The youths of South Sudan must be insane
4 min readBy AWUT MAYOM AGOK, Paris, France
April 20, 2016 (SSB) —- Gone are the days when most wars were fought between countries’ armies on a remote battlefield. The vast majority of today’s conflicts take place within countries, not between them and South Sudan is the major victim of this practice.
And whereas civilians were once far removed from the fighting, they’re now routinely targeted and make up 90% of the casualties. The Anyanya one and two, had a moto and that was struggle continue! and the reason for their moto and child soldiering was to liberate Southerners from Northern oppressors. And today, most youths who have even got a chance of going to school to universities and secondary school levels still come back and join military training.
We are lacking medical doctors and people who should have taken up the medical training are training to be soldiers, instead of training to be economists, financial analysts, and accountants to relief South Sudan from economic hassle like today, you are training on how to set it on fire. Instead of training to be a professional journalist, you are just taking advantage of emergence of digital smartphones and still go for military training.
What is your fate youths? The people using you are living their lives and their children are enjoying and studying their professional careers and you are here burning on gun fire every second, burning down your own homes to ashes, raping your own sisters and mothers.
Southern freedom fighters were fighting to have South Sudan, but what are you fighting for? To liberate Dinkas from Nuer or Nuer from Dinkas, or Murle from Mundari and so on? For sure you are wasting your life for no credit, no one will give you any award of having been a great tribalism initiator, just take a deep breath and think about your life assuming South Sudan is one tribe not a country with different tribes, you will realize that, all you are doing is a waste. You deserve something greater than fighting.
This military is just a set up. Looking at the above photograph how many old men did you see? Of course none, they are small kids being used, and people enjoying your guardian are busy filling their pockets while keeping you busy killing yourselves dying with accidental death each and every minute, Are you not really insane if you look at it critically?
Here are the implications of your hard work of choosing being a soldier as career:
“The physical, sexual and emotional violence to which you are exposed to shatters your dream world. War undermines the very foundations of your lives, destroying your homes, splintering your communities and breaking down your trust in adults.”
Many fathers today are voiceless to their own sons because they no longer listen to them.
Physical effects: Many youths today are recruited to become soldiers and are placed directly in the firing line. Rape and sexual violence are increasingly being used as a weapon of war. Many girls and young women have babies as a result, or are injured in such a way that they cannot even have children in the future. Hospitals and health centers are destroyed.
Economic effects: One of the gravest effects of war is the way it disrupts and destroy your education. Yet education really is the best weapon against poverty and conflict, War destroys industries, jobs and infrastructure. It can put a huge strain on families. It’s at this economic level where the damage is really overtaking as it fuels the conflict-poverty-conflict-poverty cycle that has caused countless deaths and blighted lives across huge paths in South Sudan.
Psychological effects: As many don’t really understand what the conflict is about or why it is happening, its affect their ability to forge healthy relationships with each other or with their own families. Some turn to alcohol or drug misuse as a coping mechanism this behavior is particularly common among today’s young soldiers.
Here is an important point that I am trying to put across, you are not helpless victims; instead you have a greater power to build yourselves for better than military. You have tools and opportunities to rebuild your own lives, and create the proactive environment for all.
The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made are the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers (SSB) website. If you want to submit an opinion article or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. SSB do reserve the right to edit material before publication. Please include your full name, email address and the country you are writing.
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