Polataka Face Foundation: Dr. John Garang’s Predictable Seeds for New Sudan (part 7)
8 min readBy David Matiop Gai, Juba, South Sudan
June 6, 2016 (SSB) — In part seven I want to explain the annex of part five and six on how hunger stroked Polataka Red army camp in 1991- 1992 and back the calendar of our horrible survival days of unclean foods. To the best of my knowledge, at the beginning of 1990, and 1991, there was no hunger as we arrived in Polataka because humanitarian aids agencies do supplied the camp from Kenya, Kapoeta ,and Torit to Polataka, and there was enough food for one and half year. In 1990 – 1994, Captain Philip Thon Leek, (he is now retired brigadier general), the former governor of Jonglei State (2005 -2007), and the current MP representing Duke Constituency in National legislative Assembly in Juba was the humanitarian director and a member of SRRA/SRRC.
And Kapoeta had fallen in the hand of Khartoum in 1991, the road from Kenya to Torit, SPLA/M headquarters in that time was blocked by Khartoum army and severest hunger strikes Polataka. Before the camp became worse, I have good memories of that situation indeed; four of us used to share small bowls of food or bean for breakfast or lunch and meal. If one of friends whom you are sharing that bowl is not available and three of you are present, the food in bowl is divided by cross and you eat straight downwards so that other part remained for your colleague. We couldn’t imagine the whole camp suffered lots and the children ate the number of absolutely worst foods that we cheat our meals and diets suppose our fathers would have built for us while at homes.
We don’t be fooled by misleading to eat unhealthy food by then but the idea behind our suffering was the love and royal sacrifices our generations led by Dr. John Garang de Mabior chose to liberate and bring freedom to the current and coming generations. (I always defined it as generations of sons, fathers and grandfathers of war put together for national sacrifices in Southern Sudan). The poor nutritional choices we made were conditional readily available to us all the time in Polataka face foundation. When the hunger stroked the Red army camp in Polataka, we ate many bad things: Among the lists of absolute worst or bad foods were; wild plants include lemon gaba or wild lemons, bambe gaba, the wild yams, or manyongoh, thookgem, local plant which its stems are made for brooms, Apiaath new leaves, and flowers, and apiaath leaves are very soft like okra, and it was also used for building as robes but we ate its leaves and flowers as soups, green or immature mangoes fruits were also used for soups, pepper leaves, and anyuora, the local plant that crawls on ground like sweet potato is too eaten.
Among others, what we ate were honey and wild honey, (we sometimes call it bilkunyit), parbouth is an Acholi language for that animal like a rat but it is bigger than rat, other small animals, and birds. The Polataka Red army comrades will agree with me because our health is not up to date. We are been affected as our human growth and development lack diets but for polataka children to test the best knowledge of their healthy, you are courting nutritional disaster of body living. To those who will read through these series of Polataka face foundation: Dr. John Garang’s Predictable Seeds for New Sudan, sincerely speaking some of the above foods were never ever been tasted by fathers and forefathers since the creation of man but as generations choose by God to bring freedom to our people, we ate unclean foods. We also suffered the diseases and top disturbing insects of the time were the tuktuk. Tuktuk are very small and tiny insects but caused pain and body itching. Although you clean yourself, these insects can enter your feet and cause smelly. Majority of Polataka children lost their toes because of tuktuk. They occupying the whole town and everybody was affected. This nation was fought by means of diverse human suffering that incorporated into independence of South Sudan in 2011. Have you seen how little children suffering without parents support in wilderness for sake of freedom? Indeed South Sudan is a home of veterans; we are the true veterans, very proud to be part of liberation path towards peace and freedom.
How do we use some of the above as food! We roasted green mangoes, and washed after boiling. We then measured water and mixed it while removing cover and fruits but it may look like soup being used for food, no salt, it is salt by itself. We also collected apiaath new leaves and flowers, and pounding it and cook as soup. When children tried to cooked thookgem, and ate it, it caused problem on children health, the jaws swollen seriously; and it affected the throats. It was immediately suspended by the children. If you come to polataka in that time, you may get us scattered searching for foods, and you can be disappointed with this condition. This is the annex of five and six of calendar of polataka suffering era suppose we might mentally recorded as part of our 17 years of painful lives as followed Dr. John Garang in the bush after 4 years and we turn it as victory of bush historical achievements in South Sudan.
