The role of forgiveness and healing, peace and reconciliation in South Sudan
8 min readForgiveness does not mean somebody is right, you are wrong nor the person who wrongs you is strong and you are weak, when you exercised role of forgiveness! It is a condition to be fulfilled for ones welfare on Earthly live and requires qualifications for eternal life, although you don’t believed eternal life the way I believed it. The Lord’s Prayer constituted condition of how we can forgive others so that our Heavenly Father forgives us our sins, and by the way sin is anything against law or say lawlessness.
By David Matiop Gai, Juba, South Sudan
February 28, 2016 (SSB) —- To begin with forgiveness, I just want deal with issues of forgiveness, politics nowadays distorting human peace/public peace, human security, unity, and harmony among world societies. All over the globe, forms of terrorism, violent, food security, and wars have been threatening human freedom, human rights, human dignity, rule of law, and human peace entirely. Rights of individuals within human rights rules and regulations are being used contrary with dishonest, and disgrace of others rights, but forgiveness still championing the environment of peace to prevail among human societies.
Am one hundred percent sure of South Sudanese kind of forgiveness faces challenges of its own mind in South Sudan. I mean true forgiveness, peace, healing, counseling and reconciliation never took place in South Sudan where thousands of victims in societies perseveres dangerous wounds for the lost of their dear ones, but before I mention the roles of forgiveness, peace, healing, counseling and reconciliation, let me give readers right examples of how forgiveness never at all met its role, before and after South Sudan independence in 2011.
To pointing out poor relationships among South Sudanese citizens, majority of the people turn away from the reality that they are the peace lovers, but peace is totally outside their hearts. Simply the indicators against peace were accumulated very high. when SPLA/M stayed for four years old from 1983 to 1988, I joined their ranks in the bush, but after two years from my joining the movement to make up total of seven years, SPLA/M splitting their sole commitment and few months later on, I received a letter from the parents that I have lost 13 family members and on the top were my two grandmothers, mum to dad, and a mum to my mum in Bor massacred where civilians became victim of what they cannot explain, and later lost their belongings/properties.
In 2002, peace, healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation was done at the top levels in Kenya among Dr. John Garang, President Salva Kiir, and Dr. Riek Machar as they were joining their ranks together one spirit as Southerners, and finished what they want according to their political gains and political grumbling in leadership, but the question was been asking by many Bor victims of the conflict in 1991 that what had soldiers loyal to Dr.Riek Machar done to Dr.John Garang, and Salva Kiir while their families were in Nairobi than Dr. Riek trying to toppling them from leadership which is also normal compared to 13 members in my family and other families in Bor? I think this question is still up to date, but when the SPLM leadership forgave themselves according to what they said then who went to Bor and tell civilians that sorry for what had happened to you, what we did is totally wrong, forgive us or me, is there anybody? But because the leadership forgave themselves, and ignores the grass root levels, the true forgiveness never took place, and the SPLM was comfortable thinking that civilians forgave the master-minded killer when they did their own forgiveness. In fact atrocities of the 1991 were left with psychological resilience in the community, because this brutality killings were not experienced in whole Southern Sudan by then, these were atrocities committed against Bor in particular, a destruction in the area where Garang came from and as a method of weakening his leadership, but conflict was heard all over the Southern Sudan, Africa, and the world at large that a certain area in Southern Sudan called Bor was completely destroyed by Riek Machar and Lam Akol forces. At the time when SPLM was busy with issues of referendum, another issue of war crimes and crimes against humanity, responsibility and accountability about Bor were less concern.
