A message to my South Sudanese readers worldwide
4 min readBy Thiik Mou Giir, Melbourne, Australia
May 21, 2016 (SSB) – Last week, I wrote:
“I have created a South Sudanese Society in my mind. I have done it. It is embodied in the vision, ‘We are to Construct Our New Identity’. This society is beautiful and vibrant. It is all in my imagination. Do I have enough lifetimes to just do something in order to bring my dream to reality? Please, help me.”
The following were some responses I had received:
- “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
- “Write a book and explain your vision further so that we understand it”
- “Go to South Sudan and join a political party which will make your ideas get to the top”
- “…explain to our people (South Sudanese) your vision and get them convinced…”
- “Thanks for your dream…. If your heart and mind are clean like your articles you wrote about South Sudan problems…. Am always after your bro regardless of tribe affiliations and continue telling the facts.”
- Do your best today and do not be so concerned about tomorrow for tomorrow does not belong to us”
- “Do your best now; if you cannot advance your ideas to the end, someone else will.”
- “God bless you abundantly with your vision”
The statement, “Please, help me,” is an ambiguous one. Am I requesting from people to send me some advices that will help turn my dream to reality? Or, am I asking people to take action in their own different and creative ways in order to make this vision, this dream, work for the benefit of us all? I deliberately stated it that way because I wanted people to react the way they want. The advices I have received reveal that you have taken both directions. You do not know how delighted I am. Thank you so much.
Your attitudes to my writings, demonstrate that there is a positive interaction between the South Sudanese society I have created in my mind and the real South Sudanese society that globally exists. People who responded to my writings (Facebook “Comments” and “Like”) are members of different tribes of S. Sudan. My writings, which can be located on https://paanluelwel.com and https://africaworldbooks.com.au/blog/, demonstrate how I have been trying to close the gap between the real and the imagined society.
Perhaps some people are asking, “Is Thiik doing all these things in order to improve his profile so that he secures a job in S. Sudan?” If this is true, these people are as wrong as they can ever be. That is not the motivation at all. I did what I have done for me. Yes, I work for me. I work to find myself and to be myself. In my heart and mind, there is a place for Jieng, Nuer, Bari, Shilluk, Maadi, and so on. No amount of hatred around me will ever be able to change that. If you join me and we, together, work to bring change to our people, work together in order to close the gap between the reality and the imagined, identity, a new identity, will certainly be born.
For now, I want to say that I will not be able to write to you as frequently as I have been doing since March/2016. In the meantime, I will be working on how I can explain my vision to you better. I will continue to think about you. I wish all of you well.
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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