The Modern Era

By Kijana Miltom

October 5, 2009 — “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” After [21] years in the bush, we the Southern Sudanese gone through various kinds of suffering, fighting for what we called New Sudan. It took us a long way to achieve a goal of our struggle, then later we got a way through of achieving Comprehensive peace agreement [CPA] signed early 2005. However, we were looking forward to develop our Country which we fought for two decades and it have sent many lives into the graves and left halves lives on the ground of the Southerners.

Today, as I’m writing this modern era, I’m really frustrated of what is going on, in our Country’s administration in Southern Sudan.

First, we were fighting to free our children, our grandfathers and grandmothers but it didn’t go as we expect to be. Why? Because many of our leaders have lavish the lives in foreigner lands with the resources of the land then they forget to build and look after poorest local whom their youth [children] and husbands’ lives have been taken during the liberation. Those people [the leaders] being at the State or County level are using the allocated the State’s resources/budgets to revitalize their relatives state of living. Is it this the reason we fought for over [21] years for personnel’s gaining?

We need to rectify ourselves before we go back once more to the bush, we know very well, we shall be going back to war, that is why our elders are behaving badly toward themselves and the youth or deceptive way for personal gain and satisfaction where one’s stomach and wallet were full with less consideration and empathy with the marginalized for the common good.

This [CPA] was signed early 2005 to end [21] years of a protracted war, was to usher in what may be described as an era of Peace and development. We paid dearly precisely in the war to enjoy the comfort of development but now, we have forgotten what we are doing and what we are going to do absolutely? I thought these two decades would teach us to love one another, respect one another, united ourselves, we pay no attention to allegations, we bring no jealous then backing one another up from any needs he wants or that he wants to bring.

Ladies and Gentlemen: We have forgotten one thing, rather than to assist every Southern Sudanese, willing to go for further study or within Sudan by paying his/her school fee, but they failed to do that way and they only help their own people at home and elsewhere. They even took those from Lower Classes to University, anyway it is not bad for them to get scholarship, although he/she is in Lower levels, provide that he/she is capable do to the work required. But they are not capable to fulfill it accurately; they are just drunkards and dull people who won’t completely become literate guys or come back as educated people to back up the needy people in the Southern, even if you take a whole book and buried it inside his/her brain. You won’t hear/see signs that showing him/her that he/she is full literates.

On the other hand, at the ministry of education under GOSS, people are working like a crazy guy. One day, I was there at the Director General of Higher Education’s office looking for my college tuition fees’ assistance. He told me to come with my admission letter, college Identification and Certificates. I said, alright I have my Certificates with me, my fee structures with me, College Identification with me. Then he said, well you have these but I need you to bring admission letter from that College that show, you are from that College exactly. This is where I would help you Mr. Kijana; If you don’t do that Mr. Kijana no assistance will be granted to you. When I saw that way, I went back to Nairobi and came with it, within two weeks. When the morning came, and that was April this year, I went to his office with everything in hand, plus three boys whom I was schooling with them at the same College and they are from his next of kin, having also their requirements from Mr. Atem’s office in their hands. We got in, and then he asked us what we were looking for? I answered him, you told me personally to come with my admission letter Sir, plus other requirements and I have come with them. He told us to make photocopy then we gave him everything while my papers were on the top of all the papers we submitted to his office. And he told us to come back after three days. We dispersed however, after three days we came to his office and when we came, he asked me that where your documents are? One of the boys, who are related to him, said you have Mr. Kijana Milton’s papers. We submitted one day and then his papers were on the top of ours. He said, to wait outside therefore, he sent three boys’ papers to finance office and he came to me and he said that I have to make photocopy again, because he has lose my papers. I made re-photocopy of my documents, I therefore gave him, hand to hand changed. From that date up to this juncture, I have never seen Mr. Atem Kuir whether he is dead or alive. When I tried by all means to check him exactly from his office where he is; his office manager refused to allow me. He won’t allow me to meet Mr. Atem and then he said that he has no time for Mr. Milton to explain exactly why I want to see Mr. Atem? When I heard that he has no time with me while he is there for us, I felt surprised but I controlled my emotion not to release bad words and I still insist asking him, if he could accept just to take once more my papers or to allow me for two minutes. The young man refuses completely to allow Mr. Kijana, so that he can see the Director General of Higher Education. I think over it for a while but no way out, so I marched out silently.

From there, I have never attempt to go to Mr. Atem’s office but thing will go as God plans for me in the nearest future to meet Mr. Atem and his office manager in the field of humans activities. I wish them good luck but “if all wishes are true one man eye would have got two.”

I thanked Former Undersecretary in the Ministry of Education Mr. William Ater Machiek for his help which he did to his own people in Lakes States but not whole Lakes State, next of kin to him, but still getting him is very rare. I tried to meet him and his Office manager refused to allow me so that I can meet Mr. Machiek if he could assist me as he did.. I won’t blame you man but you have to see over the situation of the person who is in need to see Undersecretary, rather than to give him/her wrong numbers of Mr. Ater’s Cell-phones. I would dearly love you when you come cross this message, please read it and learn how good how bad did Mr. Machiek do during his time in the Ministry of education under GOSS.

Right now, only those who were in foreign land were the only guys in luxury lives in the Southern Sudan’s administrations but exactly the true war veterans were the people suffering a lot and they have decided to take street lives as all of you knew, who are drunkards, who are beggars on the street and who are dying in Juba? They are the true war veterans facing these critical conditions like revolts who had gone against the ruling party before. But it had happened as you know who are those went against the current ruling party during South-North’s battle and they are the most considered and most given three quarter of the Goss’s lives luxury. My colleagues look over here, we are all Southerners, we are all blackish and we are all war veterans’ mates but this wise saying will determine, “though, you can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig”

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