South Sudan, many observers would argue, is a region which keeps falling
into the abyss after every one brief period of relative peace. The sounds
of gunshots do not die down long enough to make conflict resolution
possible. Societies struggle to address the root causes of their problems,
let alone pave ways for meaningful reconciliation. As a result, prospects
for serious social and economic development remain illusively unattainable
and hundreds of impoverished communities find themselves vulnerable to
exploitation by warlords and forced into acquiesce.
When South Sudanese chose independence in 2011, many breathed a sigh of
relief and hoped that the two nations could quickly shed their bitter past
and forge friendly relationship among each other. This was the "two viable
states" solution which many in western Capitals hailed and hoped it could
bring about lasting peace.
However, the new political reality introduced its own unique challenges and
hurdles, the two nations remained suspicion of each other of the other.
Their expected race to better the lives of their impoverished citizens
quickly turned into one over who could lead in various lists of world's
most corrupt, miserable and failed states.
A simple dispute over oil transit fees for South Sudan's oil passage
through Sudan dragged the two nations into short war in mid April 2012. The
SPLA quickly captured the oil-rich Hejleg (known as Panthou in South
Sudan). The world was shocked to see the then less than one year nation
assertive and able to protect its interest. A few days later, President
Salva Kiir finally responded positively to world pressure and ordered the
SPLA to withdraw from the city, but not before it had defeated the Sudan's
Armed Forces in several successive battles. Few analysts could have
imagined that those same forces will, in less then two years time, split
across ethnic lines and shred each other apart in what could be a war
between us and among us.
After the war, the government in Juba quickly made a painful decision to
stop oil production. Western Capitals described the decision as suicide but
nationalistic fever boiled among the citizens at home. It confirmed their
long-held believe that Sudan was fighting then for decades to pillage their
resources.
The citizens endured silently as their government implemented painful
austerity measures to deal with shortage of money. Unscientific debates
sprung in national circles about the feasibility and the need to quickly
construct new pipelines to carry the nation's oil through "friendly"
nations rather than Sudan. One pipeline was planned to be pass through
Kenya while the second through Ethiopia and Djibouti.
But realistically, such a massive project could take up to five years to
construct and the government in Juba could not last all those years without
reliable source of revenue. A year later, Juba finally reached a much
favorable oil transit fee with Sudan. It gave green light to oil companies
to extract oil and Khartoum honored its promise to allow uninterrupted oil
passage.
When the citizens of Juba woke up on that warm and fateful Sunday morning
of December 15th 2013, nothing seemed out of ordinary or deserved a worry.
Bread-winners in every household shared a common burden of fulfilling the
social demands of the fast approaching Christmas. Their innocent children
expected a few new clothes, sweet treats, and if lucky, some simple toys.
Putting bread on the table was yet another daily task.
The year of 2013 was finally concluding itself with all its hardships and
many hopes for a better life in 2014. They had every reason to be hopeful;
oil production was on a steady increase to its previous barrels levels
before the crisis with Sudan. There were plans to increase production and
dig new oilfields and work was on track to commission the nation's first
oil refinery. The locally refined fuel was going to be cheap and improve
the economy. The austerity budget was scheduled to expire by the end of the
year and a massive 2013-2014 budget was to roll in. All in all, the country
was seen to have finally turned a corner and taking solid steps towards
serious nation-building.
Previous few years of relative peace had enabled rapid economic development
in Juba and some other large cities around the country. Massive private
sector development and construction projects had transformed the capital of
Juba from a small and militarized city when the SAF and its radical
Mujahedeen were in control before 2005, into one of the world's fastest
growing cities. Its streets were filled with thousands of expensive
vehicles and new suburbs were being designed, named and built in short
time.
The rapid construction taking place in Juba was confirmed by President
Yoweri Museveni of Uganda when he visited Juba on July 9, 2013 for the
country's second independence anniversary. In his speech to the excited
crowd at the Dr. John Garang mausoleum in Juba President Museveni confessed
that he was shocked by the rapid development taking place in the capital
and recalled asking the pilot whether or not they were indeed flying over
Juba.
The country was the destination of choice for many. Thousands of citizens
from neighboring Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritreans, Somalis, Sudan
continued to flood the capital and other cities. Many foreigners had
managed to establish businesses or carve out lives for themselves.
Memories of the tragic events on December 15, 2013 and the following days
will forever remain engraved in the minds of many citizens of Juba. The
stories deferred from one person to another but all agree that what befall
them was unfortunate, unexpected and regrettable. The sheer importance of
the tragedy which had befallen the nation that evening deserves personal
reflection.
