By Anok James Mabior
Imagine a situation wherein a thief robbed another thief who also robbed another person. The linkage in this chain of robbery is where the puzzle lies, because it would make one blind to know who the real thief is.
Now, let me add another layer: the community that was being robbed hires one of these thieves to recover their stolen goods. When the hired thief returns the stolen goods, things begin to take a different direction: who is the real thief here?
Many questioned whether it was the original thief who set into motion the whole train of thefts, the thief who was sent by the community to reclaim what was stolen, or the community itself for entrusting a known thief to reclaim its belongings.
Everything is so mixed that no one knows anymore where right and wrong stand.
The question now is: what should be the due penalty, and who is at fault? In this web of deception, who, then, was the thief?
This is my opinion, and you are at freedom to reach me if you have anything more to discuss regarding the article at anokjames433@gmail.com.
By Anok James Mabior
It may seem like it is too late, but the dream to rebuild South Sudan is alive, full of life. In fact, it did not die in vain like the vision our parents envisioned during the 21-year long struggle for the liberation of Sudan. Our happiness, hope, and future-filled hearts rushed in with independence in 2011: freedom, prosperity, and united. Later, though, the script of the freedom initially celebrated was later written in divisions, contradictions, and the burdens of nation-building.
This is still possible: South Sudan—the nation we aspire to, the nation you aspire to, the nation I aspire to. We look forward to rebuilding a state of South Sudan that brings the promise of a better tomorrow; a dawn in which unity, development, and equality recline on the stool of our country. But how? It is in understanding that we are truly South Sudanese: not identified or categorized in our tribes, but a universal identification as citizens of South Sudan.
It causes divisions that are inimical to unity, progress, and equality. A question may be asked: what then, if we put aside the tribal differences and we were proudly calling ourselves sons and daughters of South Sudan, rather than Dinka, Nuer, Bari, or whatever ethnic group? At what cost will it be, or most importantly, at what cost will our future be?
For the kind of South Sudan we want, it behooves us to stand together as one people. We have to accept our national identity above tribal, and therefore work together for progress.
Nowadays in South Sudan, most of our communities have several tribal associations. But what are they really preaching? More a time, these associations are at the root of communal conflicts. What about the leadership of those youth associations in those communities? Most of them are not even youths, and yet they wield influence in the community to promise development, unity, and progress for all. From where do they get their powers to influence political decisions or take up responsibilities beyond their depths? The mismanagement of resources and the waste of opportunities have been an organ dance.
Where do we start with the reconstruction of the South Sudan we want? Has to begin with ourselves; it has to be within our communities and families.
Rebuilding South Sudan has to start with self-love, after which that love will be extended to other people:
1. If you want your children to get good food, let other people's children also have that opportunity.
2. If you want your children to have a proper education, then all the children should be allowed to have one.
3. If you want your children to get good medical assistance, then work for equal service experienced by all the children, not just your child.
4. Understand that when you were appointed a minister or to any other influential post, people trusted you to manage their resources, not to ransack or further your ill-conceived interests.
5. If you hold your children's best interests at heart as far as housing is concerned, then push for a housing policy that approaches any modicum of safe and secure housing for all families.
6. If you have the feeling that the pain of seeing your child become a gangster is something you can not comprehend, then understand that the rest of the people around you feel the same. Organize yourselves and do some policy-setting that will be protective and nurturing to all youth.
7. If you desire peace and stability, start by crying for justice, fairness, and reconciliation in your community.
Rebuilding South Sudan has to start with each one of us. The transformation of our individual core values and actions has to show what kind of South Sudan we dream of. We have to imbibe a sense of respect, care, and shared responsibility so that we can actually build a nation capable of offering a new future for all her citizens.
Remember the nation we intend to rebuild; this is not the duty of our leaders but a mission for every South Sudanese citizen. All begins with love, compassion, and dedication to the plight of the common good. Together, we can and will build a South Sudan we have always dreamt of: united, progressive, egalitarian.
This is my opinion, and you are at freedom to reach me if you have anything more to discuss regarding the article at anokjames433@gmail.com.