Yom Mayen’s War-time memoir is as such:
“May 16th 1983 is a day that will remain in the history making of South Sudan forever. It was the day SPLM /SPLA South Sudan opposition Party broke away from North Sudan regime to liberate South Sudanese from political and social oppression,” said Yom Mayen. South Sudanese ‘representation and taxation without proper representations’ were ignored in the government and other subsidies like to have hospitals, colleges, clean water, etc. were cut off from South Sudanese for access . And eventually deprivation of their religiosity of being Christianswas also a major causation for going for civil war. Of course, people generally either from the South Sudan were forced to Islamic religion, in which they exposed them to Sharia law against their free will.
For the above reason, Southerners ‘rallied around the flag’ for strike against the Khartoum government during the regime of Nimeri and fought for more than two decades, this interval period was a great tragedy to the lives of the people in SouthSudan. Many people were displaced internally and other fled out of country to different neighboring countries like Kenya,” Yom Mayen asserted. This situation was worsened further by Nuer Nilotes when there was a struggle of leadership within SPLA/SPLM regime. A large number of people were killed in the Duk County, Twic East County and of course in Bor South County….almost happened in Dinka Bor area of Jonglei State. Nuer insurgency militias invaded the area, killed people, and took properties in conjunction with the Khartoum regime as their safe haven. Of course, properties including livestock were taken by Nuer invaders leaving poor in vain and perished since there was not anything left to sustain their lives,” said Yom Mayen.
Due to the above devastation incurred, there was a severe shortage of food security and numerous people died of starvation and frequent life taking diseases without proper medicines from ‘highest order’ while others sustained their lives by ‘stone age’s survival mode: huntings and gathering of fruits. “ I wonder how I managed to live since I ate leaves and fruits of trees daily combined, in which I have never had before in the period of human race,” Yom Mayen regretfully grunted.
In addition to that NGOs food security intervention was the main tool for lives of South Sudanese. Of course, they provided food aide, hook for fishings, clothings and misquitos-net tentsfor short-term survivals. NGOs also provided the same relief assistance mentioned to those South Sudanese displaced peoplefamously referred to as Internal Displaced Peoples(IDPs) and also built shelters for them to stay: Dispensary clinics, Primary day schools and High Schools,” emphasized Yom Mayen.
However, in 2003 the peace accord known as CPA was brokered by IGAD, the United Nations, the United States, and signed between the Khartoum regime and SPLA/SPLM , the South Sudanese’s’ rebellious Political Party to end war, share wealth incorporated in the Naivasha, Kenya six (6) protocols and to co-exist within six years fold term for referendum election. Now, we are approaching the end of six years fold term for referendum, but it sounds as if people will not be faithful to vote peacefully for democratic change. Perhaps the Old Sudan in the lens of utopian ‘new South Sudan visions’ may go back to war if they do not change current behavior and embrace democratic change embedded in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),” pessimistically said Yom Mayen.
Ayen Thiel’s Story is as such:
Indeed my life story memoir is unfair because of the problems I have encountered since I was born. The first crisis in life was ‘ethnic cleansing’ genocide that started in 1991 mass killings when Nuer massacred people and displaced the rests,” wept Ayen Thiel. As people were displaced, they headed to such places called Labone in the Equatorial region and other various places in Equatorial states and from there the life was getting so harder for people to sustain their lives. Also war was still ongoing and nobody can return back to their own localities, where they used to live.
Following these barriers of the war, boys both younger and adult decided to enroll in the SPLA rebel forces so that they can help ‘perishedly’ exhausted soldiers in liberating themselves from Khartoum government. They were so upset over number of things, they have seen it on the ground such heart-breaking events like burning down of papyrus hut-like houses and so forth,” emphasized Ayen Thiel.
From there, people unstoppably ran and ran in saving of their lives and even people who had decided by their own conscious to join the army and escaped themselves from the main freedom seeking rebel organization today known as SPLA military wingssince they were ‘whirlingly’ discouraged in winning the war against the Khartoum regime.
Akech Atem’s Story is as such:
Life in the war is too hard since I was born in 1983. Beginning of the war, I do not know because I am so small, or young to remember what have had gone wrong in that time period. The Life worsens by defected Nuer community from the mainstream South Sudan rebellious political party: SPLM and/or SPLA, the military wings, in which they have ‘massacred’ and/or killed more and more people with displacement of approximately eighteenth (18) millions South Sudanese people and took all livestock and ground was also occupied by over flooding from the ‘White Nile river’. There was no way out to access food aidefrom one locality to the other since the areas was immensely flooded. Therefore people perished and died because of that flooding blockade.
Life always fluctuated all years long until peace accord was internationally and regionally ‘brokered’ and manifestedly signed. There were so many people who used to cultivate or farm and however they used to sustain their lives on those life-saving modes for tentative survival. Therefore, their lives were getting harder and harder since they were receiving some food aide from NGOs of which they were not used to it. Now a day after end of war showcased, and people experienced difficultiesin getting back to cultivation or survival farming techniques so that they can sustain their lives as they used to. The North-South civil war and the 1991 Dinka Bor residences massacre encouraged NGOs food assistance interventions for social ‘safety-net’ to supply food aide and other sheltering materials to needy,” said Akech Atem. The beginning of peace accord between the Khartoum regime and the South Sudan SPLM/A rebel group was the only resting time lapse, to which we experienced.
