Celebrating the unsung heroes of the South Sudan liberation war

Thousands of years ago, there was a man who was sent by God to go down to Egypt to the ruler of the land at that time with one message; let my people go! He delivered the message but the ruler did not heed his word immediately. Eventually he did and this man led the people of God to the Promised Land. The irony of the man’s life was that he saw the Promised Land but did not live to enjoy the “milk and the honey” that was said to be flowing the Promised Land! Decades ago in a country south of Egypt, a man was sent by his government to go down to the south of the country and help quell a mutiny that was brewing in the land. He obeyed and went but rather than quell the mutiny, he joined those that he was supposed to fight against, and ended up becoming their leader. This was the late John Garang de Mabior of South Sudan. After many years of fighting, eventually there was cessation of war between the two warring parties through the signing of a peace agreement. A few months after the signing of the peace agreement, he died in a plane crash. Just like Moses of the Bible put up a spirited fight against the pharaoh of Egypt in the old times, John Garang did the same in south Sudan. He fought for the liberation of his people from the shackles of slavery and servitude imposed on them by the northern Arab-led government. But he did not leave to see or enjoy the fruits of his labour. And today as the people of South Sudan look forward to the birth of the 54th nation of Africa tomorrow, they owe this to those who laid down their lives for the love of their country. Apart from John Garang, there are thousands and thousands of men and women who gave their lives for their country. They put their lives on the line just for the sake of the freedom of their country. It is these that we want to celebrate during this season of celebration. There are many people today who do not have parents, simply because they decided to die fighting rather than live on their knees. These are the men and the women who sacrificed their education just so they may go to the bush to fight against the enemy who was threatening to suffocate them from existence. These are the men and the women who decided to stay in the land and give the people hope when others decided to run away and go and seek a better life in foreign lands. I remember one such man, Reverend Abel Alier of Nimule in South Sudan, who told me in 2007, “How could I leave my people?’ He decided to stay back in the country when he had the opportunity of running away and becoming a refugee in one of the East African countries or to enjoy the comfort of the western world. These are the people that we want to celebrate today. They may not get the opportunity to be at the podium at Juba tomorrow but they are a part of the struggle for freedom of the South Sudan. They may not have anything to show off like the quislings who compromised with their enemies, but the freedom that has finally come to the South is accredited to them. These are the true heroes of the liberation because they were fighting not because of what they could get from the war but because they believed in the cause of the war. Today they can rest in peace knowing that their struggle was not in vain but a just war. It was a just war because it has been endorsed by the international community that has been willing to stand with them in the struggle. These men and women may not be known or prominent like the late John Garang, but these are the true heroes of the second liberation of the South Sudan. Let us celebrate freedom while remembering the sacrifice they made.