Hub of Weapons: Guns in South Sudan Are Like Smart Phones
10 min readBy Mamer Deng Jur
February 21, 2015 (SSB) — Today in South Sudan, thousands of guns if not millions; are rolling in the hands of good people and the bad people. The government is doing nothing to stop such criminality. Some of the people are carrying guns for no good reasons or purposes. Guns should only remain in the custody of the military barracks. But not in everyone’s house.
This fear of inability to control guns in South Sudan is one of the factors threating the stability in this country. If guns were under control in South Sudan, then many people may have had started again to live normal life as usual. Currently, many people are unsure where to start and finish, because everything is crazy in this country. They fear that, their lives and lives of their relatives would always be in danger. If the government doesn’t accept to act responsible to bring peace and unity in the country. I know today, guns control policies are failing many countries’ administration, especially in the West. Where many citizen are clung to their guns and refused guns reform policies.
After South Sudan went back to war on 15th of December 2013. Killing one another for only one thing: ‘Greed of power’. Giving numerous excuses to the international community that, their war was tribal motivated war: between Dinka and Nuer. And that Dinkas were killing Nuers. These statements where coming from those who were at first loyal to comrade Salva. And for some reasons they chose to replace him by an attempted coup, which many of them and their supporters deadly argued that, it was not a coup. They were trying to convince the citizens and the international community that there was no ‘coup’. People who were on the government side were arguing that, those terrorist knew what they were doing, so they did plan such unsuccessful coup. Sorry to them! They defected from the leadership they had formed. And they had failed to topple it, after they chose to take that power by arms force.
It was just senseless war motivated by the greed of power. Brainwashing young South Sudanese to attack the government that had unchained them from the selfish Arabs in the North. A government that had worked tirelessly to end the direct discrimination, and the indirect slave.
Such ideologies of taking the power by force, came from one man (?), who will never be forgiven by the citizen of South Sudan; for his evil heart. A man who loves to kill innocent people for the power. But he doesn’t know because of his lowest capacity. That the people he was murdering to get what he desire, are the power he needs so bad. Leaders governs the people, but not the land. There would be no land to call, if there were no people in that land. A leader can’t be leader without the people. Otherwise he/she could be fucking demon who controls underworld/dark world.
Oh! Well who educated “Mr” Who care less about the humanity? Maybe he was taught by those fucking atheist who question the existence of God. Which made me to believe that they do even question the evolution of creation itself. They don’t believe in God, but they are human beings. They should question themselves why are they human beings? The only man who had a good sense of humanity was Emmanuel Kant, a greatest philosopher of all time. Who emphasis the autonomy of a human beings. That people should control their own thoughts, and exercise them without interferences from other people. Saying that, people have an ability to say what they think is wrong or right. To be free from dictatorship.
Why Guns are like Smartphones
Mobility and availability of guns in South Sudan are other worried sagas in this new nation. Every corner you may come across, you could see that, young people are –armed to the teeth. Affordability of AK -47 nowadays is not like buying a rare diamond. Thousands of people are less concerned with the responsibilities that come with carrying a cheap AK -47 and deadly to kill in less than twelve seconds.
Currently, in Western countries, developed and developing nations, technologies are changing the daily lives, whether it is making their lives difficult or making their lives much more simply. Then, that how technologies are operating currently in the modern society. But these technologies are not only just rolling in the market by themselves. They are being monitor by the government. The government regulates all the technologies whether it was old or new.
The reason, I referred guns in South Sudan as smart phones was that, many people in South Sudan had guns or want to own one. Smart phones in Western countries had meaning in terms of technologies upgrade. They help people in these nations for their daily family life, and for daily business activities. These phones are working effectively because (Wi –Fi) are getting upgrade every year from 1g to 4g. So their uses in these countries have meaning. If I talk about South Sudan, in terms of smartphones (Guns) I don’t see any reasons why many people are in possession of guns, or want at least to own one. Number one, many of them are not soldiers, so they can’t be entrusted to own guns, when they aren’t given that authority to own one. Number two, these guns are purchased in the black market, and in many cases such black markets for guns are created by some idiots in the government.
So owning a weapon in South Sudan in my opinion is useless. Especially when the gun owner was not a solider. Availability of guns in South Sudan had created a greater insecurity in the nation. It had created a number of outlaws in the country who called themselves to be militia. Terrorism in South Sudan will never come to an end, if guns control are always being ignored. We need a law that disarmed anyone who is not a solider, and a law that punish criminals who refuse to hand over their weapons.