We praised the most gracious God for referendum to keep us safe not to face more problems again. God is so wise and careful and of course, returning back to war will not be an option once again,” added Akech Atem.
Betsy Ayen Dut’s Story is as such:
The war broke out in 1983 as other people stated, especially in Bor Town on May 16th and this is a two decade war, of which we know today. In that day on, Betsy Ayen Dut used to go to thelivestock camp, where they kept livestock before the rainy seasons in search for water and pasture as well,” said Betsy Ayen Dut. Next few years later, Betsy Ayen Dut heard of people joining movement organization known today as SPLA. During these mobilization activities, the liberation movement was so popular at home and in frontline. People were so united than ever before thinking they will liberate themselves sooner without knowledge that it will take approximately two (2) decades on ‘the run’ for all seasons long,” emphasized Betsy Ayen Dut.
In meantime, the opposition arose and ended up weakening the mainstream South Sudan rebel groups and however, this became the ‘1991’ thrilling defection of Nuer ethnic group from the mainstream South Sudan rebellious organizations and of course this manifested into ethnic cleansing massacre of Dinka Bor residences within present-day Jonglei State today. And more and more people were perishing in frontline and at home. Civilians like me, was so confused since they did not know what went wrong within SPLA/M rebel organization. We only knew the Khartoum regime as the main enemy, to which people went to war and other organizations like Nuer insurgency communities, which defected out in 1991 massacre, was knowingly part of marginalized people in South Sudan,” said Betsy Ayen Dut.
A driving force for insurgency was tribalism, and power monopoly within the South Sudan SPLM/SPLA, the freedom seeking organization, in which Nuer communities in SPLA rebel forces combined with Khartoum regime on the side, were not tolerated here at home and in frontline. Probably troops and leaderships within the SPLM/SPLA organizations were so pessimistic of who will lead South Sudanese ‘out of bondages,” said Betsy Ayen Dut. As a resulted, Nuer insurgency communities in conjunction with Khartuom regime , ended-up wiping out livestock, burned down homes, and killed thousand and thousands of South Sudanese people both civilians and military persons combined. However, the Nuer insurgencyactivities were taken slightly within the SPLA mainstream rebel since it was diagnosed as twin causal phenomena: power monopoly and tribalism fostered by one dominant tribe-driven and power struggle of who come first or who can lead us best to defeat Khartoum regime, in the SPLA movement, rather thanobjectively keeping the Khartoum regime’s behavior as the main enemy against all Southerners since ‘they are standing on the South Sudanese shoulders’ and of course, these persons must be judged as directly and indirectly causing all of these problems in the South Sudan to which people declared rebellion surge.
Elizabeth Athok Thon’s Story is as such:
There is a great different between life story memoir in the war-time and this time of peace accord between the South and Khartuom regime in the North since we know the situation of South Sudanese people, who were in the civil war,” said Athok Elizabeth Thon.
By that time, people were facing a lot of difficulties and we fled from here to neighboring Kenya to a place today called Kakuma Refugee Camp in the heart of Turkana District while using barefoot and of course there was not any car at all, to Kenyan bordering town known today as Lokichiocko or in short phrase: Loki Town. We settled there as a regionally displaced refugees and got gracious help from the United Nations of Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). NGOs like UNHCR provided or supplied us basic necessities to sustain lives in shelters in the semi-arid valley of Turkana district while awaiting for our formal resettlements as refugee in Kakuma in 1992. Of course, unlike papyrus shelters, we were supplied with wheat flours, cooking oils, detergent soaps (clothing washing bar-soaps), red beans, sacks of brown and plain sugars and so forth,” emphasized Elizabeth Athok Thon. Elizabeth AthokThon added that they stayed there until 2005 North-South Sudan peace accord was signed to end two decades civil war in Sudan between the two main battling groups in the country. “This was a time when we came here or back to present day South Sudan as regionally refugee returnees and peacefully dramatic ‘change’happened for people of South Sudan and North Sudan to co-exist under the six years fold referendum. After signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), numerous of South Sudanese from all over the world, came in with knowledge and got jobs and started helping their own people and other aide workers in the country,” stressed Elizabeth Athok Thon. For example, my brother is now working as a primary school teacher and he is trying his level best to bring us up so we are no longer living as if we are still in the bush like that war-time period. Same things might be happening to other people and ‘change’might be knocking their doors. People did not think that there might be something that can bring people together in the future and there it happened through God’s help and sympathy on people of South Sudan’s lives. We have seen it during war-time period, God had protected his own people from that thorns of suffering and/or hardship. However, life has somehow changed for millions of South Sudanese whether ‘vulnerable’ or ‘niop’ in native Dinka, or to those who were most able to cope with war-time’s lives and of course, it is not the same like the previous lives of the war since majority of people has a job, in South Sudan” said Athok Elizabeth Thon.
Ayen Atem Ayii’s Story is as such:
My life was very bad since the beginning of war in 1993. It started in the fighting between South Sudan freedom seeking organization (SPLA/M) ,and Khartoum regime (the NCP party) and later it extended to a major civil war over certain values and ways of life of people of South Sudan in every locality. It was a long fighting and they both used to bombard, shell, and attack one another in major towns depending on that time military barrack destinations,” emphasized Michelle Ayen Atem.
