Honoring the civil war heroes

By Luke Kuth Dak.

May 20, 2008 — Most likely anyone would- rightly expect of me to write or comment about the most current hottest topic: the convention of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement(SPLM), which has just wrapped up in the capital of South Sudan, Juba. I probably should. But today, however, I writing about an enormously important segment of our society, the forgotten civil war heroes and veterans. The ones who have shouldered the price for our liberation, paved the way and made it possible for this historic gathering – the convention, to happen in the first place.

By any measure,the 1983-2005 civil war was the bloodiest and the longest of all civil wars in Africa’s history. No one knows for certain the number of casualties, but for sure thousands upon thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed of wounded from both sides in countless battles.

The winners of this war are the brave men and women of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation movement. The only people who believe otherwise, are those who see it through the lenses of the murderous Islamists extremists in control of Sudan for over two decades and counting. Don’t let anybody tell you it was a small victory, because it’s a great victory and a monumental one, too. It’s for the first time in our nation’s history, an Islamists extremists and a terrorists regime backed by a supper power- China, the Arab and Islamic worlds, has knelt down on it’s knees to accept the reality and admitted defeat by an ill-equipped volunteer army of the SPLA, whose only real weapons were their conviction and commitment to liberate our land. We owe them our lives and souls, and we can not afford to neglect them, as it’s happening in south Sudan, today.

Shocking news had it that our veterans and the families of the fallen heroes are not being looked after or cared for. They have nowhere to turn to for their legitimate concerns and demands. The frustration in mounting by the day, and it could momentarily reach it’s peak. Meanwhile, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Government of South Sudan are tight-lipped and pretty much by-stander on veterans issues. That sends a terrible message to our war heroes that: their scarifies are not appreciated and their volunteering service in the arm forces is not noble. It’s also a devastating blow to future generation who might not be enthused to join the arm forces, having witness the current veterans ordeal. After all, we are a nation pretty much still at war, despite the glimpse of hope brought about by the comprehensive Peace Agreement(CPA).

I can not stress emphatically enough, the need to honor the memory and commemorate the bravery of those who fought in that war, and did so without a pay check!

Ironically, and most interestingly is that: this deplorable veterans’ ordeal happens at the time when those at the helm of the Sudan People liberation Movement and the Government of South Sudan are veterans themselves including Lt.Gen. Salva Kiir, Vice President Dr Reik Machar, Speaker Egga, and Secretary Amoum, just to name very few.

Over the course of the last four years, Southern leadership created a total of nine commissions in various aspect of government, but the veterans and the fallen heroes have been mercilessly left in the cold. Their children go to bed at night with empty stomachs and teary eyes, not knowing when the next meal will arrive.

The SPLM and Goss leaderships have a moral responsibility to take some unambiguous comprehensive measures to combat the problems facing our veterans. A commission for veterans affairs and a parliamentary representation is needed today rather than tomorrow. There are no other people in South Sudan who are more deserving of compensations than our war heroes. Certainly not the so-called northern merchants who have looted the South of it’s wealth, and sucked the blood out of it’s veins. Yet, they are shamelessly demanding compensations from the South.

I have had a personal experience with the northern merchants. I grew up in what was called Hay al Jalabba in my homtwon, Nasir in eastern Upper Nile State. My older sister- Nyantham Kuth Dak, a tall and a beautiful young lady, cought the eyes of Tut Duer Makwach, the father of Dr Duer Tut Duer, the Governor of Ulang.They got married in 1967 when I was only seven years old.My sister brought me along so that I could go to school. My brother- in- law worked for a merchant by the name Suliman Kojili Ali in whose compound we have lived, to shield us from the Arab’s military constand threats to all southern Sudanese during the Anyna One civil war. That’s the secret of my infuency in Arabic language, that my accent goes undetected, at times.

But Nasir, which had been home for the northern merchants for may decades, never saw a home built with a red brick by any of them. For the Jalabba, Nasir was nothing more than just a summer camp, where the unthinkable happens without any consequencies, including rapes and murders.Their homes were the night clubs for the military officers, where our young girls were brulaly raped. In contras, in 1977 while I was on route to Shendi High School, I visted with an old friend, Sayid Muhammad Ali in his hometown- Umdom, a suburb of Khartoum. I was shocked beyond imagination. Sayid and his brothers- Obied and Abdulgadir, whose only real estate in Nasir was a big old ” Tukul”, are the owners of these each three-story modern homes. I could not believe my eyes with amount of devlopment. Highrise buildings, schools, fire and police stations… and more. I felt like a fish out of water.

Amazingly enough, there are still some in the SPLM and GOSS organizations who are showing sympathey to their demands for compensations for what they allegedly lost during and after the war. Dr Reik Machar, the second most powerful man in south Sudan- whom I respect dearly, as a leader and a person, uttered that : his government will reconsider the compensations demands by the ungrateful northern merchants.The question that must be asked of Dr Machar is, who owes who what?

No one should have sympathy- ever- or feel sorry for people who have categorically and sysematically expolyted our vulnerable situation, killed our fathers and raped our sisters and mothers. We owe them nothing.

For business purposes in South Sudan, we should look no futher than our friends in kenya, Uganda, England and the United States, who stood by us and with us at the time when the Arabs were killing us.

We must forget them not.

Luke Kuth Dak is a former Juba Radio anchorman, and you can reach him:
[email protected]