I left home at 9:20 pm for a short errand in town. I drove along the main
airport road and reached the mobile roundabout only to find that it was
blocked from the direction leading to New York Hotel. I turned left and
drove near the Juba Teaching Hospital. I remembered noticing the hospital's
emergency gate engulfed in frightening quietness, its dimmed lights sending
eerie feelings of uncertainty. It did not seem to be the same, normally
busy gates as during the day. Little did I know that those same gates were
going to be buzzing with emotions and activities a few hours later; when
fighting would claim hundreds of casualties and thousands of wounded.
I returned home at 10:10 pm and plugged my cell phone into its charger. I
checked it at 10:38 and found two missed called from my younger brother. He
had gone to hang out with a friend, Nuer, whose father was a government
minister. I quickly returned the phone call and his voice came across,
clear as never before, "You wouldn't believe what's happening now man!
Sounds of heavy gunfight are coming from inside the Giyada (a large
military headquarter south of the city). Civilians are running from the
fighting while the Army is moving in."
I was speechless for a while, struggling to digest the devastating news. I
finally instructed him to stay in place and spend the night with his friend
until we could assess the situation the following morning. I hung up the
phone irritated, sighing and turned to my mother who was staring at me.
"What's happening?" she asked in the clear voice of a concerned mother. I
responded in Dinka, "Tong achirot jot-war has begun."
Tragedies have unique ways of testing people's resolve and patience. As
news of fighting spread across the city, people reacted differently. Some
ran for cover under beds while others kneeled in sincere prayers to God for
mercy. Most citizens became busy on their phones. They called anyone they
could in hopeless quests to gather as much information as possible. Most of
the trickling news however, was unverified claims and counter claims, lies
and even products of confused imaginations.
However, two realities remained consistently true. First, whatever was
unfolding was tragic, a gravely dangerous development which would change
the history of the nation for years to come. Second, the heavy fighting
inside Giyada was not a response to an invading foreign army, rather the
infighting of the SPLA, a war between us and against us. The sound of heavy
gunfight was not initially heard by many people living in Gudele, Muniki,
107, and other western suburbs but from midnight on, it became obvious that
fighting was spreading to the main SPLA headquarters Bilpam all the way to
the north side of the city. No one slept that entire night, frightening
sounds of artillery and heavy weapons grew louder and louder. Citizens
hoping to see a new day knew very well that the light would only bring a
new set of worries and frightening realities.
When President Salva Kiir finally appeared on television the following
morning, he was in full military regalia and surrounded by his entire
cabinet. He quickly announced to the world that the heavy fighting which
the city witnessed that previous night was a result of a military coup
executed by forces loyal to former Vice-President, Dr. Riak Machar but that
it was foiled by the SPLA. He also declared a daily curfew to be imposed
across the entire city, from 6 pm to 6 am. This was meant to protect the
citizen and allow security forces to clear the city from the remaining
defecting forces. Security forces were also instructed to carefully handle
and assist civilians who felt the need to go out for various emergencies
during curfew hours.
However, the main United Nations camps in Juba were soon flooded by
thousands of frightened internally displaced persons (IDP's), most of whom
were ethnic Nuer. They began arriving on Monday, December 16, 2013, often
with empty hands and fearful hearts. Most of them were innocent civilians
who never held a gun or showed an interest in political affairs. They had
no political aspirations but longed held desires to live in peace. As days
passed by, citizens of Juba adjusted their lives to the emergency military
situation in the country.
However, the genie of insecurity had escaped out of the bottle and began to
unleash its fury on various communities countrywide. Large cities of Bor,
Malakal and Bentiu were all reduced into rubble and dust after just few
weeks into the crisis as the warring parties fought for their control.
Their skies were filled with armies of carnivorous birds so eager to feast
on the carcasses of the dead. Their population deserted their homes to
various U.N bases or bare jungles.
Gruesome footages of the carnage found their way into international media
and rapid intervention from world powers was urgently required if much
worse scenario was to be averted. China had been the main beneficiary of
the oil deposits in the region but its toothless foreign policy made her
unhelpful party in the traitorous road for peace.
Once again, the responsibility rested on the United States to exert
pressure on the warring parties to end hostilities and reach peaceful
settlement to the crisis. The visit by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry,
with President Kiir on May 2nd 2014, in Juba sent clear message that
Washington would not sit by idly while South Sudan descended into complete
chaos.
Mr. Kerry spoke bluntly on what he called indicators for genocide. The U.S
government was concerned that continued hostilities will enable the
tribelists on both sides to gain more popularity and their hate-filled
messages resonates well among the increasingly agitated youth. Retaliatory
attacks between the Dinka and the Nuer, the two largest ethnic national
groups would mean the demise of the nation for decades to come.
This gloomy possibility could also drag neighboring countries into what was
going to be a bitter regional war. Uganda's military support for the
legitimate government in Juba made Sudan eager to support Dr. Machar's
rebels. Large parts of northern Uganda, north western Kenya as well as
western parts of Ethiopia were all expected to be plunged into this
conflict.
