Taking a painful decision sometimes saves lives: Replacing cattle rearing with education in South Sudan

Taking a painful decision sometimes saves lives: Replacing cattle rearing with education as a vibrant tool for community transformation is a worthwhile decision

By Ustaz Abraham Mabior Rioc, Juba, South Sudan

Monday, August 23, 2021 (PW) — From the cultural perspectives, pastoralist communities have strong attachment and passion toward their animals. For some reasons to their own valuation, animals have economic and social benefits to the pastoralists. For instance, cows, goats, and sheep are used extensively in marriages to pay dowries and reverse cows. In the same note, both animals provide milk, meat, and leather to meet man’s needs. Culturally, cows, goats and sheep are used sacrifices for cultural heritages and social shrines. In this essence, this places greater emphasis on the cattle rearing and keeping across pastoralist communities. 

Due to the importance of cattle in these communities, the author of this article is one of the beneficiaries whose education and wellbeing was entirely dependent on the sale of cows, goats, and sheep to finance his education. This similar context also applies to 75% of the contemporary professionals, who have had their education supported through the sale of cows to finance their schooling at different levels of education.  

Given the importance of cattle and gauging the challenges posed by cattle rearing, the author articulates the reality that cattle rearing ought to be curtailed and modernized in order to avoid numerous problems. In economic and social reality, control of cattle has a number of problems which are destructive to people lives and their property in a different form and approaches. For instance, millions of lives have been lost and a lot of poverty looted and vandalized as a result of cattle raiding and cattle wrestling at the community peripheries. 

During the wartimes and most recently in interim periods, control of animals was a bit smart because of the application and exercise of jungle laws, in which thieves and criminals were shot and killed. In so doing, obligatorily disciplined the armed youths and their immediate community leaders at the civic sidelines to remain peaceful and united. 

At this moment, the worst conflict-hit communities include the states of Greater Bahr El Ghazal and part of Unity and JongleiStates. However, Aweil community, for instance, is exclusively peaceful since the members of the community have adopted a peaceful approach of keeping cattle in a manner that does not bring disputes and skirmish conflicts. 

On this point, conflict of Tonj community is primarily attached to cattle raiding and social egocentricities from the capricious perspectives. The ongoing confrontations between Lou-Paher, Thiik, and Luanyjang communities is entirely caused by cattle wresting and cattle thefts. However, looking at the level of destruction as per se, it has remained a very painful episode which has caused a lot of losses of property and human lives. 

At this juncture, jungle laws have been replaced with modern laws, which is basically attuned to respect of human rights and dignity. Because of such legal approaches, public opinions on statutory laws have overridden the authenticity of the application. In fact, these laws seem to have been delayed and sometimes denied due to weaken judiciary systems. Hence, reflecting squarely on the autonomy of armed youths to press the laws hard against the wall. 

Notwithstanding, measures can still be applied on legal basis to disarm armed civilians and advance education universally and lawfully to shape the mindsets of the armed civil populations. This does not require the application of harsh laws, but through community peaceful approaches which is liberal and encouraging of education as a vibrant tool to eradicate illiteracy and hunger. 

In this essence, many armed youths and brainless professionals still believe that animals have significant contribution and importance to the today’s modernized world. This is a negative point all together if we need to keep both customary and statutory laws in a contradictory atmosphere. Given the level of destruction and hatred which have engulfed our respective communities, we should know and be reminded that human life is precious than animals per se. 

Though animals’ meat is delicious at some points, it is still unpleasant when human life is lost at the expenses of keeping and protecting faunas. Consequently, having a human being alive is far better than owning a million of cattle, which can cause the owner a lot of problems. Part of Central EquatoriaState has been affected by conflicts as a result of cattle keeping by the armed youths. Despite government and host community calls to relocate cattle, none of these calls has been listened to by the cattle herders.  Hence, creating relentless skirmishes, mistrust and disrespect between the host communities and the cattle owners. 

In my view, keeping cattle is not bad, but it should be organized in a manner that does not entertain loss of human lives and property. This needs a collective responsibility from all members of the communities across South Sudan to avoid animals bringing endless problems to people including the neighbors. People should adopt and adapt modern ways of keeping and herding cattle, peacefully and non-violently. 

In my trip to Georgia in 2018, in Eastern Europe, I was able to move across different towns for a tour from the city to city. As we could move from one town to the other, we could see a herd of cattle, sheep and goats being looked after by herders in the mountainous regions. These mountainous areas for rearing cattle are a hundred miles away from community residential areas.

Objectively, the methods of keeping cattle far away from people are to avoid problems from cattle owners and the non-cattle owners respectively. In the same note, animals are dirty and keeping them within the neighborhood implies of spreading diseases to human beings. Henceforth, human lives and animals should be treated in a manner that does not encourage criminality and outbreak of diseases within the reach of communities. 

In the context of South Sudan, why not adopt this approach to keep our animals in a safe and peaceful environment. By doing so will keep our social fabrics and societal structures intact, sustainably and peacefully. Hence, communal conflicts and disunity can be minimized and discarded once and for all. 

The government as the sole provider of social services including security should take the lead and invite education and development partners to pursue peaceful approaches to animal rearing. To replace this approach of cattle rearing, education should top the list and this should be made affordable, accessible, participatory, inclusive, and relevant to the needs of the communities.

Education should be made compulsory and legally binding to contain these armed youths in the learning mode throughout the year. This is attainable if commitment and political will is attached wholeheartedly to the education system. 

At possible stages, a pastoralist education or mobilize schooling activities be introduced and implemented in letter and spirit. As time goes with mobile schooling, these armed youths will get used to learning activities and this will slowly change their mindsets and their behavioral change. 

Because kɔc agueec, let me rest my pen here. I wish our communities across the demographic and geographic boundaries of South Sudan to remain peaceful and live side by side as brothers and sisters throughout their lifestyles. I should remind you that Education is the only vibrant key to life. Stay blessed and safe, my people.

The author, Abraham Mabior Rioc, is a teacher by profession and practice who holds dual Master’s Degrees of Education, from the University of Juba and The University of Hong Kong respectively. He is electronically reachable via mabiorrioc@gmail.com

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