“The Dinka Intellects: Your Silence Speaks volumes’’: A Response by Malith Alier
7 min readBy Malith Alier
It is not simply Dinka Versus Nuer Daniel Abushery and Luk Kuth
Writing on the South Sudan News agency (SSNA) website 27 December 2013, Daniel Abushery Daniel and Luk Kuth Dak decry the silence of Dinka intellectuals on the attempted Coup and the subsequent killing spree in the country, ‘‘The Dinka Intellects: Your Silence Speaks volumes’’
I stand to refute that the current chaos bedevilling the country is simply between Dinka and the Nuer. This is not true and you should as Nuer intellectuals, be the first to correct this perception. Sadly, you both have concluded that what happened was calculated, wicked, and despicable and a heinous cold blood murder of your people by the President and his home town boys. This is a foregone conclusion without facts on the ground.
We all agree that the dispute was a political issue that should have been confined to the SPLM party room. It shouldn’t have spilt over to the streets leave alone to the armed forces. However, because of too much mistrust among tribes in this country, it got twisted to suite certain interests. Innocent blood was shed unfortunately. I have gone through your article and discovered many erroneous claims that have a potential to polarise further an already tense situation in the country. You have written these claims under emotions twisted with usual bias as observed by someone who answered you with a short statement on the net (SSNA website).
Your first claim is that the Dinka intellectuals did not condemn what started on the 15th of December except Nyandeng and her son, Mabior.
Your second claim is that and I quote, ‘‘thousands of innocent lives of Nuer children women and men were lost for no apparent reason other than fact they happened to be members of the Nuer nation’’. Your third claim is that the Dinka are getting rich on the fruits of your labour and the wealth gap is widening between the two people since president took power. You further, hinted that the country may be divided along ethnic lines if certain measures are not taken to change the current state of affairs in the country.
First, both co-authors are not really credible people to talk about the current state of affairs because you most likely are going to distort the facts. Second, you also have the same responsibility as Nuer intellectuals just like your Dinka brothers to condemn the senseless killings of anybody be they Dinka, Nuer or other humans in this country.
You have primarily failed in your message to condemn the coup plotters who happened to be lead by a Nuer. The coup plotters led by Machar do not have the interest of this country at heart. You can see the destruction they caused to human life and property around the country so far.
To put this issue in the right perspective, the Dinka community, not a single community, was not aware that there was a plot to kill any Nuer in Juba on behest of a slightest command or misunderstanding. This is an indisputable fact before, during and after the failed coup.
To remind you, the fighting did not spilt in to Juba suburbs, it was confined to Ghieda, new site and Mia Saba (107), areas that are primarily military settlements. What happened there, only the military can tell but not any other. This is to say that the fight was among the soldiers and their families involving women and children. If the fight was between the Dinka and Nuer soldiers in those military areas then we have no knowledge about that.
On one suburb of the city where I was, I managed to run to the outskirts with Nuer brothers and we were not part of the thing. You can see if there was a plot to kill all Nuer we should have done it because we were many more there. Lies cannot be taken for truths.
It was truly a military plot and that is why soldiers from Migori (Mangere), Mangalla, Gemeza and other outposts along the way to Bor, left to join up and kill people in Bor, Akobo, Malakal and Bentiu along ethnic lines without ascertaining the facts of what happened in Juba. This tells us whether there was coordination or not. If you were impartial, you should have been the first to condemn this barbaric act on innocent civilians far away from Juba, the scene of the coup.
It is not always tit for tat at first instance that is the best way to solving problems. For instance if your kin and kith is wrongly killed and you kill to avenge it, then you’re not any different from the one who committed such a crime. You can only be described as someone who has taken the law on to their hands.
The military generals who vow allegiance to protect the nation are now seen in tribal lenses. You now claim that they stand for justice. On whose side did they stand for justice? Riek committed massacres and crimes against in the army and in Bor before. Was he also standing for justice during 1991?
The fight should have been contained in Juba with no further lost of life if all of us were slow to anger. Adding fire to fight fire is not always the best because we all lose in the process.
As for your argument that the Dinka are reaping the fruits of your labour leaving you in poverty, I have these to tell you. All of us are South Sudanese regardless of whether we were fighting in the bushes of south Sudan, living outside during the war or staying in Khartoum. That time is past gone. No one should ardently keep reminding any other of our whereabouts and who is enjoying what in an independent South Sudan.
It is not worth the efforts to take stock of who dominates the government or the military. Not every aspect of the government should be representative of our respective communities. Needless to say, it is only parliament that accepts representatives. For instance the military is not based on representation and you know what I mean here. Every citizen is free to work in the government or in a private sector. Many people think that life is only found in the government and if you are not there, then you are done. No, that is not the case.
No one can surely comprehend your labour you’re talking about. If you claim that someone is enjoying the fruit of your labour, you indirectly mean that the concern person was not participating in actions leading to production of the said fruits. Let me remind you that the devil is always in the detail. You know very well that some communities participated in the fruits production but at the same time were oscillating dangerously in between the enemy and their people.
However, patience pays. We are in independent South Sudan enjoying whatever, is at our disposal. I don’t think it’s helpful to keep narrating the past. Let sleeping dogs lie.
Many of those who come from oil producing areas have enjoyed 2% of oil revenues since 2006. This amount is going to be 5% according to new petroleum management arrangement. The rest of the oil revenue, the government uses for provision of social services and salaries to the army and civil servants. No any other person is benefiting more than those in oil producing states of Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile.
Alternatively, those individuals who are rich without being in the government are ordinary hard working South Sudanese. They should not be victimised if they happened to be from certain tribes. There is a saying that we should not wish for sameness. That is to say we should not be all poor or rich, strong or weak.
What we have in South Sudan is what is called capitalism. We have already rejected communism or socialism. We want to nurture individual endeavours in life. This means that everyone should be different from everyone else according to individual talents and abilities.
Hinting for division of the country is unhelpful. All of us should feel at home without nasty desire that may be impossible to achieve without losing even more. We have seen the last war that had cost millions of lives. Life is more precious than great riches particularly if you gained the whole world and lose your life.
Each one should work hard in whatever, they happen to be managing. The farmers should work hard to feed the nation. The same applies to every citizen from all walks of life. It is time to stop feeding garbage to posterity. Thinking too much on ethnic lines will ruin this nation.
We should work together to achieve common good. South Sudan is enough for all of us. Sometime, there is a feeling that certain regions are the ones maintaining the country. This is an erroneous thinking. Dr. James Okuk stated that, to Nuer, everything is Upper Nile and oil.
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