However, through Secretary Kerry's short visit, in addition to the threat
of personalized economic sanctions on both sides, the two warring parties
recommitted themselves to peace and a broader road-map to end the crisis. A
wise man once said that no one can harm you more than you can harm
yourself.
Looking at the massive destruction taking place in the cities of Bor,
Bentiu and Malakal, I wish they were committed by the Sudanese army. At
least, we can easily explain them to our posterity inline with other
unimaginable suffering our society endured in the previous wars. In those
days, the pride of every freedom fighter was to count the numbers of
battles he had fought against the Sudanese army.
Now when the enemy is us, what good could the Dinka and Nuer gain if they
completely wiped out one another? How will perpetuators of this ethnic
violence narrate their carnage? In what type of social circles will they be
allowed to speak? What type of audiences will lend their ears to listen to
stories of innocent women being raped, sick patients being dragged off
their hospital beds and killed, lame persons being robbed of their
stretchers and lives? Most importantly, how would they justify their
attacks on innocent communities?
Many observers have explained this crisis to be one between Dinka and Nuer,
or between the government and the rebels or even between those who push for
dictatorship against others who espouse democratic reforms and the rule of
law.
However, careful scrutiny shows this is a crisis between regressive forces
of tribalism against progressive waves of nationalism. This crisis is being
fuelled by a few tribalists on both sides who trade on the blood of the
innocent for both financial gains as well as to assert their tribal
dominance on others. Those whose children are not enlisted to fight or have
immediate families among thousands of IDPs currently seeking refuge at
various UN bases in the country or others forced to hide in harsh jungles,
open to the elements and susceptible to communicable diseases like cholera.
Because these tribalists come from every social strata and ethnic
backgrounds, they are found in government circles as well as rebel
rankings. They enjoy presence among the highly educated elites of the
society as well as the hopelessly illiterates. This is because it's a
disease which cannot be cured by education. The tribalists digress and take
comfort in the thin shadows of their ethnic enclaves when threatened.
They also fear outside intervention and the threat of personalized economic
sanctions should the crisis spiral out of control. That's why they deny
committing mass atrocities against civilians. We see them also hide behind
the false excuses of state sovereignty, its sacrosanctity, even as it fails
to protect its citizens.
Ironically, the tribalists' plans are being frustrated by the peace loving
and nationalist majority among us. This meaningless conflict has been
rejected by most local communities in the country and hence the possibility
for genocide is thus reduced. The SPLA remained intact and many defectors
have returned to their units.
Local Dinka communities who share borders with Unity State have hosted
displaced Nuer families and vowed to never harm them. These communities
cultivated their traditional ideas of solidarity and harmony which made
them nationalists of the highest order.
A true nationalist is an ethnic Dinka who can never condone the tragedy
felt by our Nuer brothers and sisters in Juba on December 15, 2013 and
subsequent days. Nor could we be happy as thousands of innocent Nuer men,
women, children and elderly left their homes, government and country behind
while making their way towards the UN camps in order to feel safe under the
protection of multi-national troops in blue helmets rather than their own
SPLA who fought to liberate them.
Similarly, a true nationalist is an ethnic Nuer who can never approve the
raping of innocent Dinka women, hospital patients in Akobo, Bor, Malaka and
Bentiu. A true nationalist is an ethnic Nuer who can never justify the use
of local radio in Bentiu to spew ethnic hate messages to hunt every Dinka
and moderate Nuer in town.
Moreover, a true nationalist is an ethnic Nuer soldier who adheres to the
constitutional mandate of the SPLA, puts it into practice and maintains
loyalty to the national army's principle even as it fights the rebellion.
When the enemy is us, the masses unjustifiably suffer and we all lose. No
one wins, not even those few tribalists who ride high on the waves of
ethnic sentiment. The tribalists spew their venom in speeches full of
derogatory words such as "Dinkarocy", "Dinka kingdom", "food -lovers",
"nyagad" and "mighty Nuer warriors". For them, war must take wider ethic
dimensions and should not stop until everyone from their opposing tribe is
utterly destroyed.
Although the story of the region has been one of pain and endless
suffering, our communities will overcome this hurdle, bury our dead and
move on. We maintain a glimmer of hope and a flicker of light at the end of
a dark tunnel. This is because the nationalists are gaining the upper hand
and will win this war. If the cessation of hostilities is maintained and
the refugees return back to their homes, if this conflict is solved through
a more inclusive call for unity while bringing the perpetuators to justice,
then the enemy will no longer be us. The genie of tribalism would be cast
back into the bottle and a much just, united, and nationalistic South Sudan
will then be born.
By Jack Lino Wuor Abeyi - Gurtong, 1 day 4 minutes ago
Received on Sun Jun 15 2014 - 12:00:10 EDT