The Unfortunate Death of Dr Ariik Mawien is a Huge Loss to Lou Ariik Dinka Community
By Ariik Atekdit, Juba, South Sudan
November 9, 2016 (SSB) — It is now about ten days that our dear brother, Doctor Ariik Mawien Kuol Ariik had unfortunately departed from us directly to what we would assume as heaven in the house of God.
On 30 October 2016 was not the first time for a community of Lou Ariik to have lost a youth of Dr Ariik’s age; we had lost several before. Nevertheless, it was the worst day of all for the community to have lost a youth of his kind who had specialized as a medical Doctor and had sacrificed his life for decades at least to achieve such a title.
Dr Ariik Mawien, a hardworking, a very courageous person and an academician that I first met in Wau back in 2004, had been my academic advisor at times of difficulties during my secondary education in Wau. Some pieces of his advice had made me maybe a successful academician today and maybe in other corridors of life, I thought he would not die as quicker as now. And for what purpose would God allow him to die at his age?
Dr Ariik had done a lot of assistance to me as a person, especially when I was studying with him as I was a junior student in John Paul II School. I didn’t know that he would only die shortly after completing his academic struggle just to leave behind his mother unrewarded after the victory of his academic expedition.
Ariik’s mother, Mrs. Kuec-hok Wol Deng had been struggling for several decades singlehandedly to raise the father-orphaned young Ariik and other siblings. This made me to believe that uncle Mawien-Apuk (Ariik’s dad) has died for the second time and that is more than unfortunate.
It is truly unfortunate to accept as true that Dr Ariik Mawien, the first ever and the only registered medical doctor in Lou Ariik County has ill-fatedly died on 30 October only to leave us behind with weak hearts and running tears at our cheeks.
What wrong have we done as a community for God to rob us of such a person? Never shall I ever believe this tear-jerking fact. Was it indeed a God coordinated death? Why would God kill him only one year after completing his medical profession? He was a man of knowledge and he loved reading academic books and had been leading severally in his academic performances.
Indeed this time God has shamed Lou Ariik people in the eyes of other communities and in South Sudan for having allowed the death of Dr Ariik Mawien to occur as early as that. We thought that the strong-hearted Ariik Mawien-Apuk was a special gift to our Nation through Lou Ariik Community and that he would continue to live with us to serve his suffering communities as a medical doctor.
2014 was a time to celebrate his graduation ceremony but the 4th of Nov 2016 was the day we carve the earth to bury his body at his indigenous village at Longkap in Lou Ariik County of Tonj State. It is untimely to believe that it is true that Ariik has gone though we are witnesses to such regrettable and undeniable event.
Yes, indeed on 6th Nov 2016 at Gudele One in Juba, at his funeral, we had shared our hopelessness and our sorrow. We had given encouragement to each other and constructed hope to prepare for the brighter tomorrow for his two kids: Arek (the daughter) and Ariik (the son). We had shared the title of the grieving mother and we tried to understand each others’ pain. However, with his beautiful photograph hanging in front of the mourners, we remembered that Dr Ariik had physically disappeared but we shall never forget him in our hearts.
In 2006 Dr Ariik Mawien-Apuk broke record to be the first ever Lou Ariik citizen to be admitted to Upper Nile University, Faculty of Medicine at Khartoum where he studied up to 4th year. When transferred to Bahri University at Khartoum in 2012 after the separation of South Sudan to continue with his medical studies in Sudan when his original University ran short of academic activities for medical students he still became the first ever medical student from Lou Ariik to study in Bahri and to successfully graduate with medical Honour Degree in Khartoum in 2014.
My tears have continued to drop down to my cheek for this unfortunate death of Dr Ariik Mawien who happened to be my cousin. Lou Ariik community has lost a great man, Pateek Clan has lost an irreplaceable talented son and it is indeed dreadful and unfortunate event to the immediate family of Ariik-Chirit Mawien and to the grieving mother and friends.
During the funeral at Gudele One, I happened to have been given the task of preparing the brief biography of Dr Ariik Mawien-Apuk and again to read it to the attendance of mourners. While preparing it, I was badly touched and dropped tears severally onto the paper and I had to stop once and again in order to gather some strength to finish what I thought to be my duty as a family member.
When I read it out I would control the tears of the eyes but couldn’t manage to control the shaky nervous system in front of the mourners. Though, I am an experienced master of ceremony (MC) and a public speaker, I was defectively overcome by the situation. It was not fear of the crowd but desperation for what has happened to us as a family. This is because this man’s life in our community would mean a lot to the world human community.
When I finished reciting the funeral poem in his remembrance my voice was already hoarse, totally choked and could not pronounce any word and I had to cut the poem short and walk out to cry far away behind the mourners, at least to draw out my handkerchief and wipe my face. It is unfortunate experience for unfortunate death of what we call a brother who had achieved a profession and die early before practicing it in his community.
Dr Ariik Mawien you will be extremely missed! Your colleagues in Juba Teaching Hospital will miss you! Your colleagues in John Paul, Auxullium & St. Raphael will miss greatly!! The Colleagues you met in Bahri and Upper Nile Universities will miss you as well!! Lou Ariik Community members will miss you more and indeed for a reason!!!
And so go and run free with angels. Dance around the golden clouds. And please Dr Ariik Mawien, be sure to tell the angels to take good care of you for us!!!
You can reach the author via his email: Atekdit Mawien <ariqdudic@gmail.com>
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