Bringing peace requires positive force of believing in abundance over scarcity
By Reech Malual, Juba, South Sudan
September 20, 2017 (SSB) — It has often been thought negative over harsh situations since the time of forefathers and thus makes it difficult to believe in a better South Sudan and sometimes people wonder why should there be any hope in due tough times.
Having been part of the Sudan, South Sudan experienced a maximum level of violence before the Anglo-Egyptian condominium government could grant independence in 1956.
There has not been a generation of peace apart from the violent ages in time memorial therein, and thus peace became impossible to attain even after the stoppage of civil wars in 1972, 2005, and August 2015 (Addis Ababa Agreement 1972, Comprehensive Peace Agreement 2005, and Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan 2015).
Wars have always been in the name of freedom and democracy and have often ended with the hope to achieve the same though proved the opposite rightful.
The struggle by the Sudanese during the Anglo-Egyptian era claimed the intention of liberation from oppressors and this turned out to establish a new oppressing regime in Khartoum against non-Arabic and non-Islamic denominations therein.
Thereafter, wars in a claim of liberation from oppression in Khartoum were initiated and in the writer’s opinion; the independence of South Sudan on July 9th, 2011 followed the suit and seemingly, the world’s newest country ran short of actualizing the dreams put forth by the leadership of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) whereas the era from 2005 to 2017 failed to witness any national projects worth due claims of liberation from oppressive regime in Khartoum, Sudan.
The referendum vote for separation, earlier 2011 by Southern Sudanese seems to have been assumed to establish another oppressive regime rather than it used to be claimed by SPLM/A during 21 years of struggle and thus comes the creation of rebellion (first civil war in independent South Sudan) known as Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) making another claim of liberation from oppression. It is assumed to be wisely understood that liberators do not usually have the claimed intention actualized but rather a mechanism to institute oppression other than the first.
There is a proof in the aforementioned events of political struggles that movements in the name of freedom hardly actualize their own visions and missions in later and spirit and this seems to come along with frustrations as regards dreamt peace and prosperity by citizens in the Republic of South Sudan.
However, in order to realise the dreamt South Sudan; there is a need for a generation of real change beside any hidden agenda as realised above, a generation that cares about the present and future, a generation willing to live in cohesion, a generation willing to learn the unknown to make breakthrough, a generation of peace lovers, a generation of self sacrifice for a common good, a generation of integrity, a generation willing to forgive in order to achieve a peaceful state and a generation that tolerates defeat and accept others’ views.
South Sudan shall never stand between nations mightily unless a generation of young people standout a different with the power of positive belief in seeing abundance over scarcity.
We (South Sudanese) live in the scarce state of affairs where South Sudan falls short in all services; economical constrains, political crisis, military crisis, constitutional crisis, health crisis, food insecurity, accountability crisis, educational crisis, dream crisis, leadership crisis, institutional crisis and many other crises being wrongly experienced by the honourable people of the Republic of South Sudan.
The aforementioned crises amongst others surely need the attention of a generation of change since the routine seems not to hit the ball thereof. Abundance over Scarcity is the doctrine and the only notion that will change the Republic of South Sudan from its current state of affairs.
Leadership by liberators through the history had never been any difference with the oppressive selfish regime and thus the focus on the world’s newest nation’s failure only shall lead to more failure just as allowing things to happen the current way. All nationals are confused with ethnopolitics as well as brainwashed from their own dreams and changing their state of life.
South Sudan seems unrepairable but there is a lot to employ in order that it stands out and should we need a nation that is respected by other sovereign states; then a generation of change willing to do no harm shall arise to save the last train of peace.
It seems gone and destroyed but there is still a hope for repair if young people standout a different, a generation of South Sudanese as Junub Games, (reshaping violent minds through board and video games as to change from violent and traumatized to peaceful), a generation of South Sudanese tired of war as AnaTaban (advocating for peace using spoken words, visual artistic work and singing), a generation of South Sudanese as Generation Change South Sudan (US Institute of Peace/USIP), Action Against Hate, #Defyhatenow amongst other positive youth initiatives.
Achieving Peace, prosperity, equality, and justice require new collective efforts by young South Sudanese as a generation that neither beliefs in violence nor in the monopoly of power in due personal endeavors. We south Sudanese can make it happen. We can repair our country and make the nation we all dreamt to be the land of golden opportunities where all our dreams can be possibly actualized.
It is not too late to repair South Sudan; we just need to see the great unseen abundance over the tangible scarcity being currently experienced by most of our common people.
The writer is the Executive Director of Screen of Rights ( http://www.screenofrights.org ) a national organization legally registered in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Sudan.
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