The Generation Too Deprived to Reason for Their Own Good: The case of the “Seeds of Nation, Terap, Jesh el Hamer of the [South] Sudan.”

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” (Theodore Roosevelt)

Please, chillax and enjoy the ride, and don’t forget to leave your comments at the end of this piece after reading it thoroughly, not only by scanning through it; thanks.

The article’s objective is to wake up my fellow Seeds of the Nation to think critically about the salvation of South Sudan’s innocent children and mothers who are displaced from their homes and are now living in displaced camps inside South Sudan or neighboring countries as refugees.  Just take a minute and reflect on our olden days! If it pains you as it does me, then it is time to think strategically about saving and shaping South Sudan’s image worldwide. Wake up!  Gone are the days when we used to bury our agemates in solidarity.

A doom or failed nation is a nation where the young generation is being deceived and misled; South Sudan is no exception. Therefore, it is up to young leaders and followers to open their eyes and avoid a trap set forth by those few egocentric elites who have copied and pasted a system they had fought against for the last 60 years. It is the right time to find a sea to chase them (those elites) into! Whether they are in J1 or the bush/foreign lands, they all deserve a sea (courtesy of Dr. John G. Mabior – RIP). Wake up! Gone are the days when we were forced by some of those elites to erect their fences and fetch water for them in the hot equatorial sun.

Why is it hard for the “Seeds of Nation, a.k.a Terap” to foster the ability of national unity, which will save the nation rather than dividing itself into kinship or sections? Haven’t we (Terap) realized that today was the very “tomorrow” preached or sung to us, back in the 1980/90s, to become the leaders; by none other than the incumbent elites? Dear Seeds of the Nation, be informed that Kumbaya choiring is over. Wake up! Gone are the days when we used to go to the bush to cut poles and grasses using stone; to build our huts.

Dear Seeds of the Nation, it is time to reflect on our olden days whereby we were promised to be Terap that will spring up and revitalize the nation of new Sudan (which happened to be South Sudan) and resurrect it from the valley of the dry bones or deaths.  And, in case you are still under delusion of being address as ‘young people and not your time to lead,’ then let me inform you that, last time I checked, history told me that the independences of countries across Africa, from colonial powers, were championed by young leaders whose ages averaged in the 30s and 40s. Instead, those of Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Nyerere, Jamal Abdul Nassir, among others, were all young leaders. As a matter of fact, our own, Dr. John G. Mabior, was 39 years old when he took to the bush and led the mighty SPLM/A. So, go figure out your own ages and wake up; for gone are days when we used to be called the leaders of tomorrow.

But, sad enough, the social fabrics and the sense of national unity which we fostered back in the 80/90s had been ripped apart. South Sudan’s war of liberation has graduated to – Kill, and you will be given a rank of general or governorship, Rebel. You are guarantee a share of the pie (position), squander public resources, and be appointed as an undersecretary at the Petroleum ministry.  That is where “economy is booming,” Oppose national building ideas from laywomen and men, and you will be appointed to a position of Presidency spokesperson; hunt down and betray your friends, and you will be a graduate of unknown gunmen’s class!, By all, a nation that was fought for has become a dynasty of few; it is all about me, I and myself; masterminded by pocket and stomach! Rebellion has replaced patriotism; because patriots are withering, and culprits are flourishing. Wake up, Terap!  Gone are the days when jiggers (tuktuk) almost disabled some of our brothers, but some of us laboriously to save their feet and fingers.

Before I bored you to death, let me leave you with this question and Dr. John G. Mabior’s last message to Terap, which can be interpreted as the passing of a torch to the Seeds of the Nation. In the world, who is keeping South Sudan hostage while turning the blind eyes on Innocent civilians’ agony? Is it the elites in Juba who don’t bother to visit and experience the life of their own constituencies at the grassroots (whom they claimed to represent), or the dissatisfied elites who are running around the globe with an imagery narrative of reform; expecting to change the nation while outside a fence (away from the truth on the ground), or the Jesh el Hamer/Terap/Seeds whom their leader (Dr. John Garang Mabior – RIP) passed the torch/candle, but ignored to accept the responsibility to carried it to the future (yet turned to singing Kumbaya to their kin and kith)?

And in case you might be wondering when did Terap’s leader pass the torch to them, here is an anecdote from Dr. John Garang to the Seeds of the Nation during his last visit to the USA in 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Your Movement had always wanted to prepare you to be the future leaders of our nation. This is still the purpose; you are the generation that shall develop the New Sudan (South Sudan, for that matter). Even though the difficulties and events of our struggle have separated many of you from the Movement, and some have scattered all over the world, yet the aim is not lost. I have come to wake you up and remind you that your day has come, tomorrow is already here and so take over leadership of your Movement, take over leadership of the SPLM/A; you have very little time left to prepare yourselves to take over that leadership in whatever fields: in agriculture, carpentry, architecture, medicine, politics, economics, in raising a family…all these require leadership and all contribute to building the New Sudan for which we have fought and sacrificed for over the last twenty-one years. I am confident in your ability to come together in a spirit of unity towards a greater good, bringing the world’s awareness of the desperate people’s plight in South Sudan. I have great faith that you will conduct your business as responsible leaders, rising above factional and political differences. As you speak, Phoenix will hear and learn about the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, the children of Sudan’s war-torn countryside. Millions of your people, including children, have lost their lives. Millions of your people have no voice, except through you. Millions of your people have no future except through you. Each one of you has my respect and admiration for enduring a life that no child should ever face.

If this isn’t passing the responsibility or torch/candle to the next generation by an elder or a mentor, I have no idea about what it is! I don’t know your answer to the question above, but mine is that the Nation’s Seeds are the ones keeping the South Sudan hostage! Please, disagree with me, but convince me with evidence or facts base.  Wake up!  Gone are days when we used to prepare our meal in half drum and serve on sacks (due to lack of utensils).

In conclusion, Dear Seeds of the Nation, my appeal to you is that the nation we were subjected to hardship at a young age is crying for our help. The nation which has claimed our fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers is yearning for our help. The souls of our heroes and heroines that were sacrificed for the liberation of the nation are grieving because we refused to exercise our duties. Let us unite, like how we used to be back in our darkest days, to save our nation from being a second Biafra.  I am very confident we can deliver the needed change if we work together. Because we did it during the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) referendum, and we can do it again for the sake of the innocent orphaned children and all our vulnerable people living in displaced camps. It is time for us to decide our destiny and not allow ourselves to flow with current via deceptions or actions that created the rifts among us along with tribal token or individual’s benefits (remember, “loyalty end where benefits stop”).  Please wake up and let us remember our hardship, during those darkest days of the 80/90s, in solidarity and remembrance of the Terap/Seeds of Nation/Jesh el Hamer, who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Saving the nation will be the most honorable thing we could do to honor our fallen heroes and heroines.

Thank you for driving through this memory lane with me. Let me keyboard off hereby quote from Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that either death or life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in the creation, will be able to separate us from the love of the God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

The author, Reuben G. Panchol, is a member of “the Seeds of Nation (Jesh el Hamer a.k.a Terap)” which had been left to be consumed by Indian-meal Moth/grain moth (tribal politics aka NCP’s apologies who have hijacked the Mighty SPLM) before the planting season. You can reach him via his email: [email protected]hotmail.com.