Makol Bona Malwal

SudaneseOnline: سودانيزاونلاين

01 February 2012

South Sudan was conceived on the myth that we are one people with one
common destiny. We are now discovering that regional and tribal differences
are not dissolving and that South Sudanese think and act very differently from
one another.
The simple fact is that people who are raised thinking of their tribe/
nationality as Pojulu, Dinka, Shuluk, Zande, Bari, Murle, Nuer, or what have
you will probably always think of themselves in that way. It may take several
generations for the concept of being Pojulu, Dinka, Shuluk, Zande, Bari,
Murle, Nuer, or what have you to become the equivalent of being a New
Yorker or Californian to an American, and those generations will be longer
than generations were in the USA in the 1800s.
It is very important that we highlight the possible challenges and the
inconsolable pains to face South Sudan beyond the passionate emotions for
independence and try to stimulate the start of thinking rationally for all our
future’s sakes. Our new country will face many challenges, despite simplistic
categorizations of our war of independence as being between Africans and
Arabs/ Christians versus Muslims. South Sudanese are not a unified group;
this is a profoundly & proudly multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious
lot/ land.
Any sense of a common national identity that does exist was forged in the
struggle against the Mundukuro (north Sudan), something that we are all
acutely aware of.
The point is that South Sudanese must ask themselves if a 'South Sudanese
Nation' is, in fact, truly what they want. A true nation of South Sudanese will
require the majority of its citizens to share common values, common ideals,
common mores, and most likely a common language. If these do not exist
2
naturally, they must be cultivated and that leads to some very difficult
ground for debate and discussion (and the potential for many, many
problems). As part of this, South Sudanese must ask themselves why they
want a South Sudanese Nation. Is it to compete economically with the
Mundukuru (north Sudan), East Africa, and other large population economies
(a really bad reason to build a nation)? To prevent any possibility of another
grand South Sudanese civil war (South Sudan imploding)? Or why?
This lack of unity is South Sudan’s most profound crisis, one that underlies
the country’s economic and political woes. Most South Sudanese have little
idea what the country stands for, what binds its people together, where it has
come from in the past, and where it is going to in the future. After decades of
war and a hefty (and still growing) death toll, we have succeeded in attaining
independence without gaining a nation.
Yes, but what is a South Sudanese?
Values matter because they are the glue that binds countries and peoples
together. They help define what a society stands for and against. There is no
consensus within South Sudan or among South Sudanese, not even the
beginning of a consensus, about what South Sudanese values are.
Diversity does not equal tolerance and the existence of differences does not
mean acceptance of them. A fact that has come glaringly to the fore as South
Sudan has slipped deeper into crisis and relationships have strained among its
people and tribes.
The relationship between peasant communities and pastoralists with shared
livelihoods need to be effectively managed or else violence is the natural
outcome of mismanagement.
One can of course have multiple identities. Some Europeans are Catalan and
Spanish, as well as European. But identities cannot be artificially created; they
are forged early on and never go away. We must construct common
institutions, laws and create all the symbols of a nation-state. Prosperity for a
war-torn country, freedom from tyranny and peace among our people & tribes
3
after decades if not centuries of bloodletting should be some of the ideals we
should aspire too.
This is not to say that a united South Sudanese Nation will never happen, but
it must be understood that it will be a long, slow process and will likely be
longer and slower than the process was in the US for example, due to a longer
legacy of conflict between our tribes & people and of all things longer lifespans
of those generations today that think of themselves as coming from
specific tribes rather than being South Sudanese.
Over the long term though, people need the solace and sense of community
and shared culture, history and custom that nationhood provides.


Makol can be reached at: mbmalwal@yahoo.com