Here is a fraction in the journey of our history in the liberation struggles which many people did not know.
It was my humble and Christian dad, Elder John Dak Lampuar —- who in 1975 selected and laid the foundation of Bilpam with his own hands in order to become the base for the Anya-Nya II and then SPLM/SPLA movements.
When the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972 was abrogated by Khartoum, a number of South(ern) Sudanese officers in Akobo led by Benson Kuany Latjor decided to march out in protest towards Ethiopia in 1975.
After reaching Ethiopia and meeting Ethiopian authorities, they were welcomed and reportedly directed to find a suitable site for their base, around the area of Nyigol and Puldeng villages. They were specifically directed to meet the church leader in that area to host and guide them on the selection of a site. That church leader in 1975 happened to be my father, Elder John Dak Lampuar.
My father welcomed the officers: Benson Kuany Latjor, Michael Waat Latjor, James Tap Liah, and Bol Kur. Then Gordon Koang Chuol and Paulino Matip Nhial joined them at a later stage.
My father told them about two possible sites to choose from as a base: Bilpam and Chotkuach. And my father recommended Bilpam to them because it is a beautiful hilly site, with dense forests and a lot of coconut trees, and a river around it with lots of fish.
My dad took them to see the Bilpam site. When they arrived, Benson Kuany and his team liked the site.
Benson Kuany asked my dad as the host to cut and clear the first grass in the center of Bilpam in a ceremonial manner to bless and officiate the founding of Bilpam. My father did exactly that, and Bilpam was declared established or founded!
Benson Kuany brought about 50 of his men from Itang and cleared the bushes of Bilpam and gradually began to erect houses and their barracks. My dad also gave them a bull, which they slaughtered.
In brief this is how Bilpam was founded in the mid 1970s!
For 9 years, my dad continued to support the Anya-Nya II leaders, with all he could possibly provide.
When the SPLM/SPLA took over Bilpam in 1983, under the leadership of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, and also made it the General Headquarters, my dad and our village chiefs, continued to support the new liberation movement. He was supporting the administrator of Bilpam at the time, Chegai Atem, with all the material, spiritual and moral support he could mobilize, and realized harmonious coexistence between the liberation army and the communities around Bilpam.
An interlude! Some of the Anya-Nya II leaders whose names I have mentioned above, or were among the 50 men during the founding ceremony of Bilpam, are still alive today. Actually I met one of them in Juba in 2020 and he reminded me again about the whole thing. He was so excited!
My dad had a passion for the liberation of South Sudan. Since I was an adolescent I would from time to time hear him in our house chatting with any visiting Anya-Nya II leader, including Benson Kuany Latjor and Gordon Koang Chuol. Because he moved his family to Malakal after the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed in 1972, my dad saw by himself the oppression inflicted on South(ern) Sudanese people, and hence he saw the need for a total liberation in order to gain freedom or independence. This made him wholeheartedly support any liberation movement fighting for the people.
Currently, and unfortunately, our people or leaders talk of Bilpam, and have even established modern army General Headquarters in the capital, Juba, in its memory, but are shying away from acknowledging or talking about how it was originally established and who founded or co-founded it.
Bilpam is a compound word, which literally means ‘rocky hill.’ Bil means Hill and Pam means Rock, or even a mountain. For those who knew Bilpam or Rocky-Hill, it is on hilly ground, with beautiful scenery.
In addition to being the foundational layer of the historical Bilpam we all talk of since 1975, my dad —- like many others — was also generous to the two subsequent movements by contributing some of his own family cattle and grain for feedings in Bilpam, and ensuring harmony through the church he established in 1975 in Nyigol/Puldeng (Bilpam area).
History is important!
Today, while a very elderly person in his mid 80s, he doesn’t mind whether people acknowledge his past contributions or not. He knows that God does it and will do it in many different ways. He is so humble!
“It is my SPLM,” he once said.
May God grant him good health and add many more years to his life.
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2 comments
“A FLASHBACK: Who founded or co-founded Bilpam?”
Mr. James Gatdet Dak Lampuar, you can damn try you Nuers ke Nyantoc piece of shits, try another damn lie and get away away with it you pieces of trashes can get away with it. Does it matters if you Nuer piece of cowards, foreign puppets/stooges and traitors created Bilpam
Here in Bor, Jonglei, people who created Bilpam, we know them, they were not damn father. Anya Anya one, Anya Nya two, we know them from A to B. Our Nuers ke nyantoc don’t how much we sick of them with children-like-human beings, they think, they are on par with the Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Dinkas. And thus, If Jaang say A, then Our Nuers ke nyantoc says A, B, then our Nuers ke nyantoc will also say B. Piece of shits have been allowed to bog down our country and our people for a long times, their child-like game is over.
