South Sudan: Juba Airport Scrum

Credit to Juba TV on Facebook

I have read so much about the airport scrum at Juba International Airport and it was interesting to experience it myself. The system was different which made it a memorable experience for me.

I am thankful for the South Sudan Orientation guide sent to me by my organization and another one provided by my friend who was working with another organization I am still affiliated with because it gave me an idea on what to expect when I arrive in the country. One of these is to not take any photos of the airport, government buildings and officials, police and military personnel or I may end up with a visit to the nearest police precinct.

After getting off the plane, we were handed out a questionnaire to fill in. It asked about the places we were in the last 30 days (mine was Switzerland, France, Philippines, and Kenya) and if we were exhibiting any signs and symptoms related to Ebola. After filling it up, we lined up to get our temperatures checked.

Temperature check

If you declare that you have any of the signs and symptoms or if you are febrile, you will be quarantined. South Sudan is not just a high risk for Ebola but WHo considers it as very high risk! The Democratic Republic of Congo is its neighbor and adding to this is their fragile healthcare system. Ebola Preparedness through information and education campaigns are now being actively done by different NGO's. As a preemptive measure, frontline health workers in the country has already been vaccinated for the Zaire strain of the Ebola Virus, which is now plaguing the DRC. In my organization, there is a focal person doing Ebola Preparedness forums for the staff.

After the Ebola Screening section is the Immigration. I just stood in line here and patiently waited for my turn while my eyes were steadily fixed on a man who was pointing at persons randomly to either move from one line to another or move from the back of the line to the front. When I came to my turn, I presented them my entry permit (make sure to print in color) then I was redirected to a room to the left where I had to pay 100USD for my single entry visa (amount changes depending on which country you come from) which was valid for one month. The single entry visa can only be used to enter the country once.

Credit to Juba TV on Facebook

After this, I went back to the Immigration Officer who proceeded to check my Yellow Fever Vaccination card and later placed the visa sticker on my passport. I then followed the crowd to the scanning machine and then to my luggage.

The next point was the baggage claim area. If you cannot find your luggage here, they might have already been removed from the carousel and just placed in a pile beside it. There will be porters offering their services but just politely and firmly decline. Tell them that there is someone picking you up. Be patient with them as they only want a tip to help their families.

Credit to Juba TV on Facebook

Once you found your bags, bring them to the Customs desk to the right. It is between the carousel and the wall.

Credit to Juba TV on Facebook

Usually, you would have to open your bag for manual inspection but the customs hardly checked my bag because he was busy cleaning his ears. He just marked my bag with a dollar sign in white chalk and let me go!

Things to remember:

• Print your Entry Permit in color
• Prepare the required single visa fee in mint USD
• Single visa fee varies as follows:
• Countries from the East Africa Region: 50USD
• USA: 100USD
• All other countries: 100USD