Lamentation from S. Sudan diaspora: We want peace not 'self-destruction'
As faction leaders negotiate in Addis Ababa, expat voices are chastising elites for bringing a war that the nation's enemies were never able to do.
As faction leaders negotiate in Addis Ababa, expat voices are chastising elites for bringing a war that the nation's enemies were never able to do.
A version of this post originally appeared on the Enough Said blog. The views expressed are the author's own.聽
On December 15,聽political infighting within South Sudan's ruling party聽mutated into an ugly and violent confrontation on the dusty streets of South Sudan's capital city.
Since then,聽violence and displacement聽has touched almost every part of the already heavily militarized country.
Former rebels came out of retirement and defected from the national army.Riek Machar and his alliance claim to now control at least a third of the country, including its oil producing regions. A country that was broadly at peace with itself returned to war.
Now, the warring factions have sent delegations to Addis Ababa to begin negotiations, but the fighting persists.聽聽Almost聽200,000 people have been displaced聽by spiraling violence that is increasingly moving along ethnic lines. Political leaders on both sides of the conflict are using divisive rhetoric to mobilize their core constituencies, which come from South Sudan's two largest ethnic groups.
Although no mortality surveys have been conducted, conservative estimates suggest that thousands may have died in just three short weeks.聽聽As a result of decades of brutal civil war with Khartoum, many South Sudanese were forced to flee their native land as refugees.
Now, they comprise one of the most broadly dispersed diaspora communities on the planet. Every day these communities are being rocked by news of death and destruction back home.
However, instead of contributing to further polarization, many have taken to the internet to speak out against the violence unfolding back home and call for peace.聽聽Eva Lopa pioneered the My Tribe Is South Sudan movement on twitter, urging South Sudanese to look beyond their tribal identity and to embrace national social cohesion. (The tweets for the hashtag are at: #MyTribeIsSouthSudan)
Chris Kwoji has also been working with her to advance a message of peace. His Facebook page,聽iChoosePeace,聽hosts testimonials from a broad range of voices, all calling for peace.聽聽Another group of fifteen members of the diaspora issued a scathing statement directed to "the leaders in South Sudan who are at this moment bringing self-destruction down on our nation."
Without mincing words, the statement holds South Sudan's political elites responsible for the recent return to violence, as follows:聽