We are Junubin and every now and then we would celebrate our heritage and culture; our nationality and patriotism; and our unity and companionship. No one would care which tribe the other came from. Oh the young men how they would speak of the different ladies and compare them – the Acholi, the Dinka, the Nuer, the Zande, the Mundu, the Bari, the Mundari, the Fojulu… so many eligible young ladies form so many different tribes. And the ladies, the lovely smooth skinned, dark chocolate skin coloured ladies would smile and swoon as male attention flowed their way. Who would win the best bachelor?
We are Junubin and every now and then we would celebrate our heritage and culture; our nationality and patriotism; and our unity and companionship. No one would care which tribe the other came from. Oh the young men how they would speak of the different ladies and compare them – the Acholi, the Dinka, the Nuer, the Zande, the Mundu, the Bari, the Mundari, the Fojulu… so many eligible young ladies form so many different tribes. And the ladies, the lovely smooth skinned, dark chocolate skin coloured ladies would smile and swoon as male attention flowed their way. Who would win the best bachelor?
Before long we are all rushing to beautify ourselves with henna, buying new clothes for the wedding, my hair! Look how bad it looks; I need to go to the salon. The cooking for the after party ladies, quick the in-laws are coming! Mash Allah! We would all exclaim as the bride walked in to join her husband to be. Forget that the man is half Mundari and half Nuer and the lady Dinka. Forget that their parents’ tribes probably fought each other over something or the other. Forget that. Today is a happy day. We bring four tribes and families together to create one family.
Such is the story of South Sudan. So many different reasons to fight but thousands more to be united – if not only for the most powerful reason: love. And what happens when we fail to agree amongst ourselves? Is this love forgotten? Do we put our loved ones aside because they belong to the tribe we are currently fighting? Not many will say yes. Some will protect their loved ones first and remember the tribe later.
For so many years, South Sudanese came together because we all knew without a doubt that we are stronger together. There are many South Sudanese who either resisted colonization, or those who represented South Sudan’s interests in diplomatic forums such as the 1947 Juba Conference or the Addis Ababa Agreement. There are some who started the Torit Uprising, the South Sudan Provisional Government (SSPG) and the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM). Closer to our times are the leaders and members of the Anyanya I and II, the South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the very leaders in the current government and also the rebel movement.
Lost Boys and Girls
I dare not forget our Lost Boys and Girls and all South Sudanese in the diaspora who equally went through their personal struggle during the war and depict the struggle all South Sudanese have gone through – together.
Isn’t it humbling how so many South Sudanese from so many tribes came together to fight for freedom so many times? Yes, a war comprises of many battles with some being rebellions and mutinies. Even in a war two brothers will disagree and fight it out. But the lesson I want to take from these personalities who stood out during the various battles fought is that at some point a compromise has to be reached. The fact of the matter is that at some point two brothers who did not agree will finally see common ground; warring tribes will put down their weapons and vow to start over; children will forget so many stereotypes used to refer to other tribes.
But if you think that these things will just miraculously happen one sunny day in Juba, think again. We have to be ready to pay the price. As South Sudanese, we know nothing comes easy and we should not expect this to just go away. Stand up for peace; stand up for the lady you want to marry who belongs to another tribe; stand up for the father of your child who is still trying to come to terms with the extent to which tribalism can tear a man; stand up even if only to feel that joy we felt as we sang so many songs of the referendum.
The fight for peace requires no guns or grenades; nor does it call for spears and bow and arrows; or even negative, hurtful words about another tribe. The fight for peace starts in the heart so that we can accept each other together with our differences and find a way to forge forward – united as South Sudanese. The fight for peace needs to be fought in our minds so that we do not think of each other as enemies but as brothers and sisters, even if we look different. The fight for peace is in our words, our gestures, our actions and our thoughts. It is what we feel in our hearts – not what politics makes us feel. It is the simple greeting your neighbour gives you in the morning; or the wal-wal a friend invited you to share with them; maybe it’s the honey and mangoes your colleague brings from Yambio every time the season is right and he is visiting; and it could be the communal eating we enjoy when we go to the local restaurant and ask for khudra or bamia with kisra.
We have stepped up to so many challenges. Let this not be the challenge that defeats Junubin. Junubinoyee!!!
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