Will the “Greater Bor” Name Survive?
4 min readBy Garang e Ciluel
Will the “Greater Bor” Name Survive?
I think enough is enough ladies and gentlemen. The name Dinka Bor that has been used to generalized the people of the three counties (Twic East, Duk and Bor) has always been controversial but because people where engaged in bigger problems than the names, it was just left in that controversial state.
I have never known any time in the history of this name where people were all comfortable with it. So, why do we kid ourselves when it is not working at all? I am glad that people have started talking honestly about this issue.
However, there are some people who still don’t get it. First of all, before we part ways and live harmoniously as brothers and sisters minus the controversial name, we need to understand when the name Bor first emerged and what transpired after. For those who have not read or heard history and thought that we have always been Boor, I will tell you a couple of things.
In my understanding, the Twic/Twi, Nyarweng and Hol were never call Bor till recently. I have no idea when Gok and Athooc started calling themselves Boor. Maybe somebody should help us with that. When I was growing up in the 80s, I knew there were Twi/Twic (where I come from), Nyarweng, Hol and Bor/boo.
I apologize; I didn’t know the existence of Gok and Athooc until recently but only knew them us Boor/Boo. In the same 80s, an individual from Nyarweng composed a slightly funny song about Boor/Boo, that goes like; “Panda ekë ye nhiaar të cïï rap luok/Luo, aluel Boor/Boo wuobë lo Jonglöng”.
The question is, if these people where Boor/Boo, why would they reference Bor/Boo as something different. It does not really matter whether other people call us Dinka Bor or not. We have to agree upon the name.
That labelling can change so quickly. It was introduced by a small group of politicians when the four Dinka groups in question did not give their concern and they were/are not party to it.
Today, we are doing the same mistake. The word Greater Bor emerged from outside the country and does not reflect the will of the majority in South Sudan. If there was something called Greater Bor, our three counties would have carried the name Bor (i.e, Bor South, Bor Central and Bor North).
To me, it would have been the perfect scenario. The fact that we have Twic East and Duk Counties is an indication that the name Bor is rejected by most people in those counties.
In the ECS, there is Diocese Bor and Diocese Twic East. Diocese Duk is in the making. Even when everything is clear, we are still ignorant of the reality. Please do not quote me wrong. I am not in any way promoting division among our wonderful communities that have a lot in common to cherish.
But shying away from the reality in the name of unity is the most dishonest thing that you can do to these communities.
For those who are advocating for Greater Bor, please start your campaign at the grass roots level (i.e at the counties level). This Greater Bor in diaspora is going to fail terribly. A minority cannot push their agenda down the throat of the majority and expect to succeed.
In that regard, I would like Deng Lueth Mayom and his co-leaders of the Greater Bor of the USA and other Greater Bor Groups around the world to listen to both sides of the coins.
There are two groups that are not comfortable with this generalization and we should not ignore them. The first group is the Bor Asili group that claim the name Bor and feel threatened that their name is being hijack by members of Twic East and Duk County.
On the other end are members of Twic East and Duk counties that do not consider themselves as Boor/Boo.
In order to quieten these people, we need to prove to them that the majority of our people in the three counties support the idea.
Dismissing these voices as minority is a dangerous mistake that may be regrettable in the near future.
You can reach Garang e Ciluel at: ciluelgarang@yahoo.com
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