By Tong Akok Anei Mawien
In the streets of Juba and other towns in South Sudan, a skinny veteran whose part dwells in the graveyard wanders his way, confused about where he will go and where he will make ends meet. His hope for brighter days is totally dead. A widow whose husband died in either South Sudanese war, wandered her way, confused about whose house she would go to beg for her hungry children; her hope for brighter days is totally dead; citizens whose wages equal a sack of charcoal wandered to a market, confused about what to take home, whether a sack of charcoal or a kilo of wheat flour, because this is the only thing his monthly wages can afford; his hope for brighter days is totally dead; and though with all this, the patriotic South Sudanese still in the face of economic downturn, natural disasters (flood), insecurities, unrest, and intercommunal violence, we still find courage to step on. Though our hope as citizens is shaken, we still yawn that, one day, the sun will shine brighter, that one day our engagement with this competing world will be on the right path, reflected by our true values, determinations, and how we handle our affairs, and the inclusiveness of everyone in what we do.
Lastly, it is in us to give hope a nesting place, to give hope a comfort, to protect hope for our future endeavor, the hope that would dwell to facilitate us to see tomorrow in this era of crises, and so, we have to dig a trench where our hope should seek refuge, not to fade away, not to be killed by the enemy of our future. The trench is not by bullets, not by misconduct, not by any unjustified means, but by trustworthiness, empowerment, togetherness, social support, good leadership, and the need for the liberty of our today and the future. The trench is the reality of tracing out the truth in our daily engagement in the matters that have impact in our communities; it is a reality in redirecting our communities on how we view other things, and therefore, with our hope strong and comfortable, we can see better ahead of us, so let’s do a trench to keep our hope alive.
The author can be reached via Tel: 0929300008/0988011119; Email: tongakok7170@gmail.com /tongakok47.@gmail.com