An Open Letter to the 64 Tribes of South Sudan
By Anyieth Duom Ang’oh Panyang, Brisbane, Australia
From One of Your Own, In the Spirit of Peace and Shared Destiny
To my fellow South Sudanese, elders, chiefs, youth, women, and men from every one of our 64 proud tribes,
I extend my greetings to you with deep respect, with love, and with a heavy but hopeful heart.
I write to you not as a politician, not as a chief, but simply as a son of the land, one who believes in our future and aches for our peace. I am one of you. I have walked the same roads, seen the same suffering, and held the same dream that beats in many of your hearts: a South Sudan that is united, free from fear, and full of promise for every child born on this soil.
But today, I ask each and every one of us to resist the urge to fight one another. To silence the voices that whisper revenge. To step away from the path of inter-communal conflict, because it is a path that leads us nowhere but backward.
We Are Not Each Other’s Enemies
It is time we face a difficult truth: when one tribe rises against another, the nation bleeds. When cattle are raided, when villages are burned, when young lives are lost to cycles of retaliation, we all lose. It is not only land or cattle we bury, but trust, development, and hope.
The enemy is not the neighboring community. The real enemies are poverty, illiteracy, displacement, hunger, and the trauma we carry from years of war. Fighting each other will never defeat these enemies. Only unity will.
Our Diversity is a Blessing, Not a Curse
Each of our 64 tribes is a living expression of South Sudan’s beauty. Our languages, traditions, songs, and histories are gifts not weapons. If we learn to stand together, to honor our differences rather than fear them, we can build something truly powerful, a South Sudan where no tribe is left behind.
My Appeal to You
To our elders: Guide us with wisdom. Teach us that peace is not weakness, but strength. That forgiveness is not forgetting, but healing.
To our youth: You are not weapons. You are builders, thinkers, leaders. Choose books over bullets, dialogue over division. Your future is bigger than any tribal border.
To every South Sudanese: I know the pain runs deep. I know peace is not always easy. But I also know that we are capable of something greater. Let us stop blaming, and start building. Let us choose compassion over conflict, healing over hatred.
This land belongs to all of us. And if we destroy each other, we destroy our home. But if we protect one another, there is no limit to what we can become.
I believe in you. I believe in us. I believe in South Sudan.
May peace begin with each of us today and spread across our land like rain on dry earth.
With love and unwavering hope,
Your brother in nationhood,
Anyieth Duom Ang’oh Panyang
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