Gai Bol Thong, who fled Sudan in 1995, helped raise $45,000 to support his community in South Sudan. Some say the money helped fund a violent raid on a neighboring community which killed thousands. Bol Thong says his community was just defending itself and that the money goes to support many needs.
By msnbc.com staff
A Sudanese refugee in Seattle says he led a fundraising effort for a tribe in South Sudan that is accused of massacring hundreds of men, women and children, as the world’s newest nation faces the prospect of a full-blown civil war.
Gai Bol Thong is the director of an organization called Nuer Youth of North America, which he said provides humanitarian support for the Nuer, one of the predominant ethnic/tribal communities of South Sudan, according to a report Friday in the Humanosphere global health blog.
The father of eight moved to the U.S. in 1995 after fleeing Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war, which killed millions, blogger Tom Paulson writes.
The Nuer, who mostly raise cattle for a living, are frequently in conflict over resources with another cattle-raising South Sudanese tribe, the Murle. “This goes back hundreds of years,” Bol Thong said.
The animosity between the two groups deepened last year, when the Murle attacked a Nuer community, killing hundreds of people, including women and children. Last month, the Nuer retaliated in a massacre that the United Nations, even with combat-ready peacekeepers, could do nothing to stop.
The raiders had even broadcast advance notice of their plans, according to a story published Thursday by the New York Times.
“We have decided to invade Murleland and wipe out the entire Murle tribe on the face of the earth,” the Nuer statement said. Aiding that effort was $45,000 that Bol Thong estimated that he helped raise from South Sudanese living abroad — he said for the warriors’ food and medicine.
Read the original story on The New York Times
“In the Nuer culture, you warn them ahead of time so they can remove the women and children,” Bol Thong told Humanosphere. “The Murle made genocide on us. We do not kill old people, women and children.”
News reports tell a different story.
The Times reporte that about 8,000 Nuer fighters attacked the village, leaving hundreds and perhaps thousands dead — including women, elderly and children. The United Nations had sent in 400 peacekeepers, but they were vastly outnumbered and unable to stop the assault.
The retaliation continues. Recently, the Murle struck back, killing 57 members of the Nuer tribe.
Bol Thang told Humanosphere that the conflict is complicated — and South Sudan, which gained indepence only on July 9, has no police or government structure yet in place to enforce the laws.
He told Humanosphere that he sees no problem with raising money to support his tribe.
“I raised the money to support our community, to provide food and medical supplies,” he said. “Everybody already had guns.”
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/13/10151934-seattle-man-i-raised-money-for-south-sudan-tribe-accused-of-massacre
Diaspora Lou Nuer Raised $45,000 To Aid Raid on Murle
While some coward like Isaac Kueth Gang are laughing and trying to gain merits and credits, the Lou Nuer are undergoing a great death threats from Murle soldiers. As we speak, fighting is going on in the Uror county. Many old people were killed in Wek, Tiam and other small villages. It is confirmed that all Murle citizens serving in the SPLA army had already left the Lou Nuer areas. I called my own village and one of the known captian knwon as Korok had confirmed defected with many Murle officers. If the death of Nuer worth laughing, well the damn idiots will laugh until he ran out of gas. I believe its hard time for us the people who are hearing the killing of our brothers, relatives, sisters, fathers and mothers.
Whoever condemn the Nuer reprisal act may have been sleeping with Salva Kiir for few months; otherwise, let us just rash to the conflict resolution rather than keep praising Murle. This evenning, we had received the news that 1000 Murle officers left Pibor, Lilkuangole for attacks. The direction is not clear whether they are heading to Dinka Bor or going to The Nuer territories. Perhaps they may attack sooners or reinforce their groups in Lou Nuer areas because the Youth may probably arrive today or on weekend.
As aired out by the deputy minister of defend that the conflict is going in a wrong direction. We may probaly hear more defection within the SPLA forces if these 1000 Murle SPLA soldiers attack some more villages. If the Nuer SPLA officers defected as the Murle did, then our state is in clear choas because it will be a huge destruction and the leadership would not enjoy sitting ideally in Juba. We should pray more that the country we fought that long, lossing a good number before the independent must be lost simply because of leadership incapability.
One road it back in the days that when fighting occurs, the civilian in Juba will slaughtering themselve in day light, given to the fact that the poor majority are in a tough hardship while seeing the revolutionarily wealth of cash display on street of Juba from Warrap men, whereby some of them exchange money while walking bar foot. I am in doubt that the leadership of the government in Juba will rescue and bring a solution since they seems to enjoy their vocation while civilians are left slaughtering themselves. The nation is in the stage of emergency and therefore, majority of them would have been in Jonglei by then, thinking of the alternative ways of addressing this problem.
Now, Joshua Konyi, the commissioner of Pibor is telling the world about negative things while arming the Murle in secrets. How would this conflict end? As soon as the youth reached the Lou Nuer territories, they will meet with survivors and spread the news to them that all their old fathers are killed. They will not sit rather staging another full scale reprisal attack against the Murle which will be a big destruction. There should have been a plan for the leadership when they rashed to Pibor…..a plan that can hold Murle, deliver food items with more doctors and mobilized them to wait for the government proposal but are they still there in Murle now? I mean the officials from the Government including ministers.
Fear from the government top officials is also another things in Juba. They go to sleep as before the sun set, thinking that someone can assassinate them as to the revenge of the opposition leader murdered back in the days. Now, if the government ministers and officials live in fear, who will initiate the proposal and meet face to face with the people in conflict? There is no one to confront these people by talking to them unless through thuraya phones. You can be a judge yourself now because civilians believe in face to face talk rather than sending message from or through news outlet. Do you really believe that the solution will come?
For those who tried to quote Nuer youth wrongly, the Nuer culture always teach people not to attack a person first or use force without clear mistakes. I think they had endured enough since 2006 when their guns were taken from their hands. Salva once spoke about the Murle activities and I have all the record here. Simply thing like the problem of the civlians would not take years without solving it. They have been talking that Murle are doing these and the Nuer are also doing since 2006. Well, if these things are known as an obstacle to this particular ethnic groups, why taking long time without solving it. Kueth Gang will face it. Love it or now. let him continue and believe on betrayal of the Nuer anticipate actions. You will eventually realize your ugly betrayal. Let those who enjoy the revolutionary wealth cry but the poor had nothing to loss……they should only protect themselves in time where the government is centered in Warrap, looting oil money to build the Warrap nation. The same people will eventually destroyed by thinking silly without precautions. Poor people’s description of what living in poverty and threat, mean bearing eloquent testimony to their pain.
Reat Gatkuoth
