The national dialogue: A self-discovery of teaching people to people for peace and stability in South Sudan
4 min readThe national dialogue: A self-discovery of teaching community to community or people to people for peace and stability in South Sudan
By David Matiop Gai, Juba, South Sudan
February 25, 2017 (SSB) — Last year I wrote an article published by Paanluelwel.com: SOUTH SUDANESE BLOCK on 12/12/2016, National dialogue for six Months: A key step toward positive assurance of real peace in South Sudan, and the president of South Sudan Gen. Kiir Mayardit announced National Dialogue Initiative on 14/12/2016.
the past article, I explained that Peace deals worldwide; to be owned by citizens in conflict dozens and are followed by sequences of referendums, popular consultations, preaching about contents of peace itself, messages and tracks of forgiveness, peace and reconciliations, unity, or people to people initiatives, community to community dialogues, and national dialogue as a routine for proper stability to return life rest of an affected people to normal places of their origins.
In our current crisis, the root causes of conflict and war in the country were so far difficult to narrate, and the conflict is now accumulated with huge gaps of affected social contacts among communities. The war in South Sudan started long time ago, and it had involved communities of their own victims, terrible victims through the conflict planted by their own sons in the name of tribes, and spirit of grabbing wealth.
So the hatred, bitterness, jealousy, envy, quarrelsome, fighting, killing, rape, anger, human rights abuses, and crimes against humanity are not just appeared as a result of 15 Dec 013 alone. These issues were rooted far back during the British rule, Anglo-Egyptian rule, and the Arabs rule in the Sudan, and Southerners were taught how to hate one another than their enemies.
In those years of our grandfathers, there was no dialogue at the grass root levels to iron disputes, and pains. When political figures solved issues, ordinary citizens give in with condition of unwanted things for the sake of peace and stability because they walk free for a while if politicians not got caught fire on their mouths.
Imagine, I said, Southerners were taught how to hate one another, and during Dr. John Garang regime, Arabs used South Sudanese to slaughter other South Sudanese on their behalf, and many South Sudanese did this terrible act.
A colleague of mine told me that during war time, a South Sudanese by name Sebit in Damazine speared stomach of another South Sudan with sword, and when removing it from his stomach, all intestines fall down, and an Arabs National security personal told him, Sebit, you are killing him and by the way these are your people! And I told him, this exercise happened in many towns in South Sudan except us who were in the bush. In South Sudanese, there is no spirit of humanity.
The conflict on 15 Dec 013 had involved new faces who have planned against 4 million South Sudanese people who sacrificed their lives for cost of liberation, freedom, and democracy; they had bad wishes against the land, and its people; they have planted terrible things against people thinking that they are doing it to president Kiir but in vein; they are doing this citizens because public is seriously affected through war, death, hunger, economic, education, health, roads and transport, agriculture, and other important things.
Probably, the national dialogue will begin in March according to President, but national dialogue agendas are not yet expose to citizens who are always victims in all conflicts in South Sudan. I thought there should be no something hinder because many conflicts that took place in South Sudan, politicians very times solved their parts, and left huge parts to citizens unsolved, and when new war erupted like 15, Dec 2013, bitterness, and anger fall into the old wounds, and the scars are made new wounds again. This is the kind of routine we are in since four decades of civil war in Southern Sudan- South Sudan.
I want this national dialogue to be a self-discovery of teaching community to community, and people to people dialogue, as a role of face to face initiatives, and by hearing somebody grievances, and he or she should also listen to my grievances, but a way forward will be find by ourselves.
Therefore, a national commitment, submission of goodwill South Sudanese nationalists should reach rebels contentions and convey messages of national dialogue as a roadmap to national stability, peace implementation and casted out doubt so that we open new chapter of accountability, transparency, and responsibility, and strictly move nation follow up issues of rule of law, democracy, good governance, and like.
The author is a co-founder of National Mental Health Care Organization. He can be reach at daivd.matiopgai@gmail.com
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