War and Forgiveness: A Relief from the trauma of war and political victim-hood
By Daniel Machar Dhieu, Juba, South Sudan
March 4, 2017 (SSB) — First and foremost, I would like to thank the president of the Republic of South Sudan H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit for the declaration of March 10, 2017 as national day for prayers. According to the president, the content of that prayer ought to base on healing, peace and reconciliation amongst the people of South Sudan. He further recommends all politicians to reconcile and make forgiveness as priority in this prayer.
On additional statement Kiir also asks all the South Sudanese nationals to observe this day suitably without failed, he also encourage every citizen to forgive each other for all mistakes we might have come across during the last four years of civil war. That was statement of the president encouraging people to forgive and forget all the mistakes impose to this nation by the crisis.
The above statement stated by president has actually convinced me to have my opinion toward it, and also have a great support to his idea of national prayers as the only solution to the current economic crisis of this nation. I also learned that, war within should not force us to disgrace our nation agenda of freedom toward spirit of togetherness.
Also I realize that conflict is a part of life. There is conflict between spouses, mother-daughter, father son, families, peers, and nations. Conflict is not going away. We need to shift our paradigms about conflict and look at it as an opportunity to build trust, empathy, unity, and peace. That is precisely what I learned during the four years of our conflict. So we can’t stop from getting solution, we have to do anything that can stop war and make us more united than before.
For that bigger depiction of peace, I am currently working to get out all those affected by this crisis to turn up in big number so that we can stand alongside president to show what forgiveness can do. Imagine the kind of impact the president would have on the younger generation as he relates his side of promoting peace and unity through total forgiveness.
Truly, I believe that if we have more forgiving people in the community, we can speed up the process to discover not only our inner peace but a whole nation at peace. I would love to see more and more people making a commitment to get engaged in a meaningful way to the process of national peace agenda. Let us leave a better and safer South Sudan for our children and grandchildren. It is their right and our duty.
Now, if you will, stretch your imagination. If all the conflicts in the communities could be resolved by extending spirit of nationalism, what would our nation look like? You will see development approaching our nation in shortest time, development is just a matter of peace and unity and must more is the stability of the nation.
Peace is in the air. Can you feel it? Yes, there are wars raging, rumors of war, and plenty of turmoil on our streets and within our homes. But can you feel the other trend arising? Peace is in the air. Even with the new trends, I still know that peace starts with the individual: me and you.
If not, then I invite you to resolve internal conflicts, which will bring about the external peaceful outcomes, since we know now that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. And as we heal the battle within, we will see the peace reflected in our relationships, home and society.
People may ask themselves how possible they will be able to extend good will to those people who were responsible for the killing of their sons and daughters, but they are answered already by declaration of national prayers day which is mainly for forgiveness. Through forgiveness you forget whatsoever was done wrong to you by either your enemy or friend. Nothing works better than forgiveness.
Inclusion, am asking my fellow South Sudanese to come up in supporting president idea of peace and reconciliation as national agenda. I would like to inform all South Sudanese to stick to this move taken by our president. Remember this point will push us to national dialogue as declared and schedule by our president some months ago.
The term Forgiveness is very important and therefore as a means of relieving oneself from the trouble of victimhood, political trauma, is intrinsically subjective. Forgiveness may unfold like a mysterious discovery, or it may be a totally conscious decision, something you line yourself up for having exhausted all other options.
It may have a strong degree of pardoning attached to it, or it may just be a sense that you have released something poisonous or let go of something heavy that no longer weighs you down. In this sense, forgiveness means not allowing the pain of the past to dictate the path of the future.
Lastly, the reality is that some people don’t forgive because it is not the right time to forgive. Taking the time to proceed at one’s own pace can be smart, creditable, and empowering. For those working to promote forgiveness and reconciliation, it is important to remember that forgiveness is first and foremost a choice, and not necessarily the best medicine for all people all the time.
The writer is the South Sudanese Independent Journalist, and Student at South Sudan Christian University, Juba South Sudan. Contact him through machardhieu@gmail.com
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