Three Importance Roles Youth Should Adopt to Promote Peace in South Sudan

By Joseph Athiaan Angok

April 13, 2015 (SSB)  —  Youth are always referred to as the “pillars” of the nation. This is because of the roles that they play in the development of the country that they belong. In Rwanda for example, youth there rejected tribal affiliation.

And therefore, they played a major role in post – genocide Rwanda. They consider themselves as Rwandans – not as Hutus or Tutsis.

This made me to ask myself:  what roles can youth in South Sudan play to promote peace among them in such a critical time – and which ones are those?

Well, these questions compelled me to undergo a tiny research and therefore wrote this piece on the 3 importance roles youth should play to promote peace among them in this time of war.

As a result, I found out that the key aspects youth should do to propel peace are explicitly explained as follow:

 Change of attitudes:  means that youth can do this by changing their attitudes towards people, traditions and believes. They should learn to combine their enthusiasm with patience, releasing that the importance of living together and should therefore defend their frontiers of peace and nonviolence.

 Forgiveness: to pardon those or the person who wronged you in any way or the other can lead to the attainment of peace. In South Africa for example, Nelson Mandela and his anti – apartheid youth pardoned the white minority which eventually led to the birth of the Rain Bow nation of South Africa in 1994.

Discourage hatred: advocate for love – rather than hatred. No peace can be achieved when people entertain hate speeches among themselves. This means that love all people – not only people who hail from your tribe. Love everyone, irrespective of tribe, race, and religion or gender because everybody is created in the image of God!

With all these and with every youth having at the back of his/her, then South Sudan will be a peaceful and hatred free.

 Joseph Athian Angok is a South Sudanese. He can be reached at athianangok@mail.com.

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PaanLuel Wël

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PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

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