Stop anti-Dinka rhetoric
By Deng Ajak Jongkuch
October 24, 2006 — On October 19, 2006, a group called Equatorial Solidarity International appealed to Southern Sudan minority tribes to unite against Dink tribe in the South. The group also excused Dinka tribes of tribalism, corruption, and colonization.
I am writing this article as a personal response to Equatoria Solidarity International and this article do not reflect the opinion of the Dinka tribe.
First, allow me to make some clarifications about things that I believe the group misunderstood and misrepresented in their article “Equatorians call for Anti-Dinka Alliance in Southern Sudan.”
One issue the group misrepresented is their failure to differentiate between SPLA/M as a political party and Dinka as a tribe. Equating SPLA/M as a Dinka organization is a naked lay. For the group to get some creditability from their readers, it would have been necessary for them to do basic research before throwing their anger into the media. You do not need an Albert Einstein brain to understand that SPLA/M is not a Dinka organization. Let’s see who are controlling most power positions in the SPLA/M party.
The President GOSS: H.E Salva Kiir Mayerdit (Dinka),
The Vice-President: Dr. Riak macher (Nuer, Non-Dinka),
The Speaker: H.E Wani Igga (Bari, Non-Dinka),
Deputy C-in-C: Poulino Matip (Nuer, Non-Dinka),
Chief of Staff: Oyei Deng Ajak (Shilluk Non-Dinka),
Secretary General: Pagan Amum Okach (Shilluk Non-Dinka,
Sudan Foreign Minister: Dr. Lam Akol Ajwin (Shilluk Non-Dinka.
From here let me stop and leave readers to make their judgment on who are really controlling the SPLA/M top positions. From these top powerful positions, Dinka although majority has one seat, Nuer second majority two seats, Bari one seat, and Shilluk, the smallest tribe had three seats. So, where do people always get this baseless idea that SPLA is a Dinka organization?
The so-called land occupations have been used by enemies of peace to further their dark interests. There have been accusations now and then that Dinka tribes are occupying equatoria states. I fall to see what is special about equatoria states that the other states do not have. Moreover, I personally do believe that Southern Sudan is for all of us no matter where we were borne. We all shed blood for it and we deserve to live in peace wherever we are comfortable. Mr. Victor Charles Adeba, a spoke person for the ESI lives and works peacefully in Finland. He could travel and live in any European country without problem. Likewise, Mr. Deng Ajak Jongkuch lives and goes to school in California and could travel and live in any 50 states in U.S.A. Also our former president Joseph Lagu and some Southern politicians owned lands in Khartoum and in Juba. So if Mr. Adeba, Deng, and Lagu could live freely and enjoy freedom of movement in foreign soil, what is wrong with President Kiir owning land in Yei town? What is wrong with any Southern Sudanese owning land in part of the South? You can not have stable country without diversity.
“Kuol Manyang is a war criminal who killed….” Please, stop accusing Honorable Minister Kuol Kuol Juuk. If members of this ESI organization are true Southern patriots and not gang of Arab traitors, they would better appreciated the commitments and strong leadership of Minister Kuol. Minister Kuol is a true Southern patriot and deserves more than calling him “war criminal.” Be informed that it was Minister Kuol who liberated the Equatoria States whom the group is claiming to represent. If these thugs are true Southerners, they should have known by now who are war criminals. Let them be informed that many war criminals are in sheep skins right now, enjoying their leadership in SPLA/M. If the statement that H.E Kiir wants to put CDR Kuol in uniforms is true, the patriot Southern Sudanese will be happier to see CDR kuol in uniforms a gain. CDR Kuol will make sure that thugs and terrorist groups like EDF, ESI, and SSDF will not distract the peace.
