Some Sudanese Youth Are either Ankle bitters or Dill Bogans
By Amer Mayen Dhieu, Brisbane, Australia
January 25, 2015 (SSB) — I am yet to know if South Sudanese young ones (youth) are candidly ready for peace and reconciliation to dwell in the country that is already devastated by war, division, hatred and bad politics.
It had been over a year now since December 15 fracas. The two warring parties have been bombing and shelling each other using heavy artilleries that have occasionally resulted in massacring of civilians. Both have invited foreign armed forces to help in killing themselves and the citizens however non of the disputing territories or government seats has been peacefully occupied by either Splm: in government or Splm: in opposition. Bentiu the strategic town in the heart of South Sudan economy has exchanged ownership in both hands of the warring armies spawning major destruction to oil facilities and interruption to the gliding of oil to the main pipeline where it is hauls to international market however non have successfully defeated the other.
Above all of that, civilians are the extreme sufferers of the conflict. An exodus of mass groups of women, elderly people and children have occurred within and outside country’s borders. Some are squeezed in overcrowded United Nation’s compounds with no freedom of movement, strung by starvation: shortage of food and water.
Despite several calls and warning issued by UN agencies about possible breakout of famine and waterborne disease such as cholera and Malaria, the self-proclaim president Kiir denounced both calls for immediate action on Al-jazeera vacationing it as an excuse made by international aid agencies to get funding from international donors. The president himself did not offer any disaster relief service for the internal displaced persons in the UN camps or send donation to the UN to help feed those who have escaped to neighbouring countries rather re-assuring the starving population that he is himself their legitimate leader. #Ohwell
Rebel leader Riek Machar on other hand continue fighting his war on democracy by committing inhumane acts such as rape and killings of unarm civilians, something that is also practiced by government soldiers during Juba Massacre. Riek himself visited Kenya: the only country hosting largest group of South Sudanese refugees. Did he manage to visit the camp or not, I have no clue but I am confident he is well aware of the mass population that is forced to live in exile by the war that he is being a participant.
On all the rounds of this unstoppable suffering of South Sudanese’s elderly persons, women and children, South Sudanese youth had been advocating and pointing fingers on both leaders, accusing them of destroying their country, killing their mothers, fathers, relatives as well as forcing some of their close family members to evacuate themselves to the neighbouring countries where them the youth become their carers financially.
The whole conflict is seen to have shouldered each and every persons, a child or infant, adult or youth, all women and men in the country a responsibility. Responsibility to care, responsibility to comment, advocate, speak, cry out or express their opinions however despite knowing both leaders are no-hopers and futile as an ashtray on a motorbike, South Sudanese youth has became wuss. None of them is seeing how inefficacious both Kiir and Riek are. None of them is being hopeless about their incapability to unite the great people of South Sudan. The youth is suffering with tall poppy syndrome, a tendency where they only throw their fallacious tongues out in combat of criticising people who have no immediate hands in the conflict as well as people who are considered better off at least in bringing peace and unity to the people of South Sudan.
Just last week, the long awaited peace process begin in Arusha, Tanzania of East Africa. The objective of the peace process was to unite Splm factions and reorganise the longest serving political party to the original structure. As of all factions’s effort, the conference resulted in reunification and re-instating of the old Splm members who were either fired by president Kiir or chose to break away amid tension and conflict of interest that had been ongoing within the party and the rumoured substantial cause of December 15 political blow up. In conference, Riek was reinstated to vice chairman position of the party, Kiir remains as the chairman and Pagan Amum Okech as the party secretary.
All Splm factions including former detainees as well as foreign observers sees this has great way for peace to emerge and healing process of the grieving members of the party to take place. It is rumour that Kiir and Riek have confessed their involvement in the conflict that has teared the country apart yet neither of what should be done next nor accountability or the formation of the interim government and power sharing that had been the centre of Addis Ababa IGAD’s peace talk was mention. Considering the step was just a mere starting point for peace between members of Splm party despite what faction they belong to begin. Is this not the beginning of reconciliation? should we wish to see reconciliation between Nuer and Dinka tribe starting before we reconcile the immediate people who were the starting point of the division between the two tribe?