Therefore this insurgency campaign and surge created a deep suspicion and mistrust between the South Sudan and Khartoum rogue regimes. Of course, this political campaign for intention to‘wipe out one another out of the face of map’ to conquer the whole country, has reached a dangerous stage. And both Khartoum regime (Old Sudan) and the Juba government (South Sudan), of which it is represented by the SPLA rebel political organization, especially when major towns were being ruined and people were being killed as a result, got tougher ‘red’ line attack on one another. For instance, on the way to Juba, the South Sudan head-quarter, Khartoum regime’s forces clashed with the SPLA rebel forces, where many lives were lost and rest being captured. Troop commander of Khartoum regime’s forces, Ali Abdel and huge machine guns, RBG, were detained as in the end of fighting,” stressed Michelle Ayen Atem.
After many towns were captured like Torit, Wau, Kassala and Juba as well, Khartuom regime started to drastically withdraw its forces from the most seized areas in the South Sudan to the North Sudan and this resulted, in change of presidency in Khartuom. Omar Al Bashir emerged in military coup in 1989 to lead the Khartuom regime. This year was critical, especially in the South Sudan since new leader took a hard-line insurgency campaign against the South Sudan,” said Michelle Ayen Atem.
Furthermore, Nuer insurgents’ defection started within SPLA political organization to weaken a movement against the Khartuom rogue regime. First it started out as power struggle and monopoly within SPLA political leadership organization, but it later became and manifested itself as sectarian-tribal campaigns of leadership within SPLA political organization as between Nuer tribe and Dinka-Bor ethnic groups in present day Jonglei State. They first fought in Duk County, Twic EastCounty and then finally unavoidably extended to Bor South County. And of course, they captured Panyagor Town and installed their insurgency regime here to weaken the SPLM/A leadership until 1993 when South Sudan SPLM organizations sent their ‘troops surge’ to strengthen its leadership and fights to curb down tensions through counter-insurgency policy entailed.As a result, they killed more and more people and displaced million of South Sudanese people in political ‘liaison fashion’maliciously connections with Khartuom regime campaign under the famous premise to ‘wipe out’ people in the South Sudan,” Said Michelle Ayen Atem. Things became critical during this period since the SPLA political forces were fighting two wars: Nuer ethnic cleansing defections and Khartuom regime change. And livestock and properties were no longer in the hands of people of Bor within present three Counties: Duk County, Twic East County and Bor South County. These counter-insurgency fights made the SPLA liberation campaign policy much thinner and weaker as well. We were in a ‘hot water-tub situation’ in those time period lapse since there was not any food to eat and no much clothings and papyrus shelters to sleeps and always were on run. Therefore, the South Sudan SPLM government’s decided to establish a working humanitarian wing commission today famously known today as South Sudan Rehabilitation and Relief Association (SSRRA) and this humanitarian commission launched a grass-root campaign with conjunction with UNHCR, the Red Cross, the WFP, the LWF, and the CARE International to deliver food security, basic health dispensaries, and Primary and Secondary School aide in support of South Sudanese people who are on run and internally displaced from their places. Ofcourse, UNHCR combined with other United Nations organizations strongly stepped in and supplied food aide, shelters, clothing and medicines from the ‘highest order’ to South Sudanese people in the Kakuma Refugees Camps as well as in the Internally Displaced camps in the South Sudan borders in the Equatorial regions,” stressed Michelle Ayen Atem.
Michelle Ayen Atem concluded that what I saw and learned during the war-time period was that you lose everything, but if you have tireless ‘hope’ for sole premise to retain what you lostback in the foreseeable future, then you can still retain back as much as before. For instance, she said that they had lost everything including livestock and today they have gotten almost what they used to have before and this was a strength and bravery of hope we learned and carried during the war-time period that this problem will someday come to an end. And of course, we will be able to get back what we have had lost. One thing, in which she said that you can’t retain it back if you lose it, is life, however everything else can be retained backwhatsoever,” highlighted Michelle Ayen Atem.
Ameer Yuot Thuch’s Story is as such:
When the Civil War started in South Sudan in 1956 and jump-started in 1983 due to dissatisfaction incurred in 1972 Addis abba agreement. Ameer Yuot said she was young and was about five years old when civil war broke out in South Sudan. She lived with her mother, three brothers, one sister and uncles and also she did not stay long with her father since he was deceased while before Ameer Yuot was still as younger as five years old in age.
By then, her dwelling and/or attending livestock camp was raided by Murle tribe and took a lot of cattle. It was so bad incident since this is where they defend and support their livingsfor survival. They lived only on wheat sorghum and two cows that were brought back by her aunt. Then her uncle decided to go to Bilpam town closer to Ethiopia border and South Sudanborder for armament and South Sudan military ‘scrutinization’ sponsored ( military leadership trainings) so that her uncle would be able to defend number of livestock from hands of cattle raiders,” said Ameer Yuot Thuch.
