Tears of Bitterness: The Painful Experience after John Garang death.
6 min readBy Awuol Gabriel Arok, Juba, South Sudan.
Monday, July 30, 2018 (PW) —Wild rumors made us ran for an hour beating celebratory drums thinking that John Garang previous appearance after many death rumours was humanly approved.
An hour later our ill lived celebration turned into gross of stress caused by unverified information and quick pick up.
War had just came to end with the signing of CPA in 2005 under the SPLM/A Leadership of Dr. John Garang de Mabior and the government of Sudan NCP of President Omer Hassan Mohammed El Bashir.
Attention was in Sudan as everyone saw the long awaited reward of New Sudan coming to reality.
The later to be a former rebel SPLM/A Movement engaged the Sudan government from city to City in Kenya dialoguing and tabling an agreement, the trendy and altruistic Liberation movement gained heaps of praises and celebratory blessings both in Sudan and across the globe.
Houses and streets were filled with short and beautiful liberation slogans of SPLA/SPLM Oyee, New Sudan Oyee, it was a mission accomplished by Dr. John Garang de Mabior and his Comrades as they were greatly known.
Almost everyone began to recall how his son, children or relatives volunratirly offered their lives across the Sudan Jungle for the day that has just arrived.
Everyone was happy; war orphans, windows, disabled all were adorned and cherished as winners and heroes of the long struggle marked as the longest war fought in Africa along the World wealthy longest River Nile.
Final inking and celebrations were closed- in on 9 Jan 2005 in Nairobi Kenya hence, ending one of the dustiness peace journey in the Sudanese history.
Diktoor John and Ustaz Ali Osman Mohammed Taha swiftly topped the peace and heroes chart in songs and praise few days after the signing of the peace.
The long awaited Sudan Peace emerged and was signed amid joyous crying mode and ululation, Sudanese both within and outside the country were overwhelmed with joy and happiness.
Finally decades of hostilities came to an end, Halleluyah and Allah Kuber mixed the celebratory tunes in the heart of Nairobi.
The faith base group notably Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) was never left behind during the spiky voyage of peace quest.
In my former home camp of KAKUMA a daily prayer of salvation was the everyday activity of Tukii nhiol and Thiec Nhialic groups of ECS.
At their daily prayers schedules Tuki nhiol and Thiec Nhialic group molled across Kakuma seasonal rivers from Zone 3 to Zone 2 and 4, from Zone 1 to Zone 5, Kakuma 2 to Kakuma 3.
Sudanese children in Kakuma Refugee Camp rolled over the black days’ mat into the weary hole of learning purely knowing that they were filling bucket of tears for tomorrow betterment, a sign of positive riposte to elders’ advices of exchanging gun with pen.
It was indeed a hearty promise and advice that no one can ignore, coupled with daily tripling in of bad news from the frontlines.
On the evening of 30th July 2005 the aircraft carrying Diktoor Garang, his Body guards and the Flight Crew members left the Ugandan Capital Kampala for Southern Sudan New Site on Saturday at about 5:30 Pm
Then came what was said to be a rumor that Dr. John Garang plane that was carrying him to his base at New Site from Entebbe Uganda has lost contact with the control towers both in Entebbe and Khartoum.
All was blank, a complete confusion and strangeness control the night making it heavier and expelling.
The next night took long and arrived with whiff that poisoned seam of hope and all was horrendous.
The day arrives with the worse of all the expectations, people gathered in groups along the roads and residential blocks.
Those who had no access to BBC news overtly assumed peculiar gathering as bad mark for the missing leader.
And indeed it was a throbbing fact, BBC news ran the death announcements seconds after seconds.
The whole history was absorbed and taken in with sadness, ringed by the highest taste of bitterness mourners had nothing to do but to chew in the reality.
Nuisance and fumes were randomly thrown with some people insinuating if God could first ask for opinion, they would have offered their lives to serve John’s life.
Between the two oceans of distress and hopelessness; the demise of Dr. John Garang and the mockery examinations on our tables we the year candidates were completely confused and lips tapped.
Everything was cool and pesky there was stillness everywhere; students were dispersed home except the few candidates who man it on with their ill carrying examinations papers.
Sketchy Sleeping took us all through to 12 noon when we heard the sound of drums beating from the direction of Zone two perfectly from the heart of Hong Kong Three.
While wondering who could be that halfhearted beast beating the drum on the passing day of wen de Mabior Atem as he was famously known.
Few minutes into our astonish wondering came a young man running with exhaustion and happiness.
With little Media knowledge and poor English one of the boys who was watching the news saw the replay of John Garang boarding the plane at Entebbe Airport and thought John Garang was still alive.
The message open out so fast like a wild fire and that was how our colleague grabbed part of it and chucked it smartly on our drowsy faces.
Without a foreword our colleague thrown the four worded ‘the man is alive” head on head after he arrived at our dormitory.
Without much time to spare he told us that people are matching on the roads and have now reached Zone Three Church’s Compound next to Group 53.
The clouds of stress that had terrifically smoked our minds slowly wind away as the sound of the drum host in.
Without time to waste we all rushed out of the building and began running like a satisfied kid toward the approaching celebrants.
At the junction of Zone Two we matched into the jubilant crowds and without clear understanding of where we were heading to we matched in.
Forty minutes later we were in Zone Five Market and still pushing on toward Nuer Community next to Old UN Compound.
The participants of that worthless celebration miserably regret in what I later came to assumed as a faceless voluntary visit to UN Compound.
When we were at Zone Five near the cemetery ready to cross Kakuma Town-Lokichonggio road to new UN Compound then my instinct told me to recall satiated narrations from one of John Garang’s closest associate who was called back to New Site by the authority subsequent to funeral arrangements.
Without time to waste, I deafly turned my back to the crowd and trek back through the Trac River and cut cross the Group 8 Zone two road junction exactly at the same place where we joined the misinformed group.
With exhaustion, sadness, hunger and the sultry sun of Kakuma, I reached the school compound at 3:00 PM grappled by self hatred and vindictive wishes to the plane and circumstances that led to the death of Diktoor John.
Awuol Gabriel Arok, a Writer and a Poet, has a Bachelor Degree in Social and Developmental Studies from the University of Juba, South Sudan, he is a Columnist with The Dawn Newspaper under column “The Motivation Bell”. He is the author of unpublished book titled ‘‘The Wisdom Horn’’ , he contributes to Websites and Social Media platforms on Issues concerning Social, Economic and Politic s and through his peaceful and developmental campaigns such as ‘‘Your Tribe is My Tribe’’, ‘‘Giving Heart Foundation’’, “Wisdom Testament”, “Classic Leadership Forum”, “Grace the Women Foundation”, “PeaceNet Initiative” and “Award for Development”. He can be reached via his email Address: jjmkamzeearokson@yahoo.com
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