During pupilage, we were taught that history is genuinely recorded past and present events availed for current and future generations to study. Traditionally, the information is transmitted through highly valued folkloric songs. This songs, in South Sudan’s Otuho tradition, for example, are sang during funeral rites and other remarkable cultural and social events. The songs function like history books taught in schools; except history books are often subjectively edited. Observing South Sudan’s political operation since 2005, the conducts of the current regime indicates that the authentic history of the country is being edited. The motto, perhaps, is to erase the participation of Equatorians in the history of the liberation of South Sudan.
August 18th, 1955, the first armed rebellion against the subjection of the Afro-Sudanese by Khartoum regimes broke in Torit, a town in far Southern Sudan. The armed revolution was initially orchestrated by the Equatoria Corpse, who were enraged by the maltreatment of Southern Sudanese by the Islamic governments of Khartoum. The people of Torit, mainly the Otuho, welcomed the revolution and conducted door to door killing of the Arabs. As narrated in an Otuho folkloric song: "black men saw the blood of white people (Arabs) and heard them cry for their lives. They bled and cried like babies”. The rage and the death toll was unprecedented. In anticipation of a retaliatory reenforcement from Khartoum, members of the Equatoria Corpse fled to the outskirts of Torit. Shortly, they announce the inception of what would be called The Anya-nya Movement. However, a counter deadly day awaited the untrained civilians of Torit.
When the retaliatory force arrived ‘uninterrupted' from Juba, the Catholic Church interceded for the civilian population; nonetheless, the then new manly ruling generation, locally referred to as Monyie Miji, saw a mid-day sunset. Naked truth be told, those young men did not participate in the August 18th Killing of the Arabs; they were wrongly finger-pointed by a Southern informer. Over three hundred Monyie Miji were massacred and thrown to rot in Himo Donge caves, which is now a police academy. Now, if history is not being edited, the ministry of education would conduct researches in identifying the young men; not only that, their story would be taught in schools and their death site made a national historical monument. But the opposite is actually true, which credits the claim that, Participation of Equatorians is being erased from the History of South Sudan.
Ever since the independence of South Sudan, the people of Eastern Equatoria State continue to suffer from poor security in the area. There has been rampant unattended conflicts between villages, worsened infrastructure, no efforts to availing basic services, and the list goes on and on. Most condescending is the stoppage of already available service like water supply. Let us hope things don’t get out of hand. Whatever the case, reports about the status-quo have been flooding the office of the president and his vice. Most recently, the Vice president, James Wani Igga, hosted five sons of the area concerning the state of affairs in EES, but the briefing did not raise a single eyebrow. Apparently, Salva Kiir and James Wani Igga care less, that is probably why the governor was never summoned for the never ending unrest in the state; nor is he summoned about the already approved division of Torit county into three counties to ease insecurity. I honestly do not know how else to perceive all these, but another ugly history is in the making.
The fact that August 18th is not commemorated clearly affirms that the history of Equatorians spearheading the first revolution for an independent South Sudan is being erased. This is also true to the contribution of Equatorians in SPLA/M. For instance, many in the SPLM caucuses don’t know that SPLM (the party) was an Equatorian idea, by Joseph Oduho, who also wrote the SPM manifesto. Mr. Oduho also co-authored a book titled: The Problems of The Southern Sudan, with William Deng Nhal. The book together with analysis of the Addis Ababa agreement of 1972, guided the would be Vision of The New Sudan also known as The Vision of John Garang. The Addis Ababa agreement; on the other hand, was failed by Dr. Abel Alier and Gen. Joseph Lagu. Dr. Alier, a Southerner, represented the Khartoum government while Gen. Joseph Lagu represented the Anya nya. A South versus North peace deal negotiated by Southerners alone. Perhaps that is why the agreement was quickly dishonoured by President Jaafar Mohamed Nimeri.
Understanding that our place in history is always a matter of choice, no party or government should systematically torture people for always being upright. I am probably not the only one thinking that Equatorians, specially the people of EES, are intentionally subjected to insecurity because of their honourable placement in the true history of South Sudan. The national government together with the state government should attend to their duties and install functional security systems to protect the citizenry. Subsequently, the soaring cases of cattle rustling will dramatically drop and entrepreneurial creations will escalate instead.
