Living in the Shadows of Darkness: The Invasion of Akobo by the Nuer Community
7 min readLiving in the Shadows of Darkness: The Invasion and Annexation of Anyuak Land of Akobo by the Nuer Community
By Peter Okello, Nairobi – Kenya
November 23, 2015 (SSB) — From the onset of the “so called” NUERS, coming into the blessed land of “Anyuak” – in particular AKOBO in earlier 1930s, nothing good had been prevailing. The policy of tricking our people, which they claimed to be peaceful migration into the interior of AKOBO, the claim that “their land is dry and no grass for their cattle is the deadliest agreement if not the least outrageous reasons that our ancestors granted to these “inhumane culprits”. The Akobo elites and historians perfectly knows the evolution of “pathetic Nuers” into the land of Akobo.
I am not interested to narrate the chronology of the Nuers exodus into our land but for the record, allow me to give you a glimpse of the darkest days of our people. During the Anyanya I civil war, most of our peoples’ villages in Akobo town were brutally burned down, massive killing of our innocent civilians by the then Government of Sudan, claiming that the Ciro Anyuak members were collaborating with the Anyanya I regimes.
In 1964 the village of Arini in Nyikwaar clan was burned down to ashes by the then, district commissioner by his name, Abubakar El Wagia. In 1972, the signing of Addis Ababa peace deal, had seen the Anyuak coming back home in numbers. From 1973 to 1980, the Akobo land and territory was ruled by an Anyuak.
In 1983, yet another brutal, callous and outrageous killings and burning down of Akobo Anyuak residential homestead. This was organized by the government(Sudan government) The Akobo Anyuak ethnic had witnessed atrocities which you can call “Uncategorized massacre” in the day light and nothing was done to bring the culprits to justice. When Nuers do that, I mean killed people, they always claimed that Anyuak were the one who started it. Lame excuses always are on the top of Nuers agenda.
In 2013, October 3rd, the entire world had witnessed yet another killings and the burning down of our sisters and brothers houses. The following morning, the Akobo Anyuak citizens in Bor rise on their feet to demonstrate against the injustices committed. All of us know that, it was the day when our paramount chief was murdered in cool blood. All of us knew that our children are always kidnapped, we all know that our sisters are raped (made by Nuers as sex toys), we indeed know that our fishing nets were no longer ours, our wives were their wives, our land are indeed their lands as they had been claiming for ages.
To say the least, we all know that, what had been happening in “our land, Akobo” is no longer a story but a fact. Sorry to quotes the word, our land. I had seen for sure if nothing is to be done, then forget from today that the “SWEET AKOBO” is already not yours. Anyway, to end the chronology of the Nuers inhumane deeds, Nuers are after something….” Your sweet land” and they got it. You have no land, correct! When will you wake up? “Think of it”
Are we being ethnic cleansed…?
Can I say YES or NO, anyway answer it yourself. To answer the above question, I want to begin with the simple scenario in South Sudan. The case of Abei is still up to date not solved. The Miseria who are more the same like the Nuers, cattle keepers invaded the land of Dinka Ngok many years ago just like the Nuers. The owners of the land filed countless reports and claims but all fall on deaf ears. Look at the brutal killings in Rwanda between Hutus and Tutsi, look at the Holocausts war in Germany centuries ago. Look at the case of the Jews and Palestine’s in Israel. Up to date it still exist. The question whether we “the Akobo Anyuak” being ethnically cleansed is true.
If Nuers could host thousands meetings about our killings, if they could mobilize their youth to go and kill our people, if they could educate their mass majority to marry our daughters, sisters and allegedly to garner our land, to say the least, why can’t we do the same? I am just asking a question here. The Nuers could not sleep at night because they need our lovely land but for us, we sleep and snore like lions. People say, “what goes round, comes round” or more still say it better than I do, “that what goes in the dark shall one day comes to light? I guess the secret of Nuers had comes to light many years ago and up to now, we amazingly did nothing, absolutely nothing. Sorry to be sarcastic but truth has to be filled on the gazettes.
The game of do me and I do you is well known nowadays. If you slap me once, I can forgive you but if you do that several times, trust me, I will deadly revenge. Jesus said we should forgive our enemies thousand times but I guess, lord Jesus didn’t say that I forgive somebody who killed my people, rapped my sisters and possibly my mother, take my land by force and lively forbid me from farming in my fathers’ land. NO! Jesus did not say that. For the record, there is no verse in the Bible that quote that. Should I remind you that the only person who remain from Akobo is you and I (the remnants)? if we cannot take action today, then the simple question is… when shall we?
The predicaments of our people…
For many years now we had learned to live in silence. People say that “Anyuak are God’s chosen people” or as you would say “Anyuak are the wisest people on earth” but I say we are the most useless people on earth. Sorry for my inadequate use of vocabulary here. Let me use the right description, I mean we are the backward kind of human, the laziest, poorest, lunatic and to say the least, “the most cursed human on this marginal earth” I guess you quote that if you agree with my simple expressions.
From Ethiopia (Gambella Anyuak), to Pochalla and now us “the Ciro Anyuak” we always say that “Nuers are stupid, useless and backward kind of people” now what can you say about them today? Do you still say those words today? Please! Words are just not good to say every day. I mean let’s not make more noise, rather to make more actions than toothless sounds that we produced million hours a year.
Since day one, I had realized that the claims letters, compliant that we had written and the reports, cannot change any worse situation to normal. South Sudan in particular, if you are a peaceful person, you will be the last person to be heard. You will not get a good position in terms of leadership and you will always be given less funds, “just a reminder”.
If we still live in the past, I revoke you in the name of Jesus Christ to open your eyes, said one of the pastor. Please, live in present. Update yourself, if your software is old or it is perhaps getting obsolete. We are in 21st century for Christ sake. Why are we still sleeping? Why “Anyuak” why? We all know the sound of AK-47 cannot be interpreted right? So let’s think outside the bottle, rather outside the box if thinking outside bottle is no longer helping us.
I think we are living in the shadows of darkness for sure. With the reports we wrote, we thought the so called government can help us, but hell no, they will not, we had for many years witnessed that. They will not solve our headache. NO WAY! Now listen! And listen so keenly! We need to open our eye and after we did that, let’s then do the necessary. I hope my local English is clear enough. I mean we need to fight!
Oh yes! We badly need that. If we cannot fight the “so called Nuers” then we will lose all our properties, women, our children and not to forget, our exquisite land – the most precious gift from God. Think of it. We are tired of all these. The casualties are enough, the dead are enough, let’s rise today or tomorrow will never wait for us.
For many years now, I had indeed known that we are “LIVING IN THE SHADES OF DARKNESS”…
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