OpEd, Politics

Shame on me, a master’s degree student

This story will shock you!

I was given two weeks’ break from the University and also two weeks’ leave from my work place. I thought about where to go and spend the two weeks. I looked at spending them in Juba. I concluded it wouldn’t materialize since I was very broke. I could not afford staying in Juba for two weeks without work and without lectures. Normally, I get my two meals from my workplace. Struggling with one meal was fair. But that time, the three meals were going to be on me.

After many hours of critical thinking, an idea jumped into my head. I remembered my friend was coming from the village. My friend is a fisherman. He was coming with his dry fish to sell in Bor. I grew up with him. We used to play together those days. We used to eat together those days. We used to date girls together those days. We used to nickname each other those days. I used to call him “Toum” and he used to call me “You see”. We know the meaning of our nicknames.

Being my old-time friend, I knew he would not eat alone without inviting me. He was coming from the village. People still eat together in the village. It is not like in the town or city where people eat together at a funeral. You would be hungry, no one cares. You would be sick, no one cares. But die, everyone will care. But thank God, my friend was coming from the village. I decided to meet him in Bor. At least, I would eat better. At least I would add to my weight. By that time, I weighed 49 kg. I wasn’t happy with that weight.

Without telling him, I borrowed money and boarded for Bor. It only took me about 3 hours to reach Bor town.  I reached safely and was received by another friend of mine who works for the Ministry of Agriculture in Bor. He took me to his home before I called my old-time friend from the village. I had to rest for an hour since I was very tired.

After an hour, I woke up. It was unfortunate that I woke up sick. I knew I was going to be sick because I was sick twice, the same month. I could feel that I wasn’t fine though I was treated very well. My school takes care of my medication. I was treated but I didn’t eat very well. I was also a vegetarian. I could not get a better thing to eat. At that very moment, I hated vegetarianism like hell.

I thought and thought, but finally, I concluded that I must see my friend to take me to the clinic. I went to the riverside where he was. It was a shock for him to see me also appearing at the riverside. That place is known to be for those who haven’t gone to school. Only those who buy and sell fish appear in that place. They recently have a story of those who go from Juba to Bor whenever they bring dry fish from the village. The former Governor of Jonglei state, Hon. Denay Chagor had decreed that dry fish must be sold in Bor to benefit the government of Jonglei state. So, those broke guys who survive on the villagers must leave Juba to Bor to get what they call, “Mula,” in Arabic. People from the village can give Mula freely.

My friend and others who were there were confused whether I went for Mula or for something else. Since they knew me as a very educated guy in our county, they thought I was there for a big mission. Many of them heard it when I went to Addis Ababa for a big conference. They could guess I was in Bor for a big project too. Only the critical thinkers among them could not believe I was there for a mission. They evaluated the way I dressed. I dressed as a beggar. They learned I was very sick. If I was there for a mission, I would first go to the clinic. They concluded that hunger had chased me there.

As a man who studied philosophy in university, I didn’t fail to read their minds. I understood all of them. I decided to unseal the sealed story. I narrated to them everything. I started with fluctuations in South Sudanese pounds in Juba. I had to address to them the global problem of teachers. I didn’t want to take the blame alone. I wanted them to believe it was not my problem alone. I also told them about my studies. I told them that I pay 1100 USD per year for my studies and my salary is less than a hundred dollars per month.

After my strong defence, some started to pity me. They took the blame from me to the government. Some took the blame for my profession. They had to blame me for choosing to be a teacher. My uncle who was also there blamed me so much. I met him when I was joining the university. He tried advising me not to be a teacher but I refused. He warned me that I must take people’s advice since I had a lesson already. They reduced me to Zero which I didn’t condemn them for.

They gave me a moment of reflection. I thought about my education. I have a primary school leaving certificate, a secondary school leaving certificate, a college certificate for primary teaching, a bachelor’s degree with first-class honours and now about to hold a master’s degree, but can still beg a man who does not even know how to write the first letter of the English alphabet! What a big shame! What is the meaning of all these? What is the problem? Is there anything wrong with education?

After concluding the war in my head, I told my friend to rush me to the clinic. He gave me some money and advised me to go alone. I went to the clinic and got helped. For the five days I took in Bor, my friend used to provide me with three meals a day. He could give any money I requested from him. Since I was like any of them which they didn’t believe could happen; one of the men there requested me to count some dry fish. It was a big drama for them. They were shocked seeing me doing that. It wasn’t wrong for someone like me to do but it appeared very new for most of them. It was new because many guys who had gone to school from our village couldn’t be near to someone selling dry fish. They show off their education.  They say dry fish smell very bad.  But they can eat it when put on the table.

Those men judged me based on what they knew about my other educated men. They think education is meant to make you a strange person. They think someone educated cannot do any business done by uneducated men. They think educated men only work in big offices. Because of that perception, my father didn’t want to send me to school. He told me that educated men go to school but they can still come back and do what uneducated men do. They waste many years in school but they come back to beg those who didn’t go to school.

You may be an educated man or woman, boy or girl reading this article, what can you say about all this mess? If I go to school and still come back to beg, what is the meaning of going to school? Why should I still go hungry with many certificates? Do you think we understand the meaning of education? Do we go to school to be employed or to work? I am a teacher by profession, does it mean it is what I should do and depend on for life?

Many of us think we go to school to get automatic employment. The missionaries who brought education to Africa didn’t bring it along with the concept of work. They only taught us to be very educated but had forgotten the question of work. We have our big certificates but we go hungry. How does it help us?  I think we must understand the direction of the new world. The new world does not focus on education anymore. The focus is business and power. They only understand a man or woman with power and money. They will respect you if you are a commander. They will also respect you if you are a serious businessman or woman. People only talk about Bilgate and Putin. They are not talking about any professor.  Many men and women are rich without any academic papers.

My dear reader, I don’t write to discourage you from going to school or sending your children to school. I write to inform you that education without the concept of work is useless. Put work first and then education. Our children are chased from school. We keep them at home without knowing what to do. Let us train them to work. I won’t allow my children to only go to school without working. They must work as they go to school. Many university students beg for tuition fees without doing anything. They think they can only study without working. Be kind to the nation.

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