We will always Need Each Other: War and the Destruction of Social Coexistence among Tribes
7 min readBy James Kuot Wol, Cavendish University, Uganda
April 13, 2016 (SSB) —- It is not a provisional bond or a transitory synergy, but it is their stretched social and cultural inter-mingle that saved them even if they are the mean enemies of themselves. One could easily see it in the current conflict, with Dinka and Nuer fitted as the most antagonists, but because of their ancestral bond, any of the two tribe member can still find hospitality within the other tribe’s members. This is exactly what happened to Chol Miayar and his Friends, Kai Deng and Tut Gatluak.
On 17th December, Chol decided to leave for Pariang County after the most anticipated conflict erupted in Juba on 15th December.2013. He knew there is going to be possible defection in Bentiu and thing will never be find with him and the rest of Dinka community who are in Bentiu should the defection materialize. Well Chol thoughts were proved right later when General James Koang of division four declared his resistant.
“Two men in both civilian clothes at their late 50s appeared suddenly on the road and asked me to stop, one asked my name and where am heading to. After hearing my name one immediately pulled out his sword and stepped ahead toward me. The only thing I could hear that time was a knock at my head; I could not know what happened to me until I got myself together following day only to realize that I was in strangers’ house. The only thing I could remember was two men appeared to me, but I don’t know who they were.”
Chol did not escape his enemy territory though he got some hospitality; he was surprised when his host turned out to be Nuer. “I thought I had left the Nuer territory, but to my surprised. The one who approached me that morning was from Nuer though he greeted me in Dinka. He tried to be such a friend to me though at first I didn’t believe him. I thought they are just waiting for their suitable time to kill me, I know I was living-dead. They fed me well for three days, but don’t allow me to move around. They keep telling me that u need to recover well from your wound before you can move around. I didn’t believe in that word though. What I know myself was that when their best time comes I will be sacrificed as they wish.
They fear did not leave me until one night when Kai Deng came to me, I thought that was my last moment on earth, but his intention was far different from what I thought. “Now listen carefully young man, my friend and I are going to take you out tonight, we can’t keep you here any longer, it will be serious threat to our life and our families’ life. Get ready now we must deliver you to Nyiel before the dawn.” I didn’t like the idea of moving at night with strangers, but I have no choice I have to go even if it means my death, I should enjoy it that way.
Our journey didn’t take us long before we first met a group of five armed men, by this time I was well warned not to talk by these two strangers who turn out to be my savoir. “Stop you!” “Where do you think you are going to, at this very night?” asked one of the soldiers who seem to has notice something fishy about our movement. My friends started answering some of these men’s interrogations. I could hear a little of the language, but not so much though to hear the whole conversation, however I heard my friends telling them that I was a deaf and dumb and I cannot speak or hear anything, I felt like to answer their queries, but unless I want to die, otherwise nothing bad to have my life at expense of being called a deaf and dumb. After that short interview, they allowed us to continue our movement.
Our next journey was silent and quite, one could only hear the frog’s croaking, my saviors could not event talk to each other as before. We passed two deserted villages only to realize that the third village ahead of us is Nyiel, I felt relieve and the fear for losing my life was now fading away. I clearly believed that some government soldiers on night patrol may be near us; this installed another fear for my saviors’ safety.
“Sa-bit, Ye Yin Nga? Ku loorda?” An Arabic word mix with Dinka which mean, “Stop, who are u? And where are you going? We have fallen into patrol ambush for government soldiers. I whispered to my friends to allow me do the talking. I started first with greeting and appreciating their patrol using the Dinka language, I could feel my friends’ fear wanting to run away, but I knew this could worsen the situation so I held their hands firmly though it is not morally acceptable for young to hold an elderly’s hand at such circumstances. The soldiers did not like much of my entertainment so they asked me to mention who am I and who are these two men am holding their hands. I told them my name and started my deceit by telling them that the two men are my uncles. I told them we were knapped in Manga village by Nuer soldiers who beat us and left us half dead. Now my uncle are badly injured, I do not know what the Nuer soldiers did to them they did not speak any words since yesterday please do something to help them, I pleaded. Though I pleaded for help, I have a reservation in my mind that I should not persuade them to investigate whether they are truly beaten by Nuer soldiers for the result may mean terminating our life all together if prove treachery so I pleaded in low profile.
Lighting the torch, one soldier shouted at us, “Stupid fool, can you stop begging us and start proceeding with your half dead uncles to where ever you want to go to? Do we look like doctors to you? Who told you to go to Nuer land anyway?” The soldier keep lighting constantly at my friends and my heart beat faster again for I thought he will recognize the scarifications on their heads, but luckily the soldiers did not pay much concentration on the scarifications of my friends. The soldiers thought chasing me and my uncles away rudely like that will teach us lessons not to stay in Nuer land again, but to me and my friends it was a good ignorant and a relieves to continue with our journey.
After we left Nyiel, we stopped and decided to proceed north – east of Nyiel village in order to avoid meeting with government soldiers’ patrollers. We walked for 30 minutes and arrived to a deserted village, at this time the dawn was approaching and we could hear the morning birds singing. It was a time to say goodbye and the two friends have to return to where they belong and I should continue with my rest of the journey to Pariang. But one thing Kai Deng did not forget to do was to hold my shoulder and said to me, “I did not know you are such a strong, smart and courageous boy, you managed to safe us in that mistakable scenario. We would have been killed by those soldiers. God will deliver you to your parents safely and one day all this will go and we shall meet and live together again. Goodbye my little friend.” His words touched my heart, I could not say a word, but only to realize that I shed tear of believing that we will always need each other to stay happy again.
For Chol, it was a testimony. “I didn’t know what to do or what to say to the government soldiers, I just spoke what came in my mind and our life was saved. I think it was God’s work that saved our life.” He said.
By James Kuot Wol, a Public Health Student at Cavendish University Uganda, via blog; http://jameskuot.blogspot.co.uk
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