Nuer Lou Community requests apology
By Isaiah Abraham
August 14, 2009 — We may have come across a piece of work (article) by an American based Sudanese in the person of Zachariah Manyok Biar-a regular contributor on the Sudan Tribune- issue dated (yesterday) 11 August 2009, on the attack that happened in his home area of Bor. I’m writing to remind others not necessarily an attack on his noble character (unless its misconstrued), but to stop those who might jump to answer him on the basis of that article. I don’t know his intention, but two messages in a row, isn’t a joke anymore, yeah? Mr. Zachariah however could be at a point of abhorring the attack on the innocent people there, yet his salvos were misplaced, as they can’t be taken out of no context and I have these issues to reason briefly. Before then, my condolences to the families of those who lost their love ones.
Sir, your justification for the attack on the people of Twic East by an alleged Lou Nuer is shrouded with moral suspicion, because to square your attack on a huge community on the basis of a phone call from Bor sends a bad message to that community or others. In another word, to conclude before investigating whether those responsible for that cowardly attack were Nuer or not, doesn’t bring out what we expect from a Christian graduate scholar. In your areas (Jonglei) true there are troubles when it comes to security, and your onslaught should have gone to the very fibre of the government in Juba not innocent Honourable Members of Parliament there in the State. What do they have or can do differently (better) than what the entire system failed to do; the system has crumbled and everyone is a law on itself and against another one. I thought you could attack the Chief Executive, or Mr. Nhial (the SPLA Minister), the Governor of that State, or Hon. Gier Chuang Aluong.
Second, is your clone innuendo, flatly sententiously aimed at exploring the past by scratching 1991 wounds between your communities. Your attempt to settle score using this flat form couldn’t go unseen. But I doubt whether there is anyone who would venture there again at this time. Being a Christian, the bygone is a bygone, as we look forward for the future with love for one another. Dr. Garang and Dr. Machar had closed that chapter and our people in Wunlit swore not to repeat it again. The two communities have lived together for centuries and are interrelated and interdependent. None can do anything without the blessing of the other. Nuer needs Dinka and the opposite is true. Am lecturing here?Not necessarily!
Third, is the unity we preach always here as so-called intellectuals. Our focus at this era, I propose, is to bury and kill tribalism when it comes in whatever form. This is a menace and we should be on the look out A nation builds on that path never prospers. You detoured by calling criminals there ‘Nuers’. They have their true adapted name and their ‘tribe’ is criminality. Whether they are our brothers or not, that is where they belong and you should have sieved, so to avoid generalization. But don’t mistaken me of showing off brother, by not addressing you in your private mail box, I did earlier. Am just a humble person with nothing to show. We long in Africa to see our people excel abroad and at home and not to pull them down. Our job as writers is to expose goofs and what have not, no matter its bitterness to the reader; it’s up to the object of our messages to accepts it or rejects it and you are one today.
To repeat myself allow the authorities there to investigate and and do their work, if the killers are from Lou Nuer, the law will take it course without us instigating civilians on both sides. Governor Kuol is doing his best to arrest the situation there. By openly taking this stand, someone might hide behind his tribe and thwart the efforts to bring those responsible to justice. But also there is a lie that your people are masquerading as Lou or Murle people, from one side of your region to the other doing the despicable acts of looting cattles, raping girls and women in their daily chores, could they be suspects? If proven, then you need to clean up your backyard.
I know well that almost everyone in your area is a politician ( say political activist), who aspires for political scores, yet a concern Southerner such as this simple author would kindly ask you to keep off politicizing our togetherness. You could be misunderstood of having an ulterior motive and this is utterly a mistake at this point in time when we need each other most. Apologize therefore to Honourable Members in that State and to the community of Nuer (Lou in specific).
Isaiah Abraham is based in Juba; he is on [email protected]
Kuol Madhier Anyang
Nuer Lou Community requests apology
Isaiah Abraham and your respective complainers, I guess you didn’t read the part which says two culprits were cought in the secne. To me you can’t looks for more envident beyond those murders. We’re all southerners but we know what distinguishses nuers from dinkas when we see them. What i really don’t know in this case is whether those two thugs were envidently cuptured or not and whether they are alive or killed?.
