Kuol Manyang Juuk: Tell Ajoh’s Children, Stories of Liberation and Peace in South Sudan
8 min readBy Kur Wël Kur
Dear Hon. Kuol Manyang,
This letter will wait for you at home; it could wait for 5 years, 10 years or if South Sudan places orders for your tireless devotion and love for this country, this letter can wait for 15 years. Some of my peers/ critics, cringe and wry in disgusting in learning that I need you in service for another 15 years.
However, I will settle their impatience and desires to obtain the managerial seats with ZERO experience by sending them to Uncle Joseph (Lagu) for lessons of endurance and patience. So when every conflict that scares peace in South Sudan dies, and you come home to guide the neglected copies of your DNA and reprints (grandchildren) of your own blood’s copies, I would love you to tell them these stories: The liberation struggles for South Sudan, backstabbing in the course of struggles, the hard decisions [lives of children (Jesh el Hamar) in the wilderness] and the birth of our beloved country.
The liberation struggles for South Sudan
In the tranquillity of the summer evening and your grandchildren scramble for best places, closest to you, when all take their longing places, say it (story of liberation struggle) with energy and pride.
Grandkids! I rolled with the towering giants like Dr. John Garang Mabior, William Nyuoon Bany, Majhok Mach Aluong, Abraham Jongroor Alier, Anyaar Apiu, Francis Ngor Maciek, Dhieu Warabek Ayuel… just to name the few, who gave their last and highest prices for our beloved country. I rode with the likes of Salva Kiir Kuethpiny (Mayaardit), Malok Aleng, Bior Ajang Duoot, Malong Awan, Deng-wek Kuoirot Deng-aguek, Awet Akot, Wal Athieu Madol, Oyai Deng Ajak, Ayuen Alier, Malual Ayom Dorr, Obote Mamur, Deng Kelei Machar…to name the few, whose God privileged us with their existence. Kids, our country, a treasure of treasures; however, to own a country, blood must flows for wild dogs, hyenas, blood-drinking vampires, homeless blood-sucking ticks who occupied without leasing or acknowledging the rightful owners of the land.
The freedom fighters decorated national parks, the independence park, John Garang’s square and John Garang’s Science and Technology University (JGSTU) with their precious bloods. They (fighters) poured their blood for Mading-Bor(Jonglei state), Kapoeta(Eastern Equatoria), Aweil (Northern Bahr el Ghazal), Wau (Western Bahr el Ghazal), Rumbek(Lakes ), Kuajok (Warrap), Yambio (Western Equatoria), Juba (Central Equatoria), Torit (Eastern Equatoria), Bentiu (Unity) and Malakal (Upper Nile). They showered our borders (South Sudan-Uganda, South Sudan-Kenya, South Sudan-Eritrea, South Sudan-Ethiopia, South Sudan-North Sudan, South Sudan-Central African Republic, and South Sudan-Democratic Republic of the Congo) with their dear bloods. The freedom fighters’ limbs fenced our beloved country.
Women toiled our fertile land to supply the fighters with food; women raised kids, while the fathers liberated our country. They thatched huts; women rejuvenated our forests by friendly fires; they drove away wild animals. Women protected homesteads; they produced our country.
Backstabbing in the course of the struggles.
Kids: the liberation pushed people to the edges of the endurance; it segregated the weak-hearted individuals. War exposed true colours of humans’ souls. Some my countrymen never winked a second in the dust of the battlefields. Liberation sorted men into many groups, cleaners who never left barracks for battles, cooks who without a bullet scar but wanted to cook for fighters, backsliders, cowards and lazy men. However, my grandchildren, traitors hurt us more than did our enemies; they (backstabbers) regressed the course of liberation for a decade. The enemy paid them for pouring the blood of their relatives. Traitors fed on relatives’ flesh! They bowed for homeless people who wanted to occupy our country by force; they washed clothes, cooked, cleaned and did all sorts of humiliating duties for the enemy whom they wanted to please. In the darkest corners of our history, rested the backstabbers who left us; and those still with us today, sauntered in the shadows of our history. My kids, if bad comes to worse, and two gates: die or convert into traitors open, kids choose that beautiful and honourable death, and then shut the ugly and cowardice gate of treason. Because we don’t die kneeling! Remember it, my dear ones.