As we read in part six, the red army plowed the gardens with two tractors of John Gary but the results of new productions were not as much as expected. In 1992, the garden was well planted with different plants. I have mentioned it in the above that garden was divided according to groups. Each group was tasked after tractors plowed the ground, the work of groups were planting, and weeding. In my group (group five), we planted plants online, and each plant is grow aside by the other plants. We grew maize separately, egg plant, Okra, tomatoes, groundnuts, onion, sweet potatoes, yams, canvas, etc. The garden I talked of in Polataka was the biggest garden composed of different successful productions.
The 1992 was the year when Khartoum regime was overrunning SPLA from Bilnyang, Mengeri, Ngalngala, Lirya, and there was a serious fighting along Juba – Torit road since SPLA was almost dying. As I mentioned in other parts of this article, Torit was the SPLA headquarter after SPLA/M split in 1991, and fallen of Magistho regime in Ethiopia was affecting military strategies of SPLA and so SPLA/M decided to move to pageri, and made its headquarter. Two months after allocation of headquarter from Torit to Pageri, the Arabs captured Torit, and SPLA was not longer stationed around Torit and Polataka remained as frontline facing alliances of Khartoum within and outside the rebels’ territories: for example, LRA, Equatorian defense forces, Wulek forces, and enemies within the line of SPLA forces frighten the movement.
In September 1992, William Nyuon Bany Machar who was the second commands and deputy C- in C of the SPLA/M rebelled against SPLA/M and some people believed he was persuaded by Nasir faction groups while in Pageri. He left the town of Pageri in1992 at 2:00 Pm Sudan Local time. Nyuon Bany left Pageri together with Alternate commander Peter Bol Koang, the current governor of Eastern Bieh State, and they joined Gilaryo Modi on Magwei Mountain. He left with heavy army vehicles and machine guns. He (William Nyuon), captured Omee junction, Panyikwuer, Opari and magwei. The SPLA recaptured these areas from William Nyuon forces, and we were far away eastward close to Imatong Mountain range. They ran to lafun area and reassembled there to wage war against SPLA.
In November 1992, forces of William Nyuon, and Gilaryo Modi came back victoriously and they were led by Alternate commander Peter Bol Koang as field commander. They targeted two main areas closer to Torit: That is Polataka where thousands of thousands of Red army were living and Magwei where SPLA made as cantonment area or frontline to Torit. On hearing the news development from SPLA headquarters, the Chairman and commander in chief of SPLA/M ordered the relocation of Polataka Red army to Parajok or Pogei for a while until renegade forces are repulsed back. We moved quickly to Parajok, and thousands of SPLA forces from different battalions were brought to Polataka. When SPLA forces got big gardens in Polataka with different plants, they bowed not to allow William Nyuon captured the area with these things. Meanwhile the rebels military advancing towards Polataka was very serious, and SPLA military intelligent was aware of it. They were waiting them eagerly.
At that time High Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit was in Magwei, with late David Dhul, late Nyuon Kuach Kang, John Koang Nyuon, James Koang chuol (CDR), Machok Atem, and in Polataka were Alternate commander Dhieu Warabek Ayuel, Alternate commander late Alier Nyok, Alternate commander Kuol Mayen, Alternate commander Mach Paul, Commander Deng kuoirot, (Amoc Arab), Alternate commander late Ajak Yen, Alternate commander Atem Aguang, Alternate commander Sebit William, Alternate commander Marchelle, Commander Abd-aziz Adam el-Hilu; the list is long and High commander Kuol Manyang was in Omee, commanding Martial law or capturing youths to joined the fight but oppositely the rebels military intelligentsia realized SPLA commanders are in Polataka with huge number of battalions , they decided to changed direction to Magwei where Salva Kiir was staying and captured the town.
The rebels also captured Ikotos in the same year. The SPLA based ordered recaptured of Magwei and Ikotos from the forces loyal to William Nyuon and Gilaryo Modi and they were repulsed again in Magwei and SPLA Jaamuth battalion chased William Nyuon until he surrendered himself in Ngalngala to Khartoum forces. We will read the next text of Red army return from Parajok to Polataka.
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