By Dr. Peter Kopling
May 18, 2015 (SSNA) — In response to the well-received article by Simon Kur published in SouthSudannation.com, Southsudanliberty.com as well as Nyamile.com. A reader on Southsudannation.com, Mr. Dengchol Machar Atem, a self purported Jieng faithful, Reacted in the comment sections, and addressing Mr. Kur, stated “In your own article Simon Kur, one wonders whether inciting hatred between communities is a way forward. As intellect, why not preach for peace, Love, togetherness, humbleness etc. rather than just inciting hatred.”
It should be pointed out that, this is a very common Jieng Position in response to a dissatisfied and a grumbling nation. What made this unique is, this was a Jieng responding to another Jieng! It seems, while all Jiengs may consider themselves to be one people, the elite in power consider themselves superior to other Jiengs and that not all Jiengs are created Equal.
Take Simon Kur for example, His article brought hope in my heart, telling me, when Jiengs consider South Sudan first, then there is hope for us to be under one nations.
However, Mr.Atems reaction tells me those who do not sing the popular songs coming out of Juba, controlled by the infamous Jieng Council of Elders are consider to be not true Jiengs, worst traitors, Alas how about Madam Garang and her Children? If they are not Jieng for opposing the current genocidal Tyranny in Juba, then who is?
I discover when Southerners complain about the bondages they suffer under the Jieng government, The Jieng people consider it as incitement of tribal violence and when their fellow Jieng complain, they are consider Traitors! Why is this?
Mr Atem, Have you ever asked the question, why we, Southerners, in the first place fought the Jalabas? Was it because they are brown in colors and we are black or was it because they have “Amarats” and we live in grass-roofed houses? Yes I will say it, was it because they have dresses and you Jieng then mostly ran naked in your villages?
From the behaviors of the Jieng government, it seems, your fight contrary to the rest of South Sudanese against the Jalaba was mainly due to material things and the desire for powers. This is very evident, given as soon as the CPA was signed, like children rushing to take the front seat in classes, you the Jiengs ran and grabbed all that is meaningful to South Sudanese, to include even other peoples ancestral lands totally numb to justice and equality for and with others southern brethren.
Look no further than in Juba, every Vehicle with GOSS on it, likely has a Jieng driving it. Government money buys most V8 Vehicles and a Jieng driving it. Jieng owns most “Amarat” and the one walking around looking important and carrying an air of invincibility and authority while dressed suits is likely a Jieng! The street moneychangers in all cities in South Sudan are mostly Illiterate Jiengs, relatives of those in high places.
Mr.Atem, Have you realized what you are saying? What the Jiengs like you are doing is this! You have all taken the advantageous positions in South Sudan, from government positions to wealth, from Military forces to the lands itself! You are comfortable with the way things are and you have no quarrels with the status quo because it benefits you, or at minimum this government is not harmful to you as the rest of us.
Things can remain like this forever and you see nothing wrong with neither it nor any need to change them!
You do not want to rock the boat because doing so will threaten all these Jiengs Holdings, thus when those who are at disadvantage because of your privileges are crying out loud (These writings of mine included) you take it as inciting of violence, because in this violence you stand to loose the most, why because the rest of us have already lost all to you except for our lives but in itself is at risk! Where as for you the Jiengs, you stand much to loose if true equality were to kick in, thus you do not want any writings to expose this evil deeds.
From the perspective of those of us suffering under the Jiengs colonization and oppressions, we see our writings as consequence of your evil and un-brotherly ACTIONS! It is these oppressive and colonial ACTIONs of the Jiengs inciting Violence and breeding divisions not the words written in responds to them!
THESE JIENGS UN-BROTHERLY ACTIONS ARE WORSE THAN THE WORDS YOU READ IN REACTIONS TO THESE ACTIONS!
The actions gives birth to the writings! If you are truly for one nations, then you will preach to your fellow Jieng to stop ACTIONS that incite violence, if we talk about it or not.
You should ask us as to what is it that we really want? What is it that we consider brotherhood or one nation! Indeed if nationhood and peace matters to you, do not preach about it as you suggested, show it to us, live by example, live and behave like a brother not like an enemy. What you do to me, brothers do not do! Don’t knock me in the head and when I cry, you then turn around say, STOP crying, by doing so you are provoking disunity and inciting violence!
What is nationhood in the world of the Jiengs? What is brotherhood for a Jieng? Emerging from Nomadic lives to becoming settlers; those who traditionally have no sentimental values to fixed place and cry for a cow rather than a brother’s death are now the one in the drivers seat chatting the path for our national brotherhood, is it any wonder it is disastrous?
Is brotherhood in the Jieng world not simply an alliance to protect the cows at all costs even death to oneself, thus what seems bravery is indeed human sacrifices for the lives of cows, isn’t this actually primitivism at its highest order?
I will tell you for the rest of us what brotherhood is not. It is not letting you sit on my great grandfather and fathers land, it is not letting your cow graze freely in my farm, it is not your cows being safer in the country than my children! It is not letting you take my sister by force.
The greatest ills the Jiengs have engineered in South Sudan are ethnic displacing and land grabbing. Unless any peace brings an end to this evil we shall be locked in perpetual war. Was this not at the core of our 50 years of struggles against the Arabs? It surprises me that the shadowy Jieng Council of elders have not learned this lessons the great Satan in the North themselves came to bitterly shallow.
Brotherhood to us is not letting you Jieng occupy all the critical posts in the country: The presidency, Defense minister, Chief of staff, Minister of interior, Chief Justice etc.
So Mr. Atem, as you can see this is neither my government nor that of the nation, this is not a national government but rather JIENG NATION! What makes it mine?
Why do I want it to stay peaceful, why do I want it to last forever? What makes you different and better than the Jalaba occupiers that came before you?
Therefore, being it is a malignant Government, robing my Children of their tomorrow and giving it to your Children alone in exclusivity, I want it to fall! Simply, because your Children will do worse to mine!
I want nothing to do with Jieng nation but all to do with a national government!
I said it in the past and someone said it recently, Nationhood is family-hood. In a family you have your brother. He has his house and you have yours, He has his wife and you have yours. To have peace you must respect his house and his wife. You cannot cry fault when you impose yourself in his home and he denounce you and kick you out. Unity does not mean you squats in your brothers’ house and sleep with his wife and reduce his personal space. You have your house and your wife. What makes you family is Mutual respect!
I know I am right because the golden rule says “DO UNTO OTHERS AS THOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.” Mr. Atem just imagine if for whatever reason a given tribe convinced themselves that they have rights to everything in South Sudan in exclusions of others and literally occupy South Sudan as you the Jieng have down, Will your (Jiengs) reactions be any different from ours? If the table where to be turned, will you still hold the same position you articulated above?
If Riek Machar was the President of South Sudan and turn around and killed Dinka and Clear Juba of Dinkas as Kiir did in black December 2013 against the Nuer, will you (Jiengs) not have done worse than what the Nuer did to you in revenge attacks?
Therefore, choose this day between brotherhoods by actions vs. continuing in the path of enmity, which shall continue to bleed the nation. If those of us who expose this evil actions are silenced like Isaiah Abraham or not! As you can see, he does not talk anymore, are we any better?
(He who maintains silence in the face of a massacre is a murderer himself)
Dr Peter Kopling Josep, MD, lives in the Republic of South Sudan. He can be reached at [email protected].