In conclusion, I just wanted to draw interest in appreciation of authentic history. Whether it presents us as legitimate revolutionaries or betrayers, it should be appreciated and saved for generations. After all, people don’t position themselves in historical events, but circumstances do. Instead of trying to bury true history, we should study why or what caused us to play the roles we did while showing due respect to those who woke us up.
August 18th, 1955, the first armed rebellion against the subjection of the Afro-Sudanese by Khartoum regimes broke in Torit, a town in far Southern Sudan. The armed revolution was initially orchestrated by the Equatoria Corpse, who were enraged by the maltreatment of Southern Sudanese by the Islamic governments of Khartoum. The people of Torit, mainly the Otuho, welcomed the revolution and conducted door to door killing of the Arabs. As narrated in an Otuho folkloric song: "black men saw the blood of white people (Arabs) and heard them cry for their lives. They bled and cried like babies”. The rage and the death toll was unprecedented. In anticipation of a retaliatory reenforcement from Khartoum, members of the Equatoria Corpse fled to the outskirts of Torit. Shortly, they announce the inception of what would be called The Anya-nya Movement. However, a counter deadly day awaited the untrained civilians of Torit.
When the retaliatory force arrived ‘uninterrupted' from Juba, the Catholic Church interceded for the civilian population; nonetheless, the then new manly ruling generation, locally referred to as Monyie Miji, saw a mid-day sunset. Naked truth be told, those young men did not participate in the August 18th Killing of the Arabs; they were wrongly finger-pointed by a Southern informer. Over three hundred Monyie Miji were massacred and thrown to rot in Himo Donge caves, which is now a police academy. Now, if history is not being edited, the ministry of education would conduct researches in identifying the young men; not only that, their story would be taught in schools and their death site made a national historical monument. But the opposite is actually true, which credits the claim that, Participation of Equatorians is being erased from the History of South Sudan.
Ever since the independence of South Sudan, the people of Eastern Equatoria State continue to suffer from poor security in the area. There has been rampant unattended conflicts between villages, worsened infrastructure, no efforts to availing basic services, and the list goes on and on. Most condescending is the stoppage of already available service like water supply. Let us hope things don’t get out of hand. Whatever the case, reports about the status-quo have been flooding the office of the president and his vice. Most recently, the Vice president, James Wani Igga, hosted five sons of the area concerning the state of affairs in EES, but the briefing did not raise a single eyebrow. Apparently, Salva Kiir and James Wani Igga care less, that is probably why the governor was never summoned for the never ending unrest in the state; nor is he summoned about the already approved division of Torit county into three counties to ease insecurity. I honestly do not know how else to perceive all these, but another ugly history is in the making.
The fact that August 18th is not commemorated clearly affirms that the history of Equatorians spearheading the first revolution for an independent South Sudan is being erased. This is also true to the contribution of Equatorians in SPLA/M. For instance, many in the SPLM caucuses don’t know that SPLM (the party) was an Equatorian idea, by Joseph Oduho, who also wrote the SPM manifesto. Mr. Oduho also co-authored a book titled: The Problems of The Southern Sudan, with William Deng Nhal. The book together with analysis of the Addis Ababa agreement of 1972, guided the would be Vision of The New Sudan also known as The Vision of John Garang. The Addis Ababa agreement; on the other hand, was failed by Dr. Abel Alier and Gen. Joseph Lagu. Dr. Alier, a Southerner, represented the Khartoum government while Gen. Joseph Lagu represented the Anya nya. A South versus North peace deal negotiated by Southerners alone. Perhaps that is why the agreement was quickly dishonoured by President Jaafar Mohamed Nimeri.
Understanding that our place in history is always a matter of choice, no party or government should systematically torture people for always being upright. I am probably not the only one thinking that Equatorians, specially the people of EES, are intentionally subjected to insecurity because of their honourable placement in the true history of South Sudan. The national government together with the state government should attend to their duties and install functional security systems to protect the citizenry. Subsequently, the soaring cases of cattle rustling will dramatically drop and entrepreneurial creations will escalate instead.
In conclusion, I just wanted to draw interest in appreciation of authentic history. Whether it presents us as legitimate revolutionaries or betrayers, it should be appreciated and saved for generations. After all, people don’t position themselves in historical events, but circumstances do. Instead of trying to bury true history, we should study why or what caused us to play the roles we did while showing due respect to those who woke us up.