It was partly their own decisions to get arms from both Bongo town and Bilpam town: South Sudan military leadership training grounds in Ethiopia border so that they returned and be able to protect their livestock from any invasion or attack fostered by potential domestic violence of cattle raidings and child abductions. This was a time when SPLA/M political movement was mobilizing people to be soldiers to fight for liberation of South Sudan and so her uncle with rest of colleagues around enrolled in the military leadership trainings and also with hidden premise to return to consecutive residential places in South Sudan for protection. This later became a surprise bubble when the sad news of Bongo Town training ground hit by the Khartuom militias and therefore people who went there for purpose to get arms for their own protections involved in the fighting with Khartuom government’s militias during the civil war. Lives were lost, however the war in the South Sudan with Khartuom government continued like that and insecurity both in frontline and at home skyrocketed,” stated Ameer Yuot.
The worst of it came when Riek Machar defected from themainstream SPLA/M and turned against his former mainstream rebels in late 1990s. This is referred to today as the 1991 ethnic cleansing massacre. It destroyed the whole area of Bor and wiped away properties and lives of residents in Bor. This defection coalition campaigns with Khartoum rogue regimeskilled millions of lives in Bor areas: Twic East county, Duk County and Bor South County so that together in concert they toppled the South Sudan SPLA/M regime and operations and support as well. They also abducted children and women including wife of Ameer Yuot’s uncle,” explained Ameer Yuot.
The people who survived evacuated areas and went to seek refuge in different regionally areas of Equatoria. Some were displaced to Equatorial areas, Bahr-el Ghazal region and of course, to swampy areas known as ‘tioc’ in native dinka language. Ameer Yuot stated that she headed with her parent to swampy area along the Coast of white Nile River, where there is thicket papyrus grass-like plants for survivals. There, the mean for survival became very rare since there were not any good and enough fighting equipments or machine guns in the hands of displaced people of Dinka Bor residences. And there was not also any food assistance before then from NGOs due to low procurements, logistics, and high insecurity in the areas affected by Nuer ethnic group insurgency, which were some of multi-causal barriers and of course, thrilling factors,” said Ameer Yuot.
Then majority of people died and this ‘head and neck’ survival period was referred to as ‘capoth’ in native dinka language and it means ‘having been spared to survival unexpectedly!’ And this was a period of 1991 till the 1993(end of Cold War in American Political jargon),” explained Ameer Yuot. In 1993, there was a bit insecurity from the Nuer insurgency defection with Riek Machar as a head with ‘iron fist and curtain’ to topple the South Sudan SPLA/M rebellious leaderships and power monopoly in collaboration with Khartoum government. Food aide from NGOs started to kick in to morally safe million lives of South Sudanese people who were in process to collapse due to illiteracy, child rights, food insecurity and of course life deprivations, which are incorporated in the United Nations Charter book of Millennium Goals Developments (MGD) after the end of World War II and the Post Cold War. We passed through great tribulations and ‘scotchy’ hardships, in which people experienced hunger strike, malnourishments, sleepingdeprive, diseases without medication and so forth,” concluded Amer Yuot.
Adau Kuir’s Story is as such:
Adau said she was born in a place called Pawuoi village, Nyuak Payam in Twic East County, Jonglei State in 1950 early on before narrative ‘Old Sudan’ independent from British colonial powers. Unfortunately, in 1991, there was a great inter-tribal fight between Nuer insurgency defection with Dinka ethnics’ stronghold in Bor area thinking they will destroy and roll the ‘iron curtain’ the philosophy of liberation predispositions prescribed in the utopian ‘new Sudan vision’ also known as ‘Sudanism’ regardless of your heritages (whether African descents or Middle East Arabic descent), but assimilations with Khartuom regimes, would be option for people of South Sudan. Nuer insurgency defection fighting with South Sudan SPLA/M rebel continued until 1993 when they were defeated in ‘the hearts and minds’ through pre-empt strike back to re-unite against the Old Sudan and scattered to no-where. This fighting resulted in displacing million of South Sudanese people to different areas in the Old Sudan and abroad as well. Adau said she was displaced and went to Equatoria area with her family. They spent two years fold lapse in that place and later in the meantime relocated and headed to Uganda instead for refugeseekings in Ajumbuli Refugee Camp. And then in 1993, there was an attack from Khartuom militias against displaced South Sudanese people both in Kenya-Kakuma Refugee Camp and Uganda-Ajumbuli Refugee Camp. And this later resulted in losing millions of South Sudanese lives,”stated Adau Kuir.
As refugee resettlement was taking place, they made their shelter out of bamboo plants and papyrus plants, of which they collected from the hills nearby. South Sudanese people were all resettled and the hunger strike broke out since there was not any NGOs food security support system yet put in place probably it was caused by low procurement and improper logistics. They only used to drain drinking water from river streams that were not purifiably cleaned enough and South Sudanese people who have encountered this problem ended steaming and boiling water for safe drink. In meantime, the pandemic disease cholera burst out and killed a lot of people in that refugee area. Again, in 1994, the NGOs just logistically made and arrived with convoy support plans to supply tons of basic necessities such as cooking oils, white sorghum flour, chilly beans, clothings, etc. and later NGOS through United Nations instructions book laid out a grand strategic plans to distribute basic necessities brought through thirty-day ration techniques. This grand strategic plans for food security distributions skewed meal-plans to one-day super until next frugal for cover thirty-day plans for rations redistributions. However, this support plan later cut off, and people suffered a lot after. This thirty-day plans to receive meals from the UN support centers are better than nothing installed in place” said Adau Kuir.
