[By Atem Agot Deng Aman, Jordan]
I intend to write to the South Sudanese youth and politicians on social media. I think we, the informed and educated youths of South Sudan have a vital role to play in educating our people on facts and not propaganda about issues facing our country. In the recent past, I have followed, with keen interest, and almost concluded that most of our social media campaigns are propaganda but not objective information. I can allude to the fact that we are not any better from the politicians we seek to condemn for failing our country. In fact, we are not doing better than them. We do glorify them [politicians] when they are working on dividing us. We go further to facilitate their divisive plans even when they do not favor us. Sometimes, we become controversial and risk losing focus on actual issues.
While the whole SPLM [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement] factions (IG, IO and FDS) are all responsible for the current state of affairs in South Sudan. I feel that we have the obligation to be objective when engaging on the issues. We must read between the lines. We have all witnessed what happened before and after December 15, 2013 to date. We have read what the three factions of the SPLM admitted in Arusha through the Arusha Reunification Agreement of the SPLM party. We have also seen how the likes of Gen. Marial Chanuong recounted events that transpired on December 15, 2013. We are aware of what each of the three factions has been doing for the last 23 months of conflict. Those experiences can inform us and help on how we may engage with objectivity.
If we continue to contour behind these politicians, obliviously, we will continue planting the unfounded hatred which will inflict more agony on all of us in addition to all the losses each one of us has experienced since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan. It is an obvious fact that all of us have not been spared by the conflict no matter what side of the conflict one supports. There are better ways of holding those responsible for the atrocities accountable for their crimes but not through our emotive media propaganda. It serves no purpose if we think the slander and propaganda on social media will execute our individual's feelings of some politicians, who for one reason or another, some don’t like to see or hear about.
Please, give peace a chance. This is the only gift we can give our suffering children, women and the elders to instill and restore the lost hope for them. The longing for peace is more than our unending ingratiation.
Mr. Deng is a media consultant currently based in Jordan.
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