a better life.