By: Adier Mach Deng.
For over half a century, South Sudan has been steeped in civil war. The streets are strewn with innocent, unarmed
bodies — mostly young lives, snuffed out by the demagoguery and tyranny of a
loosely structured, non-constitutional government that is constantly at
loggerheads with tribal governance. The
present conflict that rages across the land arose out of dissention within the
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (“the SPLM”). Former Vice President Riek Machar’s dismissal
from President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s cabinet not only generated strife among
rival political factions, but a torrent of civil unrest among South Sudan’s
various ethnic groups.
The crises that Sudan confronts
cannot be resolved on political or ideological grounds. Rather, focus must be placed on the multitude
of challenges that directly affect the country’s civilian population. The desire for power and dominance deflects
from the real crises that overwhelm the Sudanese people: the need for adequate
shelter, food, healthcare, education, security and infrastructure. Without these basic necessities, survival
becomes impossible.
Since South Sudan gained
independence in 2011, displacement, disease, and extreme hunger have loomed
large over the population, threatening the country’s future — a future that rightfully
belongs to the young, dying population.
The simple question is: “why war?”
As corruption and infighting block the fullest extent of humanitarian
aid, lives are being destroyed — minds and hearts that, with proper access to
education and training, could potentially cure the diseases that are cruelly
annihilating them.
The notion of “winning a war” on the
African continent — or anywhere else in the world, for that matter — does not
exist. Instead, minds must be developed
through the building of schools and the employment of educators who understand
and are committed to nurturing the minds of the future. The South Sudanese must also have access to
adequate telecommunication services and infrastructure that lead to commercial
productivity and, ultimately, a marketplace of ideas by peaceful means. Solutions
lie in the building of hospitals to heal the sick and ameliorate the wounds of
the suffering, and in finding joy in the eyes of a child who has been properly
fed, rather than by peering down the barrel of a gun.
The lure of freedom — the birthright of every individual —
beckons African immigrants to risk their lives by traveling to such developed
nations as Holland, Great Britain, and the United States, where job creation
and productivity are not merely the stuff of dreams. Developed nations adopt a systematic approach
which determines a given country’s level of productivity and consequent
standing on the world stage.
With
the drive for material gain and status within and among western nations comes
an abuse of power — the desire for hegemony and dominance over the weaker
peripheral countries, causing an imbalance of equities. That is, the prosperity of developed nations
is often achieved through the exploitation and draining of underdeveloped
countries’ resources.
The extreme disparities in living
standards between major world powers and developing countries inexorably lead
to a very painful choice: either the weaker nations resort to infighting over
the meager resources in their possession, or they pursue the quest for
self-determination in more prosperous nations.
The question then becomes: when will
underdeveloped nations truly be free and independent? Self-determination
derives from life-giving measures, not genocide. The desire for hegemony may be endemic to the
human condition, but it is not absolute.
Goodwill ambassadors and humanitarians break the cycle — one heartbeat
at a time.
Each one of us simply wants the
necessities of food, shelter, and security in our daily lives, the chance to be
productive, and to contribute meaningfully to the collective. Such needs and wants are not privileges, but
basic human rights. War does not confer
these rights; peace does. If nations
would only dedicate themselves to waging peace, war would be rendered
irrelevant. As Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
noted, “I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war
demonstrations. I said that I will never
do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.”
There has to be a paradigm shift
among nations, whereby each one, as part of the human family, will dedicate
itself to uplifting others. That act of
engagement is not called “nation-building,” but collective actualization of
human potential, accomplished by giving underprivileged nations a hand up. The creation of hierarchies among nations is
illusory and inevitably leads to conflict, and the desire for power breeds discord
among brothers.
Marginalization of underdeveloped
nations is a cancer that eats away at the whole organism — the world at large. Educating and empowering individuals to
learn, work, earn their keep, and become the best of themselves result in the
most prosperous nations. Such are the
ingredients for waging peace. It is high
time, and South Sudan is waiting.
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