Why South Sudan's Conflict is akin to HIV/AIDS epidemic
By Makwei Achol Thiong, Juba, South Sudan
February 23, 2018 (SSB) — It’s unusual to compare conflict with a disease but judging from the trend of political events since December 2013, our conflict seems to be as incurable as the HIV/AIDS. The virus attacks human immune system making people vulnerable to infections and diseases.
On the other hand, our conflict attacks and destroys common man’s source of livilihood, displacing and rendering him helpless in the face of greedy Dollar.
The moment HIV/AIDS victim stops taking the antiretrovirals (ARVs), death threatens just like how our politicians bring about death through bloody rebellions when one loses grip of a political position (power).
HIV/AIDS has life-pushing ARVs and we’ve life-pushing Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS). They both don’t guarantee complete safety. They leave their victims in states of worries and psychological trauma.
If innocent ones/risk takers go natural when making an ‘away match’ love, they get ambushed and contracted the (unknown) virus. Similarly, if citizens travel on highways, they’re ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen.
Because of HIV/AIDS, you begin taking relationships cautiously. You become suspicious of every lady/man whether a villager or a slay queen/king just like you feel suspicious and insecure even when walking on the streets of Juba. Note: It’s better to be suspicious than to ‘care-less’ about the virus.
International community seems very serious through World Health Organization (WHO) in discovering the cure for AIDS just like they pretend to find us some durable peace in Addis. But every year, same empty promises. Shame!
UNMISS camps don’t guarantee 100% safety of civilians just like condoms don’t guarantee 100% safety against you contracting the virus. UN soldiers have guns to deter physical violence but their blue helmets can’t deter HIV/AIDS even inside their camps.
HIV/AIDS project is highly commercialized and a source of so much employment across the World. And with UNMISS, UN agencies, various NGOs, among other actors in the country, you can be forgiven for saying that South Sudan conflict is a source of employment and as such no one would want to lose his job from natural point of view.
Our leaders don’t agree to end the conflict just like people refuse abstainance and faithfulness as effective tools of preventions againsts the virus. Talking about these tools is like pressing people into doing the impossibilities, similar to parties discussing power sharing article in Addis. Hardly do they compromise!
The negotiators (from all the parties) to Addis talks are always in a ‘No Hurry’ mood. Nothing tangible and urgent comes from them to end the conflict. The first day they sit to negotiate is the moment they agree to disagree.
All that seems to matter, for the sake of debate and allowances (per diems), are proposals from IGAD. On the other hand, doctors and pharmacists always bend towards proposing for you to buy and use condom with all its risks when you despise abstainance and faithfulness. When their stores run out of supply, they order more and business booms.
Our leaders seem to maximize political gain for their positions by furthering the conflict just like Doctors seem comfortable with maximizing profit through the sales of ARVs and condoms.
It’s easy for our Politicians to compromise on justice & accountability and service delivery articles but not on ministerial positions (power sharing) and number of their bodyguards (security arrangement).
HIV/AIDS project and political conflicts are driven by conflict of interest. Some view HIV/AIDS as a tool of population control just like it’s the case for political conflicts. Our conflict is tremendously driven by conflict of interest locally, regionally and internationally. These interests have different dimensions.
No much local media attention is given to issues of local conflicts just like it’s the case with HIV/AIDS awareness. The worst scenario is that there is hardly any records about them.
Previously active HIV/AIDS and Peace commissions in the states have been declared luxurious and are not financed.
The burden imposed on us, the citizens, by the gun class and that of the HIV/AIDS are rivarling over our lives.
Let’s fight our war, the war against HIV/AIDS, by playing all our ‘matches’ at home. Eliminate away trips, if any. They’re dangerous. The best time is now with an excuse of economic crisis.
If you don’t have a stadium for your home games, it means you aren’t licensed to play yet, exercise patience (abstainance) and build your own. Propose he/she in marriage who is virus free. Don’t inherit widows straight away, do necessary tests.
The rest of the things in Addis are political, they’ll mess with them for now but they’ll not overcome Mugabe’s barrier (Old age).
SO IGNORE HIV/AIDS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IT’S REAL! DO YOU KNOW YOUR STATUS???
Makwei Achol Thiong is a Co-founder and a former Chair of Board of Directors of Alliance High School-Bor. He is currently pursuing a Master of Industrial Engineering at Hunan University, China. Reach him via makweiachol@yahoo.com.
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