Keth Makeer’s Story is as such:
It was early one chilly morning in winter when tribal fight began between Nuer insurgency defection and the mainstream Dinka Bor ethnics’ group civilians. This fighting emerged as simple, but it enlarged at last when it reached Duk County areas. By then Keth Makeer was at her house here in Pawel Town, Twic East County, in Jonglei State, South Sudan. This was a stunning to her thinking it was not going to last longer, but compared it with regular insurgency attack modes they always experienced from either Murle tribe or Nuer tribe. It later resulted in displacing millions of South Sudanese people in Bor regionstronghold and there was also water flooding on the groundbefore the German Tech Zones (GTZ) dyke put in places, of which it made it difficult for South Sudanese people to run faster as they can. So she just tried to walk, but much slower due to water flooding from the White Nile basins on the ground. People who had water-proof canoe or boats were lucky enough since they could ride their canoes so they go much faster than rest of people who did not have them in posessions. She experienced logistics difficulty in going with them with the same speed with people in the water-bounced boats and canoes since they were being followed and chased by Nuer insurgency enemy,” stated Keth Makeer.
Suddenly when we were closer to Pabiec livestock camp of Kongor Payam in Twic East County, the Nuer insurgencydefection fired a deadly attack on us and there we started to hide our lives there next to those savannah-bushy and canopy trees at a time. After we realized we were battalion ambushed and also seizure surrounded, we started to slide slowly in the chest on the thorny and grassy-grounds and/or stealthily so that they never hear us. This was not easy move and majority of people were so ‘scare to death’: frightened. Only whirling and grunting outcrieswhen you look in the eyes of persons closer to you since survival expectations had low bubble score and eventually that the merciful and the onslaught Nuer insurgency enemies will get us and massacre us all as well. Fortunately we made it safelythrough that thorny and grassy-grounds since it was getting darker and they have ended up sweeping livestock and personal properties left behind and/or take livestock they got in cattle camp,” said Keth Makeer.
The whole area was on fire for one week that made everything look blury, ashy and charcoal-driven when you see it with your naked eyes. There was enough drinking water although they were not purified since there was water flooding on the groundfrom the White Nile coastal streams and outlets. Water Snails and other numerous water species started to suck blood from both alived and perished people’s bodies if they stayed long and lapsed enough in water flooding taken areas and only low land islands were dried from water flooding, however they were not much safer since Nuer insurgency troops were massively and gigantically on the match and you could not be nakedly visible and target for insurgency prey. This was very painful; however people did not give up. We struggled to find standing rails until sunset when people made it out of the hiding places after long period of time in the hide,” stressed Keth Makeer.
Panel Interviews:
The following are names of women of which I spoke to during group interviews: Adit Ador Awuol, Anon Chol Duot, Kuei Deng Bior, and lastly Alek Mayen Akoi. And below is a script of what they have said when I sat down with them during interview: Here it goes as such:
Almost all people in the community can do away with problems they encountered, however the adolescently young or much younger youths, old people and women can not handle their problems they failed without the help of other people. For example, in 1990 when Twic East County, was invaded and ruined by Nuer insurgency defection from the mainstream South Sudanese SPLA/M rebels, people fled for different areas to find ‘safe haven’ and have abundant lives. Others went or headedwith water bounced boats and canoes to swampy areas or ‘tioc’ in native Dinka language so that they can sustain their lives or what they catch from the Nile coastal water streams. People who had canoes, fishing nets, and misquitos-net survived supersedingly and out paced the people who did not have those materials for survival modes,” said Anon Chol Duot. Life was getting much difficult since we did not have either canoes and fishing rods and fishing nets to catch water species for livings, however gentlemen by name, Mayen Maheen from Kongor Payam, in Twic East County helped us with his canoes and anytime he headed out for fishings, he gave one of our family members a water bounced canoe ride to check out what our netshad caught: fishing nets were canoe-visited twice a day and it is referred to as recurrences,” stressed Anon Chol Duot. This was critical time and without Mayen Maheen, the local canoe gentleman, we would not have dealt or survived upto this moment,” added Kuei Deng Bior. People who did not have this support system, to which we had got from Mayen Maheen, were people least able to do away and cope with starvations of war-time period. Of course, old people, much younger youths, and women made it because they got a strong and forified support system from family members and neighbors in the time,” said Adit Ador Awuol.
Unlike Alek Mayen Akoi, she survived or do away with war-time problems of hunger strike in gathering leaves of trees, water lily or ‘goor’ and ‘athoon’ ,in native dinka language, which means it is a type of water-rooted plants. It was pretty-much similar and resembling to ‘stone age’ egalitarian society time period. We did not have water bounced canoes and fishing nets, so we did not go to riparian river Nile swampy and coastal stream areas,” emphasized Alek Mayen Akoi. Of course, people who did not have fishing nets, spear for fishing and water bounced canoes, can be categorized as people who were least capable to do away with the war-time hardship and tribulations,” said Anon Chol Duot.
