South Sudan Commemorates Veterans Day
5 min readSouth Sudan Commemorates Veterans Day
By Bol Garang
People accuse me of killing our sons and eating up people’s farm produces for nothing, but let me tell you this, our blood will be shed because I hate oppression and marginalization of our people but I will not even enjoy the fruits of this struggle. There are people sleeping comfortably right now; they don’t know the hunger or the sound of a gun. After our job is done that generation will take over; they will cut a large piece of land with pangas and sell it cheaply for a bottle of beer–Dr. John Garang
South Sudanese will celebrate and commemorate the 59th anniversary of Veterans Day of South Sudanese today the 18th of August 2014. The day is very important to people of South Sudan whether old men, women, young boys/girls. What’s Veterans Day? It’s the day people of South Sudan pay tributes to all the war veterans who detriment their lives for our freedom. We need to respect all of our veterans of our country.
The 1955 Torit Mutiny or Anyanya One movement was the first civil war between Southern Sudan against Northern Sudan government in the history of old Sudan with objectives of itself-determination. The movement that fought for numerous years has voluminous consequences to the ordinary citizens of South Sudan who were in and out of the bush fighting for the freedom of our country we possess currently. Therefore, we need to pay tribute to them the founders of our country South Sudan.
Why do South Sudanese celebrate it? South Sudanese celebrates the day because it’s the day we give our veneration to the most distinguished veterans Joseph Lagu and Abel Alier Kwai, Salva Kiir Mayardit and many more in the Country for their brilliant exertions. Additionally, we must also give admiration to other leaders such as Aggrey Jaden, Gordon Muortat Mayen and Enoch Mading Garang, John Garang Mabior, Garang Deng Ataak, Nyuon Bany, William Deng Nhial and many others who have died for this nation.
Mading Garang a high politician between Abel Alier and Joseph Lagu, it was a great man who constructed Juba international Stadium and many more in South Sudan but has vanished in the history due to some motives. Some of the Veterans have died because of the marginalisation of South Sudanese, the killing of innocent civilians, the looting of resources, the destruction of properties and environment, their contribution have a very magnificent effort to our country South Sudan. Therefore, the day is very significant to them and the entire country.
The South Sudan liberation Movement was terminated with peace agreement in Addis Ababa that gave Southerners autonomous region. The remembrance is sympathetic of contentment to the people of world new nation South Sudan who got independent 3 years ago because of their skirmishes. Additionally, the struggle of Anyanya One movement is the foundation that brought South Sudan independent which, was completed by SPLAM/A on 9th July 2011. Let’s enjoy our independently.
The movement has contributed heaps to the autonomous region of South Sudan during that time although there were some divergences within the movement; they had come together and resolved their differences for the pursue of peace and now they’re our heroes. Numerous people may marvel and ask a question, why there were disagreements within the movement while they were fighting for separation? I would say we South Sudanese have very imprudent ideologies and that was the initiated of discrepancy.
The war veterans have contributed a lot in our country and also they need to counsel our current gluttonous power politicians on how to manage country affairs since they have been through difficulties during 1955 civil war. Furthermore, the current conflict I observed as unsubstantiated to take our people lost lives, therefore those who have lost their lives will be remember but they those who instigated it will be held accountable.
The 1955-1972, 17 years civil war was ended up with peace agreement signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia but after the desecrated of the agreement and the adaption of sharia law and many more were the caused of 1983 SPLA/M that fought another 21 years until peace agreement signed on 9th January 2005 in Kenya. The agreement again gave Southern autonomous region a period of 6 years to choose on referendum whether to remain untied Sudan or be separated as a newest country. Therefore, after referendum majority of South Sudanese choose to be independent from the old regime of Khartoum.
The current conflict has lost a lot people of lives, destruction of properties and damage of environment in our independent country but why do we have to fight ourselves while we have got what we want? The war can’t solve anything so we need to understand ourselves as one people one country. Our people requisite to unite to develop what they were pugnacious for and people also need to inform those voracious politicians to learn from the past to make future brighter. There’s nowhere will someone come to make our things perfect if not as. And if there’s no understanding, how could we accomplish our objectives? Nowhere, it could be unbreakable to progress.
By Bol Garang
Bol Garang “Man far away from Corruption”
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