To all my fellow South Sudanese Youths and my fellow Nuer people in the world at large. The Easter weekend is upon us and with that spirit, I would once again like to talk to you about the importance of unity within country. “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. In the spirit of love, progress and equal rights for all, I would like to share an an interview collected by amnesty international last year 2018.
Before I do so, I would like to advise that I’m not posting this to promote the notion of ill intention towards anybody but to show that this is what we need to change and prevent from ever happening again no matter what. Please read this with an open mind and willing heart to seek a peaceful South Sudan. let us help change the status quo. Here is the report.
“Nyaweke, age 20, told Amnesty International that she was in Thonyor, Leer, when it was attacked by government soldiers and youth militia in late April.
She said she witnessed several killings: her father was shot; four children were burned alive in a tukul (a traditional-style house with thatched roofing), and five very young children were killed by being picked up and slammed against trees by the attackers.
She recalled:
When they [the attacking forces] came they killed my father …When they started to come we just woke up and my father tried to move … they shot him and my mother ran after him and started crying. This was around 7 in the morning … The one who killed my father, I saw him … he didn’t have a khaki [uniform], he was just wearing normal clothes … That man … was just spraying bullets at everyone.
After her father was killed, soldiers made Nyaweke sit under a tree. She told Amnesty International that from
where she was sitting she saw several killings:
There were 7 men [soldiers] who collected the children and put them into a tukul and they set the tukul on fire. I could hear the screaming. They were four boys. One boy tried to come out and the soldiers closed the door on him. He tried to come out of the fire. There were also five boys whom they hit against the tree, swinging them. They were … 2-3 years old … They don’t want especially boys to live because they know they will grow up to become soldiers.”
There are more stories of how our people suffered such injustice because of unnecessary issues resulting in mass loss of life. We (Youths of South Sudan (especially my fellow Nuer)) have an obligation to stand up for those who have lost so much in the hands of ill-informed individuals. I can not force your hand to make a difference but I can ask you to join hands in Uniting our people and make them realize their potential and what positivity we (together) can contribute to the bigger picture (Peace and prosperity for all).
I would like to see a child going to school in the morning excited to learn about positive change in his village. Let us promote education, help trauma victim cope back with reality and let communities rebuild trusts again. Take this message with you and put it in your easter prayers that the unity we all need (In South Sudan at large) can become a reality so the suffering may stop.
What you and I can do next :
Start campaigning for a peaceful South Sudan. Our society is filled with issues that require people to intervene and speak up at . such as Inter-clan conflict resolution, Trauma awareness, hate speech awareness and many more you can talk to your fellow countrymen about. Evil prevails when good people do nothing.
Sincerely
Mamuch John
Interview Credit: www.amnesty.org