Well, although you had collected more water-lily or ‘goor’ in native Dinka language, water eatable species like fishes and other perennial fruits collected from plant trees on the dinner table during the civil war and 1991 massacre incurred by the Nuer insurgency campaigns, still are categorized and stigmatized as people that did not make it, but perished,’ emphasized Kuei Deng Akoi. Only God had helped other people find support system they needed to acquire survival modesduring the war-time crisis. And Kuei Deng Akoi did not believe that only emotionally and physically strong people drawn from psychological conceptual frame work studies that, there were people who were either least or most able to cope with civil war’s atrocities and problems. Anon Chol Duot said that two decades’ crisis was inevitable and un-avoidable, but it could have not been prevented whatsoever. Well, NGOs with its international communities joined hands in support through ‘shalom’ in Hebrew language and provided health medicinesfrom ‘highest order’ and food aide to people who did not have it such as the poor, and elderly people in the South Sudan communities like us,” said Anon Chol Duot.
Achol Makol said that women tend to suffer a lot, especially in time of hardship and tribulations since they do not have hard-core coping mechanisms. This is what set them from other entities and be labeled as vulnerables. Although social stratifications and psychological stigmatizations have set people apart, women can still support children in mens’ absenteeism and of course, there must still be a sensation of emptiness incurred and encountered among women. With that say, women can still try to deal away with hardship and tribulations caused by sickness and starvation strike, et cetera. ‘Coping mechanism’ as it is referred to is still there and Achol added that she was the one who constructed her two papyrus and bamboo-patched huts in the absent of her husband during the after Civil War experiences.
Only elderly persons and youths can’t cope with problems they encountered. They can survive with help of younger adultpeople to supply them with whatever they needed such as clothings, food aide, dispensary places with good hygiene and medicines from the ‘highest order’, etc. to sustain their lives and livings. Unlike in the developed and civilized countries like the United States elderly people have ‘medicare’ insurances to prudentially cover their medication bills, social security benefits and other support systems established and put in place like family members and nursing homes. And in South Sudan, thereis no such depositions like social ‘social safety-net’ like ‘Medicare’ and Social Security for almost everyone when they reached sixty-five or over and also Food stamp benefits and Medicaid for lower income families: anyone below two-hundred and fifty thousands ($250,000) dollars annual income and disabled persons. Coping mechanism has a higher steak here in South Sudan to obtain and enjoy those social safety-net benefits in the time period of tribulations and hardships either domestic wars or natural causes: disasters. Monica Abul Atem added that women at large suffer supersedingly a lot more in the today globalized world and it would be better if we selected women to top administrative positions then there would no longer be more suffering attributes.
Persons who do not do away with problems they encountered, is that God has biblically created people and gave them different gifts, talents and survival mode mechanisms. This is the one of the reasons why some people can cope much better with problems and others do not do away with problems uniformly sothat this is what made them vulnerable or ‘niop’ is either comingand stemming from God in the biblically creation theology(see book of Genesis from the old Testament) and it would be better if we know that we have different gifts and these characteristics jumped in and of course factorized in the war-time period experiences, where vulnerable persons with exception of elderly people and children, younger youths, and women featured ‘coping mechanisms’ in the distinct modes probably in a general speaking narrative to draw a clear-cut why other survive best and rests can’t do away with tangible issues incurred and encountered during tribulations, social and natural hardships as well,” said Achol Makol.
Community can try to alleviate and do away with social problems much better than the other people. For example, Achol Makol said, “when she was staying at homestead, they used to contribute basic necessitated properties like food aide and clothings to the needy people and therefore they later survived the war-time period problems as of today. It would be better if we selected few people to oversee vulnerable people or ‘kiocniop’ in the native Dinka language, who experiencing suffering next door and then they can investigate what exactly happenedto those specific persons.”
Problems of this area is a continuous and we also worry everyday and we wonder what can stop problems of cattle raiding and other insecurity in the area so that we no longer worry about starvation strikes,” emphasized Achol Makol.
Unproductive and/or infertiled person can be protected by the family to which they can take her or him to the hospital for medical treatment to receive ‘medicines from highest order’. If the problem is getting higher and higher, especially on the side of marriage institutions, where she was married, or the family of her own, can stand on her side, either to defend her verbally or saying we can return bride-wealth you spent on her whenever she is no longer pregnanting or giving birth to a child. Of course, the first things, people do, in this situation is not to return wealth they provided to the family of unproductive young woman, however they stepped in first to treat her until she can get much better and better to get a baby: through medical ovum transplanting in the potential patient uterus,” stressed Achol Yak Dau. This is good in the developed countries like the United States and British, where they can re-vitalize unfertilized persons to reproduce, but in the less developed and under-developed countries like South Sudan is not possible to ‘stem-celled’ and groomed potential unproductive couples to reproduce, unless they have to generate wealth for abroad medical treatments.
