The Flight of Children: One Year of Hell in SOUTH SUDAN
9 min readBy Mayak Deng Aruei, USA
January 2, 2015 (SSB) — What counts the most in humans existence are: access to opportunities and ability to live a life free from other people’s gross interferences. Unlike any other State in the Region, independence of South Sudan was won after enormous sacrifices. And in the dawn of our nationhood, millions rejoiced and sung ululations as a way to thank God for having guided us through the many years of despicable hardships. But to the dismay of millions, the Nation was turned into enterprise where some rednecks lynched the citizens in cold bloods. As the clock turned against all odds, South Sudanese worldwide committed much of their times and money to gain modern education. Unfortunately, Rebel-turned politicians chose to stay within tribal quarters, and that became the origin of SOUTH SUDAN’s many problems.
First, it is critical that South Sudanese leaders and those aspiring to be next generation leaders think about the importance of having an independent State. The fruits of independent South Sudan have been harvested by few, and only few who selfishly capsized the Nation at the time when all the citizens in foreign nations were about to return to South Sudan. Rewinding back to those dark days, the long Peace negotiation between the SPLM/SPLA and the Government of Sudan gave birth to what is now the Republic of South Sudan, and after the SPLA was maintained to protect/secure interest of the marginalized people of the then Southern Sudan, now South Sudan. This is to say, fundamental preparations were put in place by the Southern based Rebel Movement(SPLM/A), and citizens were so relieved from all sorts of anxieties. And for sure, things did settled for a while and people begun thinking about the restructuring the SUDAN and its tiny parts that were incompatible with the national System of governance. As a matter of facts, not everything went as spelled out by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement(CPA). But majority of South Sudanese were very satisfied with what they got because independence/self-governing from rests of the SUDAN was more than a victory in the minds of people who never had a Country.
Some 5 years later, villages throughout Southern Sudan, now South Sudan were death camps, and social fabrics were destroyed by senseless rivalries among various communities(Counties in Lakes State are still fighting themselves). And as we speak, millions of children are desperately living in the horrors of humans-made famines, thousands have perished and all younger children are entering second-year of the WAR without schools. The awful part is this: children who were too young when SUDAN’s long civil war came to an end grew up in volatile environments, and have now been dragged into the ongoing war. How much joys has physical separation from Arab-north Sudan brought to South Sudanese?
Despite the huge Oil reserve, civilians are enduring hunger and sicknesses, conditions that should not be occurring in an Oil rich nation like the Republic of South Sudan. There is this saying: ‘Oil is a curse’, but this does not fit perfectly in the case of South Sudan. The drop in Oil prices worldwide should give third World nations a sense of security, and to eliminate dependence on Crude Oils for growth and development.
From day one, there has been unbalanced political posture across South Sudan, and for too long. The masses were sidelined, their voices were eliminated, intimidated or bribed to stop pointing out all the bad policies by the Government. And such scheme of monopolizing politics has caused citizens their Lives, Liberty and Properties. That is, those who spoke against bad governance were booked in as trouble-makers, and denied access to decent jobs or their security not guaranteed. What do we have now? The raging war should by all accounts be considered as an accident because Parties(Salva Kiir and Riek Machar) who are on the standoff were the very same people who created horrible political environment such that they stay in power indefinitely.
Because 2015 election was going to be the first of its kind in the Republic of South Sudan, the Cronies who ruined South Sudan by their collective effort topped the list of possible candidates, and the evils in them could no longer withstand the heat. We(South Sudanese) have never seen anything like free political contest in our lives, and some inner circles, mostly the goons and stooges who surrounded rival politicians started calling themselves Failures & Rebels, and there came the cocking of rifles when Contenders broke the ties that linked them.
The whole Nation is bleeding because tribal politics reached a boiling point right before presidential Aspirants found comfort zones.
The truth to the matter is this: our leaders never had prosperity and stability of South Sudan in their hearts and minds. In a nation like South Sudan, building the State from the bottom-up would have done a great deal. Instead, young children were left in a desperate situation, and many of them opted to join armed groups, most of whom promised the inexperienced kids a better life or some impossible change. From Renk to Narus, Raga to Pochalla, members of the parliaments(Central & states Assemblies) resides in Juba, their immediate family members lives in Ethiopia, Kenya & Uganda! When will they know that they are leading an independent State?
There is no question, South Sudanese politicians have no taste for the State despite them sitting on billions of dollars! All they have in minds is defrauding governments(states and central Government alike), forming fake companies, creating projects that cannot be seen, and awarding contracts to their relatives whom they have delegated recording-keeping. It is now up to South Sudanese, both in the governments and in the bush, and who are licking the dripping Oil to acknowledge the blowbacks caused by self-made political rifts. While physical separation of South Sudan from Sudan is a visible reality in the face of the world, the world’s newest State continue to be attached to Sudan in many ways(Pipeline running through Sudan and security)!