Let me not waste my time on the alleged statement that Ministry of Finance is lending money to Dinka for economics Dinkaniztion in the South. If this statement is not a lay, then lay has no meaning. Please, release any document for the sake of your readers’ interest. What I heard at the time I was in Juba three months ago is different from what the group was trying to say here. I heard Nile Commercial Bank has trouble lending money to certain individuals a long the borders of Uganda and DRC. They could not identify true Southerners from foreign citizens who may borrow money and vanish into their own countries. Is this led the Nile Commercial Bank to denied certain citizens a loan, I do not know, but it seem to be a reasonable claimed to me.
I completely agree with the group that corruption should not be given rooms in our society. I believe it is a disease that needs collective efforts for a total eradication because corruption is too dangerous for economics, political, and social development in the South. I strongly disagreed that corruption is a tribal issue. The group needs to know that the birth place of corruption is not a Dinkaland. The group must know from now that corruption is all over African countries where there are no Dinka at all. Nigeria is the most corrupted country on face of the earth, yet there is no single Dinka in that country. Corruption is not a tribal issue, it is an individual behavior and anybody could be corrupt whether it is Patrick Zamoi, Charles Adeba, or Deng Ajak. Therefore it is a stupid idea to say all Dinka tribes are corrupt.
Another big issue the group brought up but poorly addressed in their article was tribalism. Is there a practice of tribalism in Juba, Torit, Bor, Malakal, Wau, or Kapotea? Yes, but is it practice only by Dinka, absolutely not. The tribalism I saw in Juba perhaps is what the group was trying to address. In Juba there are a lot of ministries, commissions, civil services, and non-governmental organizations headed by different people from certain tribes. For example, if a ministry of health is headed by Acholi minister, you will find that 80% the employees are from Acholi tribe, not from equatoria tribe. In Juba, jobs are not awarded according to applicant’s qualification; they are given according to whom the applicant knows. This is a fact, if this is what the group was trying to say then I have no objection to their claim. The group needs to know that accusing Dinka of tribalism while forgetting the log in their own eyes is an act of tribalism. Be fair whenever you are trying to make a point.
Three months ago I was in Juba for the first time since 1982. My reaction was a mix of anger and happiness. On the ugly side, Juba is a ruined city with no basic electricity, running water, no sewage system, roads are badly damaged, and government buildings are pieces of skeleton structures. On the other hand, citizens told me life in Juba is slowly coming back.
One evening I went to a local bar near my old neighborhood at Bulluk to feel at home. In that bar I found local citizens enjoying their test of freedom. I had a private conversation with a high school teacher who fluency in English, Arabic, and surprisingly knew Dinka dialect than I do. He used to teach at Malek secondary in Bor before the war. I learned from him that things are getting better in Juba since the signing of CPA. He pointed to the live television hanging on rusted iron roof and said, “My friend, our late leader Dr. Garang had indeed brought the peace in a golden plate. Few months ago, this television was dominated by Arab cultures, news, and Bashire government. Nothing about the south was broadcasted. Now you can see Anyuak King, Dinka Malual Dance, and Governor Clement Wani and President Salva Kiir at News conference.” I also learned that the same beer on the table was a rare luxurious commodity, night curfews were daily life, and residents were not allowed to use latrines, people were raped and tortured at broad daylight. This is to say, residents of Juba know better then individuals in Finland, Canada, and Australia how their lives had changed since SPLA/M took over the city.
Before I make a conclusion, let me touch something here. During American civil war, Abraham Lincoln committed so many lives of white majority soldiers to free blacks from bondage of slavery. This is what happing in case of Dinka as majority tribe. Dinka as a major tribe in the south is committed to free not only the South but also the Sudan as a whole from Jallaba injustice. Dinka had understood well there is a reason to be big, and being big means paying a big price for the freedom of humanity.
In conclusion, these gangs had to know that things had changed since the signing CPA. Tribalism, nepotism, and corruptions are bad practices that need our collective collaborations. Finger pointing and false accusations will not take us where we want to be. It is to our advantage to acknowledge our collective strength and weakness so that we achieve our ultimate goal. Please let’s stop seeing things in tribal lenses, this may create differences among our people and fall us apart.
* Deng Ajak Jongkuch is a student at San Jose State University and could be reach by [email protected]