The plight of Ethiopia's Anuak refugees

It took 29-year-old Okwalla Ochang Cham (center) two years to complete the dangerous journey from his home country of Ethiopia to South Sudan. "I had no money for transport up until South Sudan so I had to walk most of the way," he told DW. In April, Cham finally reached the Gorom refugee settlement where he was reunited with his wife and three children. Ethiopia had accused him of being a rebel.

Anuak boys sitting outside a home in the camp. Cham, a refugee who spent several years in an Ethiopian prison accused of being a rebel, isn't convinced it's safe for Anuaks like him and his family to go back. "What I know is that if the government system is still there, it hasn't changed. If they change the prime minister but the system hasn't changed, there will still be problems."

Akwata Umot Okok, also a refugee, walks through the settlement that's home to over 2,000 Ethiopians who have fled ethnic persecution. Most recently, investment projects such as sugar cane production have led to the Anuak losing large areas of ancestral lands to foreign corporations. This land issue has further intensified violence.

Akwata Umot Okok has found refuge at the Gorom refugee settlement, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of South Sudan's capital Juba. She used to be a farmer before she fled 14 years ago. Since then, she has survived on food rations and minimal income. But still, she is unsure about returning home. "If Ethiopia is now free, I will go back. But if it is not, I will not go," the mother of four said.

A woman chops firewood at Gorom Camp. The majority of people who've managed to flee ethnic persecution in Ethiopia are women. Men were often arrested and accused of being rebels. In a family setting, this meant women would often perform all domestic tasks.

Anuak children pose by a sign in Gorom Camp stressing that refugee camps are weapon-free zones. However, the camp has come under attack before when South Sudanese armed groups were fighting each other. Omot Obang Kwot, who left Ethiopia in December 2003 for what was then Sudan, says groups of refugees have been ambushed by gunmen outside the camp.

Since Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April, he has vowed to address the marginalization of a number of ethnic groups, among other things. However, despite the changing political climate, inter-ethnic violence persists. Renewed conflict has forced more than a million people to flee their homes since April, according to the United Nations.

A group of Anuak refugees who recently arrived from Ethiopia gather at Gorom camp's reception center. The UN's refugee agency UNHCR says an average of 15-20 people are received each day.

A refugee home decorated with traditional Anuak patterns and a new year's inscription that reads: "To The New Year 2018, maybe it is better". 2018 has seen significant political changes in Ethiopia, but whether that means Anuak refugees will finally be able to return home remains to be seen.