Lou-Nuer elite and Jonglei’s attacks

By Zechariah Manyok Biar

August 29, 2009 — Few weeks ago, Isaiah Abraham on behalf of Lou Nuer asked me to apologize to Lou Nuer for questioning their motives behind their attacks on their neighbors. Mr. Abraham defined those who attack other communities from Nuer Lou as few criminals, a definition that I agreed with even now. I agree that few criminals should not represent the whole of Nuer Lou community. And by the way, Twich East County does not accuse the whole of Lou Nuer for misbehavior; they only accuse Uror County for misbehavior. Other parts of Lou Nuer are accused by Murle and Jikany Nuer. I also agreed with Mr. Abraham that I should not accuse innocent Lou Nuer Members of Parliament in the three levels of government (Government of National Unity, Government of South Sudan, and State of Jonglei) for collaborating with criminals.

However, the question about motive behind Lou Nuer’s attack on its neighbors remains if they continue to do so like they have now repeated it on Lith community, according to the report that is still coming in now. The recent attack on Lith community has claimed the lives of more than forty people, according to New Sudan Vision report. The accused are still Lou Nuer youth.

What does Lou Nuer want? Do they want to be seen as trouble makers or do they just enjoy the death of innocent people in their hands and in the hands of those who revenge against their community?

Some people say that Khartoum-based Nuer politicians like Dr. Riek Gai are behind these attacks. Many people will agree with the argument about the involvement of some elements in Khartoum to cause chaos in South Sudan, especially when the referendum is not far away.

Yet, the questions are: What do Lou Nuer leaders and intellectuals think when their community is used as a tool for destabilization of South Sudan? Does it mean that Lou Nuer is really vulnerable to the influence of bad elements within or outside their community? If that is true, then where is the pride of those who never tolerate bad name when they see their community going down into negative side of history? Or do they think that events like these will disappear into a thin air in the future?

Some Nuer intellectuals will say that they know the answers to the above questions. The answer that they know is that there is no perfect community. For example, in reaction to my article few weeks ago, one intellectual from Nuer community reminded me that I should not pretend that Bor community is better than Lou Nuer community because Bor community once ambushed vehicles of Nuer traders around Poktap in Duk County, that Twich East once attacked Duk County, and that Bor County once killed Murle patients in Bor hospital.

Good argument. But we are not talking about perfection here; we are talking about widespread misbehavior that is repeated from time to time. My argument is that informed people like intellectuals and leaders should advice their people against unjust wars. Simple as that.

We are not perfect in any way in Bor community, but we advice ourselves against misbehavior. Incidents driven by emotion or selfishness do happen, but we make sure that they never repeat themselves. It is true that Nuer traders were ambushed and killed in Duk County, but how many ambushes happened after that? It is true that some elements from Twich East County attacked Duk innocent civilians, but how many attacks were carried out on Duk community after that? It is also true that angry mob killed helpless Murle patients in Bor hospital after a fight between Murle and Bor County, but how many patients were killed after that?

Are there any similarities between these examples and Lou Nuer repeated misbehaviors? What does it mean for one community to attack another community three times without any prior quarrel? Does it mean that nobody in that community is wise enough to tell the few criminals that their behaviors will soil the name of their community, or do all the members of that community support these criminal behaviors? This is where the question of what Lou Nuer wants comes in if you have not understood my point.

A responsible nation begins with responsible individuals and responsible communities. A country where people capitalize on defense mechanisms is doomed to fail. That is why we should not tolerate misbehaviors, regardless of whether they are practiced by our relatives or not. I will not give up telling people that I do not believe in the death of innocent people. A respect for life is what makes a nation a proud nation, not emotionalism or cheap protection of reputation.

Lou Nuer leaders and intellectuals have a choice on whether they should learn to prevent one criminal act from repeating itself, or they will surrender to bad side of history as part of a community in which nobody says “no” to criminals. I want those who asked for my apology less than one month ago to show me that I was wrong in accusing them for inability to control their criminals.

Zechariah Manyok Biar is a graduate student at Abilene Christian University, Texas, USA. He is pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry and a Master of Science in Social Work, specializing in Administration and Planning. He is a regular contributor to www.newsudanvision.com and www.sudantribune.com. For comments, contact him at email: [email protected]