Our Voice From Israel: South Sudanese Community in Israel Congratulating President Kiir on his First Official Visit to Israel
6 min readTo:
H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit,
President of the Republic of South Sudan
Juba, South Sudan: December, 22, 2011.
Dear H.E. Your Excellency President: Salva Kiir Mayardit and South Sudanese people:
We want to broaden our heartfelt greetings and congratulations to our President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit and the people of the newly independent State, “Republic of South Sudan,” once existence of oppression, war, death and the scattering of the people to all parts of the world are over. With great felt sorrow, we have been turned down from the wonderful political and apolitical events happened between Juba and Jerusalem since we were under the Sudan regime and now in our own sovereign government of South Sudan.
Yet, we still want to share with you our great happiness on the remarkable achievement of independent State of South Sudanese people after long struggled for our three historic decades that begun in 1955 leaded by Nya-Nya one, two and our heroic movement of SPLM/A that earned us our sovereignty after traumatizing and hard fought war of freedom which released us from the valley of death, oppression and slavery to liberty, equality and as a Democratic State.
Israel is a home to hundreds of South Sudanese people and the South Sudanese’s independence was greeted with festival celebrations in Tel Aviv which was performed by South Sudanese community. According to news media such as mfa.gov.il/MFA; Israel (22 Sept 2011), and Sudan tribune (Sept 22, 2011; KHARTOUM) stated that, “the Jewish state promised to assist South Sudan in areas of infrastructure, communications and agriculture”. “We” South Sudanese in Israel welcomed the identified promised by the State of Israel but we are here in Israel on the very large path-way of losers from all the Diasporas of South Sudanese people.
According to (www.jpost.com 20/12/11): President Kiir told President Shimon Peres of Israel that, “He very moved to be in Israel and to walk on the soil of the Promised Land, and with me are all South Sudanese people. Israel has always supported the South Sudanese people. Without you, we would not have arisen.” Our doubt here is that, “our President Salva Kir has come to Israel with his all Ministers and no one has even asked about the South Sudanese in Israel.” So where are we from our president? To tell truth, “we are in an open prison in Israel with conditional realized papers in our hands and no government figure from both sides has asked for us as they are our hope of freedom.”
Also www.haaretz.com quoted President Peres pledging that, “Israel would help the new country develop.” “The first link between Israel and South Sudan was created in the 1960s, when then-prime minister Levi Eshkol and I – at the time deputy defense minister – met in Paris with local leaders from South Sudan and we gave you wide-ranging agricultural and infrastructure assistance,” he said. Our question here is: “where is that helped now while we are in your home?” We are deprived out from higher education, State health, labour right and travel documents, our children do not get birth certificates from the ministry of health because South Sudanese are not recognized by the State of Israel as refugees. We just got conditional released visas as our documents with a written quote under it which says, “Not for work.” Our future is so dime due to these reasons that we are facing in Israel. Unlikely others Africans refugees, who have been granted permanent residents status and work permits as a legal documents that give them a opportunities to learn and get employment with a reasonable wages that suits their daily needs.
Also there is so called “International Christian Embassy Jerusalem” (ICEJ) as its website is (www.int.icej.org) lies of assisting destitute South Sudanese with housing, finding jobs, and caring for their families’ needs, until our status and ultimate fate can be determined, And now changed from ICEJ to Operation Bless International (OB Israel) which is also (www.ob.org) lie too for providing humanitarian and legal assistance such as aiding new immigrants and migrant workers; providing job skills and educational training to South Sudanese but this organization is the only organization that playing the very business role on our case here in Israel. The only help from the entire above organizations is illegal repatriation of South Sudanese and Sudanese in general such as those of Darfur and Nuba Mountain to South Sudan which is usually conducted by Charmaine Hedding.
According to Y-net News article 20/12/11: quoted our president saying that “I am very excited to be here, to set foot in the Promised Land. Israel has always supported the South Sudanese people: we wouldn’t exist without you. You fought beside us to allow for the inception of South Sudan and we would like to learn from you with have shared values. Throughout history we have overcome similar struggles. We will work with Israel in the future to strengthen the strategic ties between our countries.” South Sudan government is interested in pursuing joint gambles with Israel in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, water conservation and advanced technologies and not interested in the freedom of its citizens in Israel. We have not been recognized inside Israel and we have no rights to visit our homeland. For these reasons and more, “we” the people of South Sudan in Israel has termed South Sudan relations with Israel as “a tie based on materials” is importance than South Sudan citizens in Israel. Charity begins at home!
In conclusion, we South Sudanese Community in Israel are requesting South Sudan government to ask their counterpart the “State of Israel government” with the helps in both states to have legitimate targets based on the concept of retroactive advancement on our status and rights to basic human needs such jobs, education and right to visit our families in South Sudan. We demand these to be proceeds directly as agreement between South Sudan, and the state of Israel, without middle organization here in Israel.
Also we seriously demanded “Ambassador” for Israel because we have been excluded since the time of government of South Sudan missions that were opened all over continents, African countries, Arab countries as well as Western and Europe countries and we have not been presented by our own government of which it can be helpful to us and be respected as South Sudanese residents or refugees internationally and that would give us opportunities to study and work legally and return back home successfully and help in developing our “new State.”
Joseph Monyde Malieny: Student of University of South Africa (UNISA)
For more details, I can be reached through: Josephmalieny@yahoo.com
Cell phones contacts: 00972-526406811: 00972-545388985:
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