The low lives and their foreign backers are going to be showned their out of country and over our people once and for all. Reasons, pure HATRED and RACISM. I will start from *Ayod, Mr. William Nyuon Beny country, Akoba has nothing to do with our Nuers piece of Shits, Akobo, belong to ‘our Anyuaks, Jokou, Pachalla, Panyudo, Gambella, Gillo, Dimmo, Jebel Raat one and Raat two (lightening of Koryom division). It was named ‘Raat’, because three ‘Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Dinkas ‘from the division of Koryom’ were stuck in ‘training camp at Jebel Bongo’. The Raat battalion was after three young boys who killed by ‘lightening’.
My father was one of the leaders of Koryom divison, he was from Raat battalion, he was killed in the battle roukon, a killiometres away from downtown, in 1992. The Mundaris from the division of ‘intifada/intifhada’ were well armed by our mighty SPLM/A. And were told to bomb the Mundukurus (Arabs of out their town. The Mundaris cowred and surrendered into Arabs, and the Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Dinkas fights out with ‘mundukurus (Arabs), That is how my father was killed in Roukon. Jokou, Adiit battalion, bomb your Nuer Nyigats (out of Jokou), with a few cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan. Jokou village was *bombed to nothing, to ‘Abac/Nil/nought/nothing/zero’, by Adiit battalion of Koryom (grasshopper/locust) division, honestly speaking, Mr. William Nyuon Beny of Nuers ke Nyantoc, a few men my village here in Bor, Mr. Mayen Akoba, Chol Riak, Akuany Makoi, Garang Akon, Nyok Acuk, Jogaak Dut and some others were ones who rounded up Arabs piece of trashes in Akoba, killed them and threw them into in the ditch to show them, the absolute contempt our people have towards the evils and went to Bilpamin, in 1983. Mr. James Gatdet Dak Lampuar. Mr. Tong (war) in Amuoumeth, tong (war) in Anyidi, Tong (war) in Paluer (just here in my village), Tong (war) Dacuek, tong (war) Pakeer or Auii, the later war; the Murles tried play games, tried in Central Bor, of Pakeer. They killed Koryom boys and they were cut down like grasses.
Anya Nya two, Mr. Pagan Amum, was even caught in tong Anyidi, He was ‘Tong (war) in Anyidi was ‘filmed by our cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan and Bor Jaangs/Muonyjiengs/Jenges/Dinkas of the Sudan and Egypt, go and asked cloned so-called of North Sudan or here in Bor and you be shown, the records of who is who in South Sudan, North Sudan and our Egypt’
The Murles brazently tried take cattle from Anyidi Pi-bor [Water from Bor]>>>>>
Continued, they were hacked and killed like flies to death. Mac (fire) in Muonyjaangs/Jaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Jongkoth language——-Mac, Bol born after the twins, Mac Bol, Pi-Bor, are Bor Muonjiengs/Jaangs/Jiengs/Dinkas countrie
Tong (War) Paluer, here in my home village. The Taposas, Nyangarua; went and be told lies that there are a lot cattle in Bor and they don’t have guns, and when they came to Abii, Nyichak and Paluer, they were WIPED OUT, a few of went back to Kapoeta and Nyanguara.
Our villages were well armed than them and know how to fight wars.
And That is how Mr. Pagan Amum comes in, he was a piece of shits, a terrorist, a thief, traitor and secret society of piece trash.
Mr. Riek Machar, Mr. Lam Akol, Mr. Aduok Nyabe, Ms. Rebecca Nyandeng, her son, Mr. Uyai Deng Ajak, Mr. Majak Agoot, Mr. Thomas Cirillo, have caught with their pants down.
Abesh (so-called ethiopia) piece of nonsense. Their Abiy Ahmed, Tigray piece of trashes, Kenya and North Sudan and their damned US states, their evil juus (so-called israelis) attack dogs, their gulf Arabs states’ terror exporters and financiers, their evil juus so-called israelis) attack dogs. Mr. Pagan Amum was taken to Kenya, by his handlers in 2014, after their 15/12/2013, foiled coup attempt in Juba, South Sudan.
Mr. Pagan Amum and his then so-called former dettainees were taken to Kenya, by their evil and secret societies handlers. Mr. Pagan Amum, is dead. Uhruru Kenyatta piece of drunk and Mr. Raila Odinga, loser, who even brags, that he is the the CIA agent in Africa. who does the loser really thinks, he is? his other secret soceities evils went and used them as their blackmails, bargaining chips and cards over South Sudan and the South Sudanese people, My arse. He went * to Colorado, US to go and asked the US army for weapon, to come and install him and his pieces of trashes into power in South Sudan. Good luck to them, Kenya and their US army
South Sudan the Nile waters, when you piece of trashes going come to South Sudan and then we will be your equals. That is not going to happen, not to day, not yesters and not in futures, look for a place to hide. We are the Ancient Egyptians. Follow us if you really can. Live over the backs of other people and their countries, has never been a good idea>>>