Dear Compatriots,
Today is the birth of Christ, a day that has special meaning for Christians all over the world. This is a period of reflection on the goodness of Christ.
However, during this festive season, I would like to extend our warmest greetings and rejuvenated hugs of brotherhood and sisterhood to the South Sudanese people, both locally in the country and in the diaspora, on behalf of the South Sudan United Front-Progressive. Christmas Day is a day not set aside only to celebrate the birth of Christ; it is a season meant to renew our faith in Christ and to reflect on our beginnings and where we are heading.
This statement serves to spread the message of kindness, mercy, and forgiveness. This means our creator has been so kind, merciful, and forgiving that we arrived at this time of the year safe and with energy to kick-start the new year as life continues.
As citizens of a country broken by war, we need to reflect and consider the fact that our country is the greatest of the treasures in our possession. We need to think and reflect that reclaiming and preserving it is the best option at our disposal. We need to rescue our country from the raging fire that we ignited ourselves.
South Sudanese have suffered from all the afflictions that emanate from war. We have known what war carries, and it is we that can tell the rest of the world that war is evil. Wise men have regarded war as the mother of all poverties and injustices. Therefore, it is the ultimate rejection of God’s creation. We cannot justify war, but we counter destructive war with peace. Therefore, we ought to desist from war now and embrace peace.
This is easy to do, and we can do by embracing our diversity as a bond that can keep us stronger together. We blame all the mayhem that has befallen South Sudan on politicians. The destruction, the hatred and division are stemming from dirty politics. I can acknowledge that, but who consented to this state of the affairs?
It is the common citizens that accepted these vices. Had we not accepted to be divided, our country would stand as a nation grounded on pillars of nationhood and economic growth that would have led to the realisation of education for all, employment for all, healthy society, stable industries, good livelihood and a safer transportation system. We know politicians do not have the power to cause disharmony where it is not needed.
While we must accept what we brought against ourselves, we must also remain optimistic that our dream of a prosperous nation is within reach. We can still get there by figuring out who we are again, accepting our mistakes, and fixing them as we move toward peace. Even so, peace, democracy, and ways of running a country, like federalism, cannot be forced on people through the military.
As we all know, we did not just live to this day because of our sheer arrogance or power. God is kind, merciful, and forgiving. He gave us a second chance by putting us back on our feet. Our words and actions should show that we are grateful for his forgiveness. We must reduce the level of our hatred for each other.
To the Opposition groups in the diaspora, our call for a revolution and the strategies we employ to effect it have become futile. We are more tribal than the people we consider as our subjects. Let us rethink, or we shall only exude unproductive political wisdom through the media.
Our messages do not reach the grassroots. We yap on Facebook and other social media platforms when most of our constituents are illiterate and with no Facebook accounts, or if they do, they cannot afford to buy the expensive internet. This gives not only the regime in Juba a sense of accomplishment, it also breaks the country. We preach good governance, but most oppositions have very little capacity to manage themselves, as reflected in the many breakaway factions and also in the many ineffective alliances formed.
To the regime in Juba especially the geeks and wiseacres that form the advisory panel, the destructive politics you have been advancing, as well as the audacity to prolong war as a means of self-enrichment while plundering natural resources, is not rewarding even to you, because the level of destruction you have caused will haunt you for the rest of your life. Stop the war in Malakal, Bentiu, and all the areas of the Upper Nile where it is now raging. Cease all sorts of conflicts, including intercommunal ones. The one between Dinka Bor and youth from Juba, Mongalla, Nimule, and Magwi, as well as the conflict between Abyei and Twic, Shilluk and Dinka must stop as a matter of urgency. We do not need relative peace; we need absolute peace.
To the educated citizens of South Sudan or those who have had the opportunity to be in diaspora, having observed over years, I can say confidently that we are among the best insulters on the social media platforms. We mock, denigrate and despise each other while advocating for tribal dissonance.
This is one peculiar way of destroying our country. Having been accorded the opportunity to have what most of us call a “second home” is not an opportunity to destroy our original motherland. Contributing bullets, insults, and hatred as projected through heated clubhouse arguments is not healthy for our country. Our contribution should be augmentative to our country’s growth.
No matter how much we love our tribe, we must not use that as a tool for destroying the other tribe because war damages all the parties involved in it, and in the end, it does not record who was right at the beginning. We must adopt new ways as we usher in the new year, 2023. We need to be kind to each other. Being kind to a brother or sister is inexpensive, however, in its truest sense, it is extremely invaluable. As people of a nation that claim greatness and strength, let us not use our resources and power in destructive ways. We must reflect and spread the message of peace now.
While I am thanking you, please accept, dear fellow citizens, my best wishes for the new year.
Yours truly,
Dr. Emmanuel Sunday de John
Chairman South Sudan United Front-Progressive