By Isaac Chol Aguer
Tomorrow, the flags will rise again. The drums will beat. The anthem will echo through streets, markets, villages, and homes – even in Abyei, where our flag waits to fly unchallenged.
It will remind us of a day when a long and bitter journey gave way to freedom — a freedom paid for in blood, sacrifice, and unshaken courage.
This is a day that belongs to the people, and to the heroes who led them.
We remember the brave men and women who carried the weight of a nation before it was born. Those who left homes and families to carve history from struggle. We remember Dr. John Garang de Mabior, whose dream lit a fire nothing could extinguish. And we honor H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who now leads efforts to heal our wounds and steer this nation through storms no young country should endure.
Yet we cannot ignore the unfinished chapter of Abyei.
A land whose people bled for this flag. In October 2013, Abyei spoke with one voice: 99.9% chose South Sudan in a peaceful referendum. This was no mere wish – it was a sacred covenant. A declaration written not on paper, but in shared blood and shared history.
Though delayed by circumstance, Abyei’s truth remains: Its heart beats with South Sudan.
Not by documents alone, but by loyalty, sacrifice, and the right of self-determination our martyrs died for.
We say this gently but clearly: Nations are not built by waiting. They are built by claiming what their people have declared. Abyei declared its place long ago. We salute recent government initiatives to end violence – but peace is hollow while Abyei’s voice remains unheard.
As Independence Day dawns, let us not be fractured by old pains. Let this be a day of remembrance, gratitude, and reclaiming the bonds that make us one.
A day to forgive – not for power, but for our survival.
We remember the fallen. The peacemakers. The forgotten. We remember Abyei.
To Leer, Nasir, Malakal, Yambio, Torit, Pibor, Juba – and to every village where our soil cries for wholeness.
Tomorrow, when the flags rise, let it be more than ceremony.
Let it be the dawn where Abyei’s silence ends.
Happy Independence Day, South Sudan.
One People. One Nation. One Destiny.