This scenario was encouraged again another conflict in Dec 15, 2013 where I lost three family members. Now can anybody justify to me, where in the world is the same person killed 16 people in one family and he is set as a champion over the souls of innocents who have no political affiliation against him or wage war against him? As a writer of this article, I made an example of my family members who were perished in 1991 & 2013 and the role of forgiveness because forgiveness is what we have to know from the very beginning whether anybody who wrong his brother/sister is the very first person to apologize, feel guilty, convict, sorry, go down on his/her knees, weep with tears, and other victim like me who lost 16 family members will decide to forgive, or not and that is the right channel of forgiveness, peace, healing, counseling and reconciliation if we are suppose to be conduct peace among South Sudanese people. Before my fellow South Sudanese during the bush time, and even today, my hands are clean from the revenge or shedding the blood of other South Sudanese although I have lost a big number in the family where not born at once the way they have died, and I even save lives of my enemies when I led a group of 3775 of Red Army in Polataka Face Foundation in 1990s. This is the role of forgiveness I mean that we should teach people who have lost dear ones in this nation to forgive.
Today, peace was broke through by IGAD-plus, will the same mistake of ignoring victims not be occurring? In Juba, songs of forgiveness, peace, healing, counseling and reconciliation are being singing in gathering places, but I don’t think, this singing of peace and forgiveness cannot solve problems; forgiveness is a tough exercise that can move the whole nation to weep with tears. Forgiveness, we can do it because we cannot escape it, and until we become one people, one nation.
In Matt 6:14 forgiveness turns side to you. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” Forgiveness is a way of how God repay and pardon you from known sins and unknown sins you committed. Forgiveness is a power to be relieved from all bad forms of emotions and proper healing of inner wounds.
A powerful teaching of Jesus Christ about forgiveness is a very painful exercise to be made and a contrary decision with different views against human directions of their interests. Forgiving one another is a terrible condition that is needed to be fulfilled by everybody. God want us to forgive those who wronged against them while people in other hand want to revenge or pay back any evil things done against them.
In South Sudan context, forgiveness can solve burning issues amicably as long as we take message of pardon to our enemy in simplest way of Christianity perspectives. The Bible says in Luke chapter 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”. I don’t think even in the church where preachers teach about forgiveness is always emphasized and practice according to its needs, whether people forgive their enemies in whole of their hearts! Two, the keys messages involved in Christ sermons, are “Love your enemies” do good to them who hate you or Mark 12:30-31 “30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” love neighbor as you love yourself” but Jesus never contradicted his message that love yourself as you love your neighbor, because he knows, nobody hate him/herself. God knows, all humans are self-centered creatures; they used to begin good things and end up rewarding themselves.
Therefore, South Sudan as a nation needs forgiveness for good number of successful reasons of why we forgive wrongdoers?
- Forgiveness is an intentional and a process for a victim undergoes through feelings of changing attitudes toward an offense.
- This will bring restoration, pardoning in societies, reconciliation and relationships, forgetting wounds and remembering wounds after, but bond the benefit of forgiveness.
- Forgiveness is receiving and takes when a person feels guilty and distances him/herself from you, your role is to bring him/her closer to you.
- Forgiveness allows us to take our responsibility for our own happiness.
- Forgiveness is the best revenge, you don’t revenge, but you leave revenge in the hand of owner-God, who created his own creature.
- Forgiveness is an act of strengthening, you have power to forgive, and you feel like to ignore what the person had done to you
- Forgiveness is a free gift to somebody who did evils against you. You decided by self to set the person free from your heart or from your bondage.
- If you forgive a person, you are in peace of mind; you throw the wrongdoer into trouble.
- Forgiveness does not mean you continue with relationship with someone who harms you!
- Forgiveness allows us to completely embrace the future.
With these few reasons, forgiveness is a very hard idea to start but we have to choose it as a right path of life. It doesn’t mean if we forgive those who harm us, we cannot remember our lost ones, properties, and public peace; although our tour is so short than seven times seventy of God method for forgiveness, we have to go along with it. In South Sudan, this year is a year of peace, and forgiveness, the government of national unity should take responsibility of healing wounds to maximum, and if we hear people say yes, we have forgive leaders who killed our sons/daughters, indeed the peace will then be remark as a true peace in the Republic of South Sudan.
The author is a co-founder of National Mental Health Care Organization; he holds Bachelor degree in social work and social administration from SSCUST, Bachelor degree in Theology from Kalispell, Montana, USA, and fellow researcher. He can be reach at tonggaid551@yahoo.com/davidmatiopgai@gmail.com
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