By Malek Arol Dhieu
A 13-year-old South Sudan has reached an adolescent age. If it were a human being, it would be now experiencing the physiological changes of adolescence. Because every country is assumed a female as evidenced by its referral to as “she”, “her” and “herself”, we consider South Sudan as a 13-year-old girl born on 9th July 2011.
When you observe how mature are 13-year-old girls, you would find that their breasts have budded, hips developed, buttocks grown, faces shone, hairlines demarcated, skin softened as fat deposits under it and so many other changes brought forth by puberty.
But the little girl in South Sudan still looks like an 8-year-old girl. No signs of puberty yet, even what traditions believed as the maternal breast has not yet budded? There is a cultural belief that the breast which buds first belongs to the maternal uncle of that girl.
Of course, the reason why South Sudan shows no signs of puberty at the age of 13 is well known. It is because of war. War has psychologically and physically affected South Sudan, leading to her inability to attain normal growth. That is how children of quarrelsome parents grow up.
Foretellers say that South Sudan would not grow up well as she is being nursed by once separated parents. No matter how separated parents vow to love themselves after reunion, particularly politico-parents, they would never love themselves as they loved themselves before. And this would harm their children as care, demands, protection, education and all the stuff of the children would be a game between them.
South Sudan suffered a lack of protection, development, parenting care and feeding, leading to her malnourishment as the parents were warring with one another. How would you expect a child of warring parents to grow healthily? How would you expect a child confined to one locus by insecurity to grow up knowing normals and abnormals? How would you expect a child who hears death more frequently than life to grow normally? It was such a hostile environment any child could not bear at all.
South Sudan would have been considered a grown-up if she had good roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and a high rate of employment. Let us not then conclude that South Sudan would never grow, NO. As the parents have reunited, and have vowed never to take her back to war again, she would be fed adequately with nutritious food to claim her stunted period. As South Sudan is adding another year and is at peace, she is expected to break what has chained her down to grow all these years.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit should, for life, be saluted for reuniting the divided South Sudan by accepting to sign an agreement. As the Revitalised Peace Agreement is being implemented, South Sudanese should hang their hopes on it by throwing away their doubts that it would be dishonoured like other agreements.
As the country commemorates 9th July, Independence Day, I would remiss if I did not salute the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, the founding father of the Republic of South Sudan who fought wars of liberation and pulled the then Southern Sudan closer to independence.
Secondly, I salute President Salva Kiir Mayardit..AKA. Joshua and all the other SPLA veterans, who took Southern Sudan to the bathroom where she came out with a different name, the Republic of South Sudan. Without them during the liberation and independence gaining, South Sudan would not have achieved independence.
Thirdly, I salute all the martyrs whose blood cemented our national foundation and all the militants who fought like lions just to have a country of their own like this. There are a lot of people to salute and appreciate for their tremendous support to liberate South Sudan and make her independent.
The Independence Day celebration somehow dismays people, especially when wounded heroes and heroines leap here and there with their crutches. But this is a bit better, but a minute of silence given to remember martyrs makes one to shed tears unknowingly. However, this is shortly interrupted by a look at the beautiful flag of South Sudan flying in the sky to signify freedom, sovereignty, and independence. As the country is facing an economic crisis, it is the collective responsibility of every South Sudanese to contribute to the recovery of the economy. Happy 13th Independence Anniversary to South Sudan.
Thanks for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.