By Nyariay Kic
Are we really citizens? Do we even know our rights as citizens? If yes, do we exercise these rights then? We understand that our rights are civil, political, and economic.
However, what are they? Are they merely the right to vote in elections, protest when necessary or celebrate when what we opt for gets implemented? Arise, youths of purpose!
Know your rights, embody them, and defend them. By achieving that, perhaps we could also learn about our civil rights such as the right to liberty and security. This is a right that the majority of the youth miss out on. Why live on an ethnic dimension? Has shedding our own blood resolved anything? We should pause and not slaughter our own kin. I am saddened when I look at how taking things on an ethnic schism has revealed how delicate lives are particularly in Nasir today. Deadly clashes shouldn’t be our columnists.
I honestly appreciate the tireless efforts of the few individuals who still hold on and work towards a better future. Not forgetting our God-chosen leaders too, like Gen. Johnson Olony Thubo, who regardless continues to call for brotherly love even on battlefields? If only the young gunmen could respond to Gen. Johnson’s disarmament mission, and surrender their ammunition to seek education, what an invaluable move could that be towards our nation’s greater good! A call for togetherness alarms for a better South Sudan and becoming the change we want to see. Eliminate our name from the 13 countries’ list under Concern Worldwide.
Second, many are dropping out of school in disguise to education, presenting financial barriers to their families, and merciless gunmen they opt to become. Yet they claim to be citizens. Are you really one? Do you then know that “a right to work” is one of your economic obligations as a citizen? Yes, there aren’t jobs; I know how comforting it is to recite the lyrics of this song. Why not create one? We lack resources; I heard that too. Ignorance! See the treasures surrounding you and not the one gold afar. With this effort, only then can you see how community-driven solutions could be addressed using local resources. Have you tried? How many times have you failed? Only once, twice, or thrice. Do something new today.
Achieve a goal. Inspire somebody out there. The right time is now, become perfect in your imperfections. Pursue and cherish that talent. Hear your mind. Believe in your own self and also in the Supreme power. Get up each morning with a new hope. I assure you, it will be worth it one day. There’s a fulfillment that sitting and looking back from where you started from only brings.
Wake up Millennials, generation Z, and Alpha before South Sudan, our beloved nation, gets locked up like a shop whose owner ran bankrupt!