Martyr Day isn’t an ordinary Day South Sudanese leaders
By Isaiah Abraham
July 24, 2012 — I happened to watched some leaders, and especially South Sudan President Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit on Martyr Day couple of years ago. One thing that fouled my mood was his casual representation of the Day, and on some cases his insensitive about the significance of that day itself. The President of the Republic concept about that day has agitated me to put this piece across. The President is our hero like Garang, no doubt and people wish him well. But here he needs to give that Day a flavor, and not to assume that the Day is like any other special days of the Republic. This isn’t the case. He must spare the victims of the struggle from self-inflicting indignity when someone who supposed to look after them disingenuously shows no feeling about those demised Southerners.
This is how: the day has lost its salt to the president in that it wasn’t celebrated like others, save for a break from work. The Martr Day should be given its damp deserved respect and be celebrated like the rest of the national occasions (independence Day and SPLA Day). Last year, no single soul came near the Freedom Square/Garang Mausoleum. No speeches or speech from the president over the radio on that day about the importance of Martyr Day. At that time people celebrated the occasion in their bars and in their homes as if it was just like any other small Public Holiday. The same is the likeable scenario in few days to come (on the July 30, 2012). No one or group will gather to celebrate the Day in a more formal way, and the question is why would the living beings do such a thing to their departed comrades and martyrs of our struggle?
Let’s converge and listen to songs of the war, and then hear stories from the people who are affected by the war. It is a moment of our reflection and our leaders must not wish it away so soon. It was the sacrifices made by our martyrs that brought us peace and a country. Without them we won’t have arrived safely here. The Day should remain celebratory now and forever. We had brave men in Jamus, Tumsah, Tiger, Koryom, Muor Muor etc; we must remember them in that day. People like Mamur, Oyai, Oath, Pieng, Mabil, Bior, Majak, Abraham Wani who spent most of their times then with soldiers on the battle fields can tell you how many lives we have lost and how many comrades that are still nursing wounds of cut limps.
How can such people forget easily, this is disrespect at best to our heroes. Imagine this: on July 2010 on that Day last year (Martyr Day), the president and the speaker soiled it when they appeared donned like people invited for a party. The head of state and Honorable Speaker graced the occasion/Martyr Day like a men attending a wedding. they dressed to kill with new found flowered West African outfits. Their mood was that of politicians attending victory political rally. This author has to squeeze himself out of the occasion at that time, embarrassed from that callous appearance. Can such a thing happen in our African context, and if yes, how safe was ttheir message they had planned to deliver soon after they appear that strolling that way? Someone must respect our departed, I protested. However this isn’t about dressing in mourning pieces, but dress decently and responsibly before the victims of the war.
For starters, Martyr Day is a very important day for the people of this republic, and let’s remember this important man called John Garang de Mabior. May his soul rest in eternal peace! We can light candles and quietly pray for our martrs on the eve of the Day and then in the morning sing songs of our struggle. Our cultures and value could bring out that rememberance. The Minister there isn’t doing enough about our culture by the way.
If it wasn’t Dr. John Garang and his men, my people, who could have been around here stealing money, then stashed it to the outside banks. We would have been under Khartoum slaved or outside the country as refugees. Garang and his loyal comrades did it singlehandedly when apologists conspire day and night to betray the cause in the name of reform. Reform about what and in what ya jama? Many martyr died in the hands of the callous and traitors and this is their day.
When the traitors were left alone to manage their rebellion couldn’t do what they thought wasn’t done under Garang. When Garang left them alone, like the case now, they couldn’t produce the ‘reform’ they have been passionate about during the bush, hypocrites!
It pains when some Southerners couldn’t help the widows and orphans and only concentrate about welfare of their families. Others who stayed on the fence moreover have are conspiring secretly to wreck the boat in the name of change. It starts with change and later degenerated into deaths for our people. They habitually have no other business but to listen to lies from Khartoum that the liberation struggle and people like Garang, Kiir, Machar and Wani were the problem. Even if we know they are, are agents of Khartoum the right change agents for our country? A big no! They have surrounded our president and are everywhere advising the head of state to abandon Martyr Day.
Most of them claim that they are champions of self determination; and that they brought on a silver plate to the SPLM Leaders. That without them, the issue of martyr couldn’t be anything. This is insulting. Self determination or self rule is a political term awarded when it is earned and not when it is requested. The Garang and his men earned it. His vision is a lope that makes it easier, and if there was no such a political cry, belief me/not, we would have been still fighting for separation today like others in any other part of the world. This is a bitter truth! Separatists aren’t fashionable around the world; and no short cut whether you shouted the loudest or write some many essays and history about your cause. You can agree like Western Saharans and still not separate. It takes such a high thinking to make to arrive at it.
You may agree or not agree (that is the nature of our people these days) with this author, but the reality is not about Garang or his team, because we are all stakeholders, but about his tentative thoughts and realistic approach to issues that affected the whole country. That man was an achiever; losers must find other things to fight another day not now. It was a combination of well cut out agenda coupled with sacrifices of our people that made.
But also to repeat myself, our leadership are to take care of the victims of our struggle, this is very importance. Our heroes dependents have every right like us to live decently like the living. I have squarely blame Kiir and Machar for failing to live up to that dream of helping our families of our martyrs.
To me it is no longer a doubt, and it will be just a matter of time for these men to go if they continue like that. If Kiir is weak, how Dr. Machar, his Assistant, why neglect these families all around? Dr. Machar was made to stay low, and has accepted that status, but the tide will spare him not; there is no way the two could be separated. If Kiir goes he goes. He hasn’t been himself like before and this is too bad.
All are branded failed and are corrupt. I shockingly heard funny stories about the two as to land. Why a tall leader would take over a chunk of land around Juba and then employed his own people around it. This is unbecoming for tomorrow leaders to behave that way. They have moreover shown no leadership by example, stop short of correcting mistake one year in and one year out. The rivalry between Kiir and Machar perhaps has made the country to slipped up for jackals to perch it. Dr. Machar has succumbed and if to save anything he must detach himself from how things are done by corrupt barons. I have started to think twice now about the person that could have been the hope for the people of this republic in months or few years to come.
May be we have strayed to another topic, but the point about Martyr Day is missed by Kiir, Machar and Wani. The trio is becoming problematic to our gains. What makes them thing that the blood of our people is nothing compares to their luxuries and assets? If they care they could have given the chunk land written in their names to our widows and orphans. The wife of William Nyuon is now begging for bread while the rich are basking in ill gotten wealth as if William did nothing substantive to our struggle?
Ms Nyuon has no land to put her hand on and her daughters/sons aren’t being settled in education or a house built in Ayod County in honor of their father. The same could have been applied to all notable contributors of our struggle. What does this tell you about Kiir/Machar/Wani? Martyr Day therefore should have been a day to show kindness to our widows and orphans through gifts and words of encouragement.
Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; he is on [email protected]