On 23rd of December 2014, I left Nairobi, Kenya for Juba, South Sudan’s capital. I boarded flight 540 from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to JIA. I arrived safely into Juba. From the airport, I took a cab to take me to the motel. I spent one night at South Sudan motel no.2. I woke up early in the morning of 24th December, and I packed all my belonging. After I had finished packing, I picked up my room keys and I went to the reception to check out. That morning, it was 6:00 a.m. and it was still dark outside, so I had to wait at the reception until my cousin come to give me a lift to the bus station.
In Juba, you can only book your seat, once you have arrived at the bus station. That was the only way to get a seat. At 6:30 a.m., I was picked up by my blood cousin, and at 6: 40 a.m. we arrived at the bus station. Then we booked my seat. Because I had arrived very early in the morning, I was able to secure a front seat. But at cost, front seats are much dearer compares to the other normal seats. The bus fare was 150 (SSP) South Sudanese pounds. But I had to pay 160 SSPs because of the front seat. There at the station, I waited for 2 hours before the bus left at 8:40 a.m. We left the station, and then we arrived at the first road block after we had crossed the bridge. It wasn’t a smooth journey after all, the road was too bumpy! But I was well aware of Juba – Bor’s road. That was my second time to travel on it again.
After one and half hours, our bus’s driver made a first stop in Mangala town. There in Mangala, all the passengers got off the bus. Many of them went to the small kiosk to buy themselves food, drinks and water. Some of them were stretching their legs. After half an hour, we left Mangala town. On the way we spotted a number of people marching celebrating the upcoming birth of Jesus Christ. Number of the youth who were lined up in the front row were armed with AK-47 rifle, and also the last row were also armed. All eyes of the People on the bus were on these groups. The looks we got from these youth weren’t friendly – all armed to the teeth, we were happy to withdraw our looks, and start talking to one another.
I was shocked, and I asked myself quietly, what was going on with these people? Carrying weapons, while they were celebrating the upcoming birth of Jesus. But the fact was crystal – clear, they were doing that, to protect their innocent fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and the children. Due to the failure of the government to restore law and order in the country. That was normal attitude around South Sudan. All the strong gentlemen were doing that to protect their people. Two hour on that rough and bumpy road. Lastly, I got into Malek and I went home to clean up myself. At home I was welcomed by my brothers and their families, we had a bit of chat, but then I told them that, I needed to go and watch the groups who were preparing to march. My nephew informed me that she had took the water to the bathroom for me to wash up. I finished bathing and I dressed up myself. Then I walked to the church’s compound to watch the gathering groups who were preparing to march. I came to the compound, but I was told that the groups were organising their marching, under one of the big tree on the edge of the river bank. I knew the place they were talking about, I went there and I stood under the tree. But when I looked around the surrounding, I spotted a number of armed youth scattered around that area. They were posted a distance away from the place where these groups were organising themselves. On that day, people in Kolyang Payam who were marching for the upcoming birth of Jesus had to march to Malek Diocese. All the prayers were held by the Bishop of Malek Peter Joh Mayom under this big tree called quiel.
Marching was not done according to the way it was done years back, because of the insecurity in the country, people didn’t march for long distance as usual. Rumours were running, and flooding the country like water that Nuer/rebels were going to attack Bor in December, especially in Christmas.
But I felt that, it was very dangerous in any country, where by many people had controlled or are in possession of guns. Many of those guns were illegal, and of course you could say that ‘they were illegal guns’ not registered at all. The registration I meant is when I am entrusted by the authority (government) to carry/possess a gun. I am not talking about a registration whereby a person go to the authority and register their weapon. In South Sudan, no one care about registration of guns. People who are supposed to control the flexibility of guns in the country, are the people who are selling the guns to the thugs instead of controlling the outbreak of guns. Some People and the government do only care about smuggling money out of the country as if they were drugs dealers, but give less attention to the compelling issues dragging the country to be below average in the world.
Conclusion
For better South Sudan, we all need to act in sensible way, wherever we are breathing around the globe. For better South Sudan, we need law and order in the country. This country is ‘too thirsty of laws and orders’, South Sudan at moment is above anarchy; let me put it that way. Laws are floating in everyone’s hands. People who are entrusted to keep peace and order in the country, are the worst nightmare; believe me or not. Don’t even trust the police, they are fucking thieves.
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