You seems to be protecting some Nuer good names or at least someone or the community you are writting on their behave. But I can’t blame someone for his generalizations which seem fare. Since so many Nuer deemed killing of innocents people as a fare game. And by the way, Isaiah Abraham your name sounded like you are a complete Isreali so can you please provide us with your southern Sudanese names since these matters pertain Sudanese’s affairs.
thieleling
Nuer Lou Community requests apology
Dear Prof.Abraham,
Granting the symbolic significance of your wise-advice to Zachariah Manyok Biar, reasonable minds would agree that what matters most is not who advises you, but the truth, wisdom & common sense that come with that advice. And your great wisdom and common sense advice against Zachariah’s anti-Nuer stance & his carefully orchestrated propaganda to incite acts of mass murder against the Nuer People is really appreciated & reasonably expect from an elder stateman, peace-loving person like you, Prof. Abraham.
The dark pursuit of tribalism by Abel Alier(after 1972 Peace), Dr. John Garang (During SPLA/M-), Kuol Nyang Jock (now as Jognlei Governor & during the SPLA/M as well) caused the deepest conundrum that made the Dinka-Bor so vulnerable to political manipulation & easily persuaded to commit diabolical acts against the Nuer & other non-Dinka Bors in South Sudan during the SPLA/M-bush years and now.Until the South solves that core problem, People like Zachariah will always utter hate media message to demonise and proscribe the hate against Nuers & other Non Dinka Bors.
Silencing murderous message is not as easy as it sounds, especially when it comes from a “Bor To Rule” attitude and boastful behavior as Zachariah & Co. are advocating Ethnic slaughter. It is easy to heed this humble advise from an elder, but the regrettable fact is that the tribal policies implemented by Abel, Garang & Kuol are indistinguishable from those advocates by Zachariah & Co. Like-father, like-son. This tribalism, dictatorship seems more genetically programmed, a wretched and morally bankrupt tribal practice familiar in Dinka-Bor family.
Future generations will have to either clean up this tribal mess or resign themselves to a tribalized South Sudan (Unfortunately introduced by Abel, Garang & Co.).
In this circumstance, I must confess you may be disappoint in asking a well known tribalist like Zachariah, to apologize, who advocates acts of mass murder against innocent South Sudanese from his printed word, to his abused of the latest form of e-communication, just to advocate violence for his pschological traumatized tribal-mind-set as local tribal preacher. Abel, Garang & Kuol never apologize for thier tribalism in Southern Sudan. Prof. Abraham, Your peaceful preaching message is good for the life of south sudan & its current political climate.
Thanks,
Thieleling
Moses Kur Akech
Nuer Lou Community requests apology
After having navigated through Zacheria and Isaiah articles, I drew the conclusion that both writers were not off the track of triblaism. Clearly, there is a tribalist rhetoric in both articles.
Obviously, the heading of Zacharia article undoubtedly shows some generalisation of Nuers and thus has the potential to incite antagonism and it addresses Nuers as culprits other than bad apples from that tribe.
Secondly, this is what Isaiah had to say in his response to Zach article, ‘We may have come across a piece of work (article) by an American based Sudanese in the person of Zachariah Manyok Biar-a regular contributor…’ Just read this and think about it rhetorically and paradoxically, I find the language used here as belittering.
Here is another quote which I think is quite tribalistic too and falls into the category of generalisation as well‘I know well that almost everyone in your area is a politician ( say political activist), who aspires for political scores’.
Otherwise, Isaiah’s message of the need for togetherness was quite direct and he deserves credit for that.
I understand that there is no magic solution to this insecurity as unemployment remains high and Southerners largely remain in the cycle of primitivity. However, the starting point is to disarm the armed civilians. And hold the MPs where many reports of heinous crimes perpetuated by culprits from their constitutencies accountable. MPs and intellectuals from each tribe have the obligation to spearhead any effort aimed at bringing peace in the South.