By Abraham Mabior Rioc, Juba––South Sudan
Monday, July 06, 2020 (PW) — Much as education is important, cultural beliefs have a significant place in our community. In the past, still is today, an elder child was or is not allowed to go to school due to community beliefs attached to it. The idea behind the community perception is based on the fact that an elder son has to shoulder some family responsibilities as a potential head of the family.
As an elder son in our family, my parents made several attempts to deny me my right to education. The idea on their mind was to groom me to take full charge of family responsibility following the premature demise of my father. From1993 through 1995, schools opened in many parts of the Greater Akop community including Longkap, Rualbet, Marial-Lou, Akop, and Aliek. This was the time when the missionaries extended schools to the grassroots levels. Instead, all children of school going-age were supposed to go to school but cultural beliefs remain the recognizable obstacles.
Though I liked the school myself, my culture customarily dictated my right to education. I was on constant prayers with God to allow me to pursue my education because I could see and project professional success in myself. Evidently, most of my age mates who went to school were younger sons, and the elder sons were not allowed at all. As time went, most of my age mates were already speaking Whiteman’s English and some could even tease with a language I could not understand at all.
Came 1995 when I found two great personalities who were none other than the late Toby Mawien Ariik also known as Mawien-Agougook (RIP) and late Hon. Philip Bol Parek(RIP). I quickly searched for their family background to find out whether they are elder or younger sons. I found out that they were elder sons in their respective families and had acquired sound education during their youthful life.
Both of them were working for WFP in charge of food distribution to the hungry population and they could speak fluent and plain English with Kawajat (white people). They were approachable, honest, intelligent, and could behave intellectually and professionally. Having observed their education was of significant importance not only to their respective families but also to the entire Tonj community, I was inspired at once.
In this sense, it is equally important for any youth to have a role model to drive his or her ambitions and aspirations to strategic futurity. I took them as my role models and used them as a critical basis to convince my parents to allow me to go to school. So, I was left with two choices either to be obedient to my parents and to remain illiterate or to disobey my cultural beliefs to be literate by going to school. In this respect, I accepted to disobey my cultural norms to be literate. So, I became a disobedient boy by disobeying their hopes and left for school without the consent of my parents.
By 1996, I was able to travel from Lou-Mawien to Marial-Lou where I enthusiastically joined class zero and continued with the rest of the classes year after year. My parents were so upset and could term me as an undisciplined boy who would be of no help to the family in the future.
Today, I could imagine that if I had not contravened my parents’ advice, I would have been one of the armed illiterate youths who could be among the warriors leading a number of cattle raids and community battles. Perhaps, I might have been killed or injured in some of the communal conflicts since the majority of my age mates have been killed while others have been wounded.
To make the matter worst, I later abandoned school and joined the army due to many reasons known to me. I joined the army out of my conviction that the soldiers used to harass me every now and then. They could kick me and force me to carry heavy loads, which were twice as bigger as my size. I voluntarily joined the army to make sure that nobody would harass me and kick my son in the future just as they did to me on several.
Furthermore, choosing the university course was also a tug of war. My parents wanted me to study medicine to become a medical doctor. Nonetheless, I wanted to choose education to be a teacher in order to serve my community. My mum became so upset at the time I joined university and insisted to take education as my specialization. My mum was so quick to mention many students who have dropped out of school in our village who have become teachers without going through university. Being a teacher is perceived negatively by people in our community as a poor job with no money.
Before I could finish my university education, I was contracted to edit a book with a good amount of money. It was time to please my parents with this money at hand. To make them happy is to buy cows and goats, as these are the primary source of livelihood in my community. Having money at my disposal, I bought 10 cows within two days, bought mattresses, chairs, and beds for home use. They were so happy and made to believe that education is the only key to success, therefore, my discipline was restored.
At this juncture, I have convinced my parents beyond no doubts and proved to them that education is the only way to change people’s lives instantaneously. Besides, whenever they hear their son going to some parts of Europe, Asia, and some African countries for academic and professional engagements, they would feel good and proud and they could wish all their children could have gone to school as well.
Equally important, I have become a role model in my village. Whenever I go to the village, my neighbors will hear that Mabior Angeth Mabior or Mabior Rioc-Manyanghas come from town. Most of my neighbors and relatives would come and greet me with due respect and civility.
As far as education is concerned, cultural beliefs and community attitudes are detrimental to our right to education. There are some cultures, which dictate children’s right to education, such as keeping an elder child out of school. In fact, we ought to break some cultures by letting all children go to school irrespective of family status, gender, or cultural affiliations. Stay blessed!
The Writer, Abraham Mabior Rioc, is a teacher by profession and holds dual Masters’ Degrees in Education from the University of Juba and The University of Hong Kong respectively. He is electronically reachable via mabiorrioc@gmail.com