Gatkuoth Lulhok
Mr. President, now I’m 26 and reading through history and listening to verbal stories, you joined the armed struggle for our independence at your very young age and you have willingly forsaken your childhood, left school and sacrificed everything for the liberation of this great country. It was your love for South Sudan and its people took you to bush, and for roughly twenty-one (21) years, you endured the pain of missing your parents, your girlfriend, and your study. You sleep under mosquitoes feasting on your blood. Are you following me up? In fact I’m glad you did that.
Mr. President, are you happy?
I and ninety-nine (99%) other jobless young men and young women, here we are, grown capable to do anything, as far as bush is concerned. You see? Before I forgot, you joined the armed struggle because you had problems with oppression, intimidation, lack of services delivery, of the Arab-Islamic-led government in Khartoum that was playing you as a second class citizen. You took to the bush to boycott oppression, the segregation, the corruption and the immense torture. You joined the bush because the government was throwing young Southerners at your age to jail without charges. You see? That was the Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit we knew.
I am sure that among those factors that forced you to the bush was the very joblessness that is taunting South Sudanese youth including myself today. That was so great of you, right? That was the Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit we knew.
Mr. President, listen here, the same problems that driven you out of school, the problems that pushed you to join the armed struggle against Khartoum are back. The only difference is that you are, this time, the player. The Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit who took up arms against Khartoum for legitimate grievances is the very Salva Kiir Mayardit who is perpetuating what he risked his life against almost 40 years ago.
Your system of governance is a copycat just the wholesale import of what you denied in 1983. Corruption, racism in the form of tribalism, oppression, segregation, intimidation, police brutality, torture, poverty, lack of services delivery, denial of the right to education by not proving necessary means of education, and lack of clean drinking water for the citizens, becomes unbecoming characteristics of your leadership. We are living a second-class citizenship live as it was the case for us when we are in Sudan. Sometimes we are told to wait for hours to give you passage from the street as your sirens comes and pass. You don’t wave at us on the street knowing your security people are keeping us standing long against our will; you lives as if you are hiding from us.
Mr. President, are you happy?
What is it that is so important to you doing that has diverted your attention from the reasons that led you to the bush? Remember we are now grown up boys and girls and we can do anything for this country, to liberate ourselves because it appears you shifted the gears to somewhere else.
Mr. President, would you be happy seeing us going to bush fighting you?
Are you happy that we are these hopeless commoners? Are you happy hearing every time in a day, a Junubi or Junubia dies here or there. Water Tanker trucks killed another Junubi and are you Happy that on roads insecurity is taking shape, they kill here and there? Those are your security operatives-turned armed robbers.
Are you happy that South Sudanese are dying, day in day out?
Think well Mr. President because the country is under the threat of collapse completely. Give a benefit to your legacy otherwise you will go down in history as one of the worst presidents the history has ever known!
Many thanks for understanding, Mr. President.
The author is a concerned South Sudanese and leader of fictional Jobless Youth of South Sudan (formerly Angry Youth of South Sudan). He can be reached via: lulhokgatkuoth@gmail.com.
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