By Tearz Ayuen, Juba
You have been sentenced to unspecified jail term and you do not know it. And the charge pressed against you by the government, your government, is innocence. You are guilty of nothing. You’ aren’t, in any way, party to the Dec 15 incident. You didn’t attack anyone. You didn’t kill anyone. You didn’t rebel against the government. You didn’t loot.
It’s been four months now since you fled to UNMISS compound. I understand why you had to leave your house in Gudele, New Site, Mia-7: the democide – the dreadful things you saw last December when the army extended an uncalled for hostility on you. I understand how you feel to lose a husband or brother. I acknowledge the pain you suffered, witnessing grand butchering of your beloved ones by ruthless soldiers. I feel you. I know they looted your valuables – furniture, TV sets, vehicles and so on.
Now, you and your fellow tribesmen are crammed in the UN compound where living conditions are so pathetic, so inhumane. You’ve lost your dignity. You and your children eat one meal per day. At times, they go to bed hungry. I understand rainstorm makes your life unbearable there. The makeshift tents are often blown away, leaving children unsheltered. With the rainy season approaching, an outbreak of cholera or of any other water-borne disease is imminent.
I believe you owe the UN your life for the protection they provided. You could have been killed if it wasn’t for the peacekeeping forces. However, I am sorry to say that the protection they are offering you is something else. I think they’ve commercialized it. Yes. Nobody amongst the ‘good Samaritans’ wants you to leave the camp. Why? – Because your presence there makes them more job secure.
This is why “The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other agencies have started relocating thousands of civilians sheltering in Tongpiny camp, UN protection of civilians area, to a new location at UN house in country’s capital Juba” – UN website, March 17, 2014.
Anyone who claims to be concerned about your welfare would work harder to ensure that you return home, and not prolong your stay at the compound.
So, my message is simple: Go back home. That lengthy stay at UN protection sites is a booby-trap. You cannot live a life of a pauper in your country, especially when your house is a mile away. Your children have to go back to school. Go home.
Unite as one people and walk out of that compound. Don’t even look for means of transport. Just march on the streets of Juba. Fear not. Let whoever wants to kill kill. After all, he or she would never extinct Nuer people. Never.
Tearz ©2014