Community, or ‘dhien’ leaders, neighbors and friends can involve in protecting her in a way they relieve the problem of unproductive partner of which in this case or a situation is a woman, who was found unproductive or un-bearing babies. Of course, the community or family of this potential spouse can contribute money if the husband and the family of this woman can’t afford her for medical treatments. In native Dinka language this social-back-up mode is referred to as ‘raan ee raan kou’ for better terminology. If the unproductive young woman found that she is no longer bearing, but to stay as technically‘barren’. Therefore there is no way community including neighbors, friends and other extended and close family people, can be blamed any more in the future, that they did not help in protecting this potential unproductive young woman or versa vice. For bad case scenario, if it were male spouse who encountered this situations of unproductive phenomenon. Both extended and close family can step in and generate money for better medical treatments and be himself through patronage donations. As he is medically treated and nothing improved to reproduce spouse, and hence, his spouse can be given to next persons in family lineage in the concert and gathering of family negotiations and petition decisions either to brother, or paternal cousins consecutively if the brother is deceased. And he can reproduce a woman spouse of unproductive man and children can take a family surnames of one unproductive couples and surnames of the persons producing a spouse of unproductive man relative has no special interests to use his surnames to name children he bore, but stayed arbitrary and silence without further sabotage for future interests in surnames giving with exceptions of bride wealth distribution pertaining to family lineage and blood sharing. They have a duty to contribute ‘fringe allowances’ for her and/or his medical treatment for productive organs betterments or get back to her normality per ‘the customary law of forbear inherited from narrative old Sudan and/or perhaps from British colonial powers,” said Achol Yak Dau.
Well, if the problem against this woman since she is found unproductive and the family of husband is pressuring other family of bride of unproductive woman to get the wealth back. Of course, the court can involve to protect this victimous woman: un-bearing young woman by bringing them to their attentions to settle case in the “Court of laws’ whether to see there is scope of legality entailed in the case to relieve the whole family by either giving them what they asked for: divorce or return back portion of wealth they spent on her. Depending on what they both asked for, for good case scenarios, if the case legally rested on returning portion of wealth to the family of husband so that the husband can use that portion of wealth combined with the wealth he will generate to re-marry for ‘trial and error’ or perhaps decided without compromise to keep the un-bearing woman with him since she is no longer producing, then the court can give a verdict to return back wealth they asked for per customary law,” emphasized Achol Yak Dau.
Government like civil administrations can involve in this situation either to over-ride what the family of husband, are saying to return wealth or divorce the person. This is exactly what they can do to relieve the problems since people were going to fight or stay in dispute forever,” added Achol Yak Dau.This is where governmental entities can step in either to over-ride the potential compromise decisions brought forces to avoid further blood feud in the future. It is very complicate and delicate, but people go with the decision of men spouse if the woman spouse is encountered not producing.
Other people that can be protected by the family, community, courts, government and both local and international agencies as vulnerable people are so many and some best examples of those people are disabled persons: blind, paralyzed, and aging persons so that they can get a full support system from the people they know or related to them. For example, Arok Khor Ayual is currently paralyzed of which Achol Yak Dau knows. He is always given support system he required from them either to take and motor-drive him with wheel-chair to the sporting centre so that he can entertain himself like normal person in the society,” reiterated Achol Yak Dau.
Focus Group Discussion(FGD)# 1:
What people become vulnerables and why?
I had a formal discussion with Ayen Dut, Achut Panyagor, Nyanyok Ayur and the rest of which I incorperated in the discussion writing scripts. In the group meeting idea-sharing dialogue, we addressed questions of vulnerability and/or inability in which many people fall into and in the social phenomenal writing, I took down whatever they said in the discussion and quoted as well so that we can get a clear-cut sensation of what they stated.
In the previous time period of North-South Sudan Civil War and after War timeline, people used to defend and sustain their lives on the bride wealth dowry and other have to cultivate piece of land to grow some various type of crops in order to support themselves. In absent of these, people may go through pinch and escarpment of inability…….It is because people that do not have daughters can be categorized and stigmatically labelled as “vulnerable” and therefore they can be supported since they do not have wealth to nourish and sustain their lives for survival modes,” said Ayen Dut. Thus far, the effect of war and after war today, has displaced many people within the country and pushed them to seek resettlements around the world. Therefore these people needed to learn and get NGOs relief aide to sustain their lives. It is because they have been displaced from their own country or homestead and can be categorized as ‘vulnerables’ since they have lost their properties,” stated Achut Panyagoor.
People that become ‘vulnerable’ or ‘niop’ in native Dinka language, are blind people, and it is because of diseases. They can be helped by their extended and closed relatives people that are related to them,” said Nyanyok Ayur. People who are considered incapable are orphans because there is not any other people who can help them out in anything they wanted,” explained Tabitha Adut Lem. People who become unable are the very old people because they have lost their energy in doing several activities in life time on earth and therefore they are not capable to support themselves: So they need an array of support system from other people so that they could live longevity on this physical world or by either teach them how to prudential and ‘pinch pennies’ to stay in the course of spending thresholds,” stated Abit Thuch Yuot. Blind people become unable to support themselves because they do not have any external incomes and resources to get almost what they needed,” Adau Bul said. Disabled persons experience inability because they do not have limes or legs to walk so that they support themselves alone without the support system from the people they know or the NGOs,” stated Ayieth Yong. Deaf persons are ‘vulnerable’ because they can’t hear and therefore they can’t assist themselves,” Apiiu Ayoom Dau explained. Orphan children are not able to pay school fees and tuitions in absent of parents and therefore they have a tendency of dropping out from schools,” said Betty Nyajok Garang. Crippled persons are unable to work because they are paralyzed and they can’t support themselves to do what they wanted,” stated Khot Gak. People below poverty line with lower incomes are extremely poor because they do not have enough wealth and therefore they need some social safety-net assistances from either governmental entities through social benefits like in developed economies and civilized countries like the United States or the NGOs organizations. These people in the community theyprobably might have extended and close families or folks that are related to them for social needs back-up,” said Achut Panyagoor. Illiterate people do not have enough resourcesbecause they have no skills and knowledge to help themselvesout from hardship and festering they experienced,” stressed Abul Manyang.