Ever since, South Sudan has been embroiled in fierce battles with Rebels(SSLA and SSDM/A among others). All of those rebels received trainings, foods and weaponries from the Sudanese Government in Khartoum. As of now, the very same Khartoum based regime that takes Oil’s transport fees has been identified as the major supplier of Rebels group under the overall command of Dr. Riek Machar(SPLM-In-Opposition). On the other hands, Government of South Sudan has been linked to the Rebels fighting the Sudanese Government in Khartoum. These proxy wars are destroying the vulnerable nation of SOUTH SUDAN. And here come the chance to ask: who are we in the face of the Khartoum Islamic Regime?
The biggest fear is to see these Giant Political Monsters come together at the end of Peace negotiation process. Anyone who has followed both President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar must be wary and worried. As soon as they(KiiRiek) get their power sharing together, SOUTH SUDAN would be a renewed Totalitarian State(2005-2012).
Never should we(citizens) be deceived that a peace between KiiRiek is something good for the Republic. In their/under their leadership, their opponents( Gatluak Gai & George Athor) were eliminated/murdered at the times when peace was about to be realized. The World within our reach (IGAD, EU & the US) can do better than that.
But, failure of those influential governments and Regional Bodies to contain the conflict is another excuse for the fake Peace to be supported, and agreed upon by the warring parties.
Oil or no Oil is none of the civilians’ business. The major concern as of now is for our soil to rest from senseless carnage. The toxins in the air and below our beloved Land is too much to be borne by the living. If anyone, anybody from the so-called powerful States is humane enough, then KiiRiek issue should have been dealt with accordingly(lock them out of the Interim Government).
The saddest part is this: the Peace negotiation in Ethiopia is an empty promise to those lost in the conflict and the young kids who suffered the most while the professional Killers toured the world , and in search of a second chance to rob the citizens of South Sudan of the produces of their hard earned Nation.
If observers don’t take extra caution, more deaths is likely to be seen within the prescribed Interim Period and shortly before the Interim Period come to an end. In other words, if KiiRiek project is not terminated sooner, the proposed election would be a nightmare because KiiRiek’s supporters would not be able to obey terms and conditions of the Agreement. Never waste searching for Devils or Spirit of God to intervene. Act now or face the consequences of the redesigned tribal hates!
Moreover, search for stable SOUTH SUDAN must be sought within the souls of suffering children because every child deserve a conducive environment for growth and development. For a good full year now, South Sudanese children throughout the Region, and in IDPs Camps in South Sudan have been subjected to unbearable conditions. The ongoing Peace in Addis Ababa, adjourned till 2015 can only be reached if warring parties are held to standards necessary to obtain Peace. The last consultation by Rebels (Pagak) meant nothing to the desperate citizens, but continuation of WAR.
The so-called we are underrepresented must be buried forever! Not every village is entitled to have a daughter or a son as President of the Republic, Governor, national minister or state minister. Empty pride and sense of entitlement is killing South Sudan because citizens have been spoiled to the point that everyone want to work for the governments. Having seen how the governments(Central & states) officials spent most of their times attending birthdays parties, funerals, graduations and wedding ceremonies, the entire nation wanted to follow the suit.
In sum, SOUTH SUDAN has seen more than enough, particularly children born after the historic Peace Agreement(CPA) are being lost in big numbers. Let’s have life and soul of every South Sudanese who have perished in 2013 & 2014 in our hearts. Again, prayers alone cannot repair all that were destroyed nationwide. As dirty as politics is, both the SPLM-intra dialogue in Arusha, Tanzania, and Consultation by the SPLM-in-Opposition(Pagak) have yielded nothing. Therefore, getting to work together and dealing away with claims made by both sides would ease the tension, and return the beautiful Nation of SOUTH SUDAN to where it should be. The bloodshed seen toward the end of 2013 and early 2014 is embedded in shortsightedness by leaders who rely too much on tribal political Advisers. The only hope is for the younger generation to divorce tribal politics and forge a new economics, political and social cultures that would look at SOUTH SUDAN as a monolithic Society. That is, diversity in one is the way to rebuild the badly ruined Nation. Let the New Year restore hopes for the psychologically tortured kids nationwide!
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The Author, Mayak Deng Aruei, is a concerned South Sudanese living in the USA. He is the Author of ‘Struggle Between Despair and Life: From Sudan’s Marshland Village, Child Soldiering, Refugee Camp and America.‘ He holds three degrees: AS in Legal Assistant, BA in Sociology & Philosophy, & MA in Legal Studies. He is currently pursuing Bachelor’s of Laws(LLB) and Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership: Organizational Development. He can be reached at kongor.da.ajak@gmail.com
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