The hard decisions [lives of children (Jesh el Hamar) in the wilderness]
Jesh el Hamar
My dear ones! Life comes not alone, but with responsibilities; responsibilities for others’ lives and those of your own life. Kids: My heart cut-open when hard decisions of Do or Die (DD) confronted me; my heart throbbed in fear of unknown future of my own and that of others.
But, my fears and pains killed me in silence without any sign; for kids of your ages and some younger than you, patrolled the forests of their hosts. The untamed bear feared them. Lions retreated in quick steps when they (lions) met with those kids; hyenas with a watering mouth, begged for any weak kid among them; but dear ones, none of them gave way for weakness. They sprinted as fast as the cheetah! They fuelled me to accomplish the little I did for this country.
Darlings: Those kids trained themselves to cook; they thatched their own huts. The healthy ones cared for the ailing ones; if God sent an angel of death to detract some among them, they buried their dead ones. My kids, those kids, composed song for liberation of our beloved country; they recited poems of sufferings and hopes; Jesh el Hamar, condemned the occupation of our country by stupid wanderers. They went to schools in the countries of their hosts; those kids understood our weakness, lack of educated people. They excelled in academic. However, my children, my heart filled with joy when God paid me back.
God constructed bridges across the India and Pacific oceans; The Creator and Determiner of all fates paid me back by sending most of Jesh el Hamar to United States of America, Australia, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Holland. In these countries, they learned all professions and trades. Our president emerged from Jesh el hamar’s generation; the governors of Jonglei, Warrap, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Upper Nile came from Jesh el Hamar. One of the Jesh el Hamar became our first mayor. They run our country; my dear ones, I believe God paid me in full.
The birth of our beloved country
My dear grandchildren, after the blood of freedom’s fighters soaked the soil of this country, after sufferings of small children and their mothers reached God, after freedom’s fighters gave either their lives or limbs for this country, and the enemy gave up their stubbornness; John negotiated peace, The CPA for us in 2002, 2003, 2004 and finally signed it in 2005! CPA stands for Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Kids, my colleagues and I couldn’t believe it. Too good to accept!
John toured our states, selling and explaining the packages in the CPA. My kids, our own army as one of the packages, settled my fears; The CPA fenced off (wealth sharing) our enemy’s long hands of stealing. Our country sits on a fortune, oil’s reserves. We scooped a few gallons to build the best capital city in the world; Ramciel’s buildings tip-toes to our backyards for tour.
Kids: With God-given wealth, we can afford any best thing in the whole world. We afforded the best governance, DEMOCRACY, because of our wealth. We afforded the cutting edge education because of our wealth. We hired outstanding professionals for our universities. Those professors at our universities impacted every field in the whole country; for instance, our health sector, improved greatly, childbirth mortality rate reduced, infants’ mortality rate become negligible, curable diseases disappeared, and death related to cardiovascular diseases dived down.
Our wealth produced the most disciplined and equipped up-to-date army! Someone stupid, my dear ones, raced into the bush in 2013, claiming that he needed our national army ‘democratised’! But my kids, no democratic army even in the first world countries like United States of America, the giants of democracy. You only find the disciplined ones, the likes that fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, though within them (armies) supported not the ideas to invade other sovereign nations. So army does the best for the country, not for individuals’ desires.
In conclusion, Kids, I want you to remember four lessons in the stories: liberation struggle needed consistency; those who lacked it, became slaves in their own country. They joined the enemy and worked for them to feed. Inconsistent dogs patrolled the oil fields for enemy to drill our own oil to buy war planes, vehicles and guns.
Secondly, backstabbing killed and destroyed more than did the enemies because relatives/friends became backstabbers; they understood our vulnerability. Choose your friends or those who you work with, wisely!
Thirdly, your responses today, shape your future because for God: deeds determine fates. My kids, stay vigilant as wild animals and birds! Listen to their voices, they (birds and animals) receive information direct from the Creator; information of natural disasters such as famines, floods, minds-blowing winds (tornadoes), droughts or man-made ones such as wars. My dear ones, specialise in nature. Study the soil, water, weather and forests (native), for introduced or foreign forests understand nothing from you so they (introduced) can’t hint you anything from the Nature. Stay naturalists of God, the creator of all things.
Fourthly, courage comes from many things, even from unlikely people. Use everything to your country advantage. Kids, remember the Jesh el Hamar’s story? They encouraged me lots of times so observe small children, younger than you and use their resilience to overcome your greatest fears. Energise with courage: from within or without!
My kids, the night visits in a full turn so take a break and shower, then get ready for the dinner.
Thanks for listening!
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