Focus Group Discussion(FGD)# 2:
What people fall through this ‘social safety-net,’ where family, community, courts, Gov’t, and NGOs involve to either alleviate or help the persons with vulnerability?
This is a script of people I spoke to during panel discussions. I quoted a script exactly as the person said it and there they go as such:
“The people who are on the safety-net side could be poor persons and such people are helped by the community, especially gracious people by supplying them with basic necessities. Government also may help such poor persons. If they had tried, but did not get sufficient support system, they needed to sustain their lives since they do not have wealthbecause social upbringings entailed,” said Ayen Yuot Thuch.
“Family members could encourage these poor people get out from the ‘social safety-net’ introduced to farm piece of lands, where they can grow crops and be able to ‘pinch pennies’ according to levels and paces of their needs and frugality. While they are waiting for crops to yield and for harvests depending on what they referred to as bad harvest and good harvest, versa vice. Any yet they will have a leeway whether they want to give, or sell portions of their crop harvests for basic necessitated things incurred: clothings and house building materials. Of course, this is one way, in which family members kick in to alleviate poor people, or ‘kooc ngong’ in native Dinka language. It is much similar to phrase popularily known as ‘shalom’ for ‘vulnerables’ like in this situation teaching ‘poor’ persons or persons from lower incomes how to fish for themselves,” argued Adau Kuir Abit.
The beneficiaries could be children since they are not mature enough to work on their own and support themselves to earn living for survival modes. Families, for instance, take care of their children by supplying them with what they needed as a way of bringing them up or lifting them from the ‘social ladder’ whether they can be able to stay on their own without seeking array of support system from close and extended family. Many families almost in globalized world: ‘Developed economies, Developing and Under-developing economies worlds’, send their children to colleges in order for them to learn reasoning aptitudes and /or skills and to be on their own upbeat for livings,in the future” eluded Yar Yuot Atem.
In a family where children’s rights are abused, such people are accused by the community leaders in the ‘Court of laws’ set by the government to community problems. And of course person may be answerable to court for the crime being committed like abusing of children per a report to the court of law,” said Yar Yuot Atem.
Moreover, the community takes a good care of children by constructing schools for their children to learn in. Government of course, can be a valuable asset in this situation. It becomes a key figure in the upbringing of children. It helps in the construction of schools, provides learning materials, employs teaching staff and also protects children from external and internal enemies,” stressed Yar Yuot Atem.
NGOs also assists children through a joint effort with the governmental entities by eradicating children diseases that affect their health, supplying them with food aide, providing children with learning materials, and of course by constructing some schools and so on. All of these attributes contributed to the welfare of children and therefore a sign that children are on the safe side of protection that comes from different groups,” added Yar Yuot Atem.
Family helps orphanage children by providing them with things they needed. Such things like treating them equally, supplying them food aides, goods, drinking water, clothings, education and shelter to live so that they can be able to do a ‘trinsically good’for a family in the future,” said Nyuon Anyang.
Communities helps orphanage children by gathering them together in orphanage centers and provide them with what they needed such as giving them free schools, food aide, health benefit, and fringe allowances to support themselves in school and clothing them through a patronage donations package threshold put in place as well,” eluded Nyuon Anyang.
Court helps orphanage children when they appear in the court house to lay down their claims such as protection of their latent rights, etc., which have been ignored,” said Nyuon Anyang.
Government helps orphanage children in many ways either by giving them free education through both federal and state financial aide subsidies until they commenced from colleges and probably post graduate studies, etc. to keep them stay in the ‘social safety-net’ stipulated. Governmental entities may also provide them with ‘fringe benefits’ such as health insurances and vouches to go to hospitals or clinic for free without charge and also builds orphanage school so that they get a convenient schools and private Universities for them,” stressed Nyuon Anyang.
NGOs are very important to orphanage children. They help orphanage children by supplying them with basic necessities as they do to the given disaster inflicted communities by and at large,” added Nyuon Anyang.
Observations about NGOs food security interventions:
NGOs have done a lot and Anon Chol Duot said that NGOs have built our new nation-state country, South Sudan and us as well. People today have jobs and others are getting networking contacts from working folks. There is water–pump almost everywhere and nobody can perish due to lack of clean runningwater today in Twic East County, in Jonglei State South Sudan and this must be what is happening in other Jonglei States’ eleventh (11) Counties,” said Anon Chol Duot.
Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and Colleges are built and children are schooling in the buildings without worries of rainprecipitations and/ or scotchy orbiting Sun’s glare. NGOs are working tirelessly in helping people from what they had gone through. Life is so difficult and Anon Chol Duot urged NGOs to assist them whenever they heard disastrous crisis in the country,” added Anon Chol Duot.
NGOs have done great and magnificent things in our country and dramatic ‘change’ had happened through NGOsframeworks, projects and strategic plans. Without them, people would not be staying here without the support of NGOs. Food aide and other assistance came through NGOs and all women including Achol Makol praised NGOs agencies with whatever they do to the needy people like women here in the Twic East country,” said Achol Makol. She wonders who still do not know and acknowledge works of NGOs international here in the Twic East residential areas.
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