The New Year is here. South Sudanese can look forth towards it for the good things they had all along wished for. Year 2022 had been one of the worst in the lifelong difficult times the Africa’s latest nation had been through.
With every New Year, comes a renewed hope. Let our optimism and aspirations in the New Year not be in vain. As countrymen and women, our expectations for peace and prosperity need to be doubled with unpretentious devotions to the Almighty Father, accompanied by hard work.
In this country, we indeed can no longer afford to live on hopes alone. With the current volatile government system in place, South Sudanese are like children who live like orphans while their parents’ go merrymaking in neglect of their own kids.
The years since 2013 up to 2022 certainly are years to forget; albeit imprinted in our minds due to level of atrocities and neglects that point to the government.
As in the words of Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Juba, Stephen Ameyu, “In my short moment of service for the church, I had witnessed a lot of stressful situations, a lot of killings, a lot of destruction, and I have visited places, and whenever I ask people where the problem is, they always say, the problem is in Juba,” the bishop said.
“Why can’t we really change this situation of destruction and killings?” He asked in His Christmas message to the faithful.
And the situation will definitely not change if the leadership and the people of South Sudan do not change their hearts and attitudes.
“Unless we change our hearts, we will never change the situation in South Sudan. I am confident that God is with those who are suffering, and God one day will bring us peace even without any intervention from anybody,” the outspoken cleric concluded that day.
And from us here, we do believe so too. Otherwise, to all those right-thinking South Sudanese who love their country, and are working hard to help change things for the better for every South Sudanese; regardless of tribe, ethnicity, state, and region – WE WISH A PEACEFUL, HAPPY, AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2023.