It is obvious that I am asking nobody. The very youth that was dying for peace to emerge in the country, the very youth that is desperate to have their ageing mothers, fathers and grannies return homes and start their new life are the first to start questioning the little step that is taken. The very people who were accusing Riek of raping their women are the first to call for Riek not to return to the country he never evacuated since the beginning of conflict or get reinstated to the party he been a member before some of them were not yet born. Should you believes that Riek has committed the massacre in Bor, why wouldn’t you want him to come back so you can hold him accountable? How are you going to get hold of him should ICC charge him with crime against humanity? The same negativity is given on rebel side although not as bad as it is on government side what does these youth want? are they just immature? raw prawn, not the full quid or don’t they see the suffering of South Sudanese people on the ground?
Some of them seem to be making sense only when there is no step taken. They call for peace on daily basis but when such calls are answered they crawl back to calling for government to send Riek to exile, exclude him out of the party, murder more rebels and so more cruel practices. I wonder if these youth know South Sudan is combination of all states and each state is represented by its member. Now that you don’t want certain county or state to be represented by the look of your argument, what South Sudan do you see in your argument?
While peace mediators were still negotiating in Arusha with members of Splm factions, government officials from Jonglei government start another divisive act. Unknown men lobed innocent women of Bor allowing them to protest on the street of state capital calling for governor to step down for unspecified reason (I am still waiting to hear the slogan or chant that they were using). Although some of us don’t have clue about the actual cause of demonstration, “some” commentators from Bor youth seconded the demonstration arguing that their mothers have done well. One person argued that civilians cannot be headed by someone who doesn’t speak their language.
Imagine, this bush-ranging argument make one to wonder whether there is different between these youth members and the illiterates villagers who have no clue of the structure of state government.
Not only that but despite showing no affection by some other members of the same youth to what these innocent women were put into, some have tried to give sense to the protest, claiming there is a little bit of sense involved in the demonstration. The fruit loops asserted that Bor women were unto and against the resettlement of IDPs in Bor because of their disloyalty, to who? to Bor or the government, I couldn’t comprehend it.
Whatever their claim is but why Bor and what is Bortown to Jonglei state? Isn’t the capital city of the state? Some Bargazal states are hosting Nuer’s IDPs yet it is the same Nuers, the members of the same tribe of Riek Machar who is working restlessly to topple Kiir from Bargazal why didn’t they ask them to leave their states? Those Nuer in Bargazal states are not from either Lake or Warrap state, they are from Unity and Upper Nile yet they are shown hospitality. Who are this people not wanting citizens of Jonglei state to resettle in Jonglei state capital? Didn’t you give Bortown to the state government at the past?
Any county or group of people that have given up a town or land to the government should it be state or federal have agreed and signed to share the land with non-citizen of that land with no complaint. I don’t understand how come the grown-intellectual youth are not getting it. Dr Lual Achueck made an attempt when he was minister of oil in Government of national unity to build Jonglei second administrative centre in Gadiang in oder to serves Jonglei citizens’s that will have to travel thousand of miles away from Ayod and many other far areas, however the strategic plan was seen by some Mps from Bor has an attempt to takes state capital away from Bor county. For whatever reason, all the projects that were agreed to build the dam as well as airport and offices in Gadiang were called off and Bortown remains the capital of the state unto these days. What sense does it make if innocent women are groom to protest against resettlement of IDPs when those IDPs are mere unarm civilians?
We all know where the problem started, it did not start within Bor civilians and Nuer civilians rather government and rebel militias. Pan-pandiar was not occupied by Nuer civilians nor Bor civilians but government forces. Should one be campaigning against any foreign occupation of Bortown, it should be the call not to establish any government military barrack near civilian occupied suburbs. I understand the bitter part of the conflict but we need to see things in bigger picture. The government we worship and remains loyal to no matter what will never win the battle nor defeat Riek by forceful methods. They have tried in a year but non of the factions has defeated the other.
Not even the irrational hatred of Nuer tribe that I saw yesterday on Facebook in this picture where some grown up men with ready-to-bear child balls were applauding the uploading of the picture to public space share by all persons of all countries.
In all fairness, should we want peace to reign in the country that we loves and care for, it is crucial that we appreciate every little step taken by rebel and government such as Arusha’s reunification, search for its positive side and leave aside the professional negative side of it. We cannot hold people who don’t care about the life of civilians accountable for their act when they are still fighting each other for they have all committed the atrocities in the name of protecting the country, the government and democracy.
Should they be making some comment about what they have signed like what Riek said in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, we should have waited until he put it into statement. In politic there is different between, suggestion, call, demand, request as well as some adjectives such as should and must. Riek himself have not yet make it clear in the face of Kiir or issue statement through his spokesperson for us to beat the drum so loud and use it as evident for people to hate Arusha’s agreement more.
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