By Amhare Gilo
Posted 3/28/06

Something like political illusion lies in the hearts and minds of Nuer stock. For them they have this notion, attitude not found any other societies on this planet. The Nuers are not responsible and accountable for all the wrong things they do in their lives. Anything wrong of them is the fault of others or the state they live in for not providing or allowing and giving them solutions to easy their suffering. For example Kong writes, in his historical analysis of the causes of wars between Anyuak and Nuers this way:

"The present ethnic rivalry between two cousins (Nuer and Annuak) has its origin in the 19th Century Nuer migration when Eastern Jikany Nuer sub-clan left Nuer homeland to settle in the new frontier, which became their present homeland. In the course of their migration, the Jikany advanced to their present location by displacing other ethnic groups, including the Annuak, thereby occupying their lands. Although events stopped Eastern Jikany migration for some time, the migration never came to an end. It slowly gained momentum as other factors such as civil wars in Sudan made it impossible for South Sudanese to live in peaceful condition in their country the Sudan. At the onset, the Annuak used war as the only option to stop the advancing Nuer. It has to be emphasis here that, the Annuak always had an upper hand in those campaigns because of their early accessibility to firearms, which they acquired from Ethiopian highlanders. In the early to late twentieth Century the Annuak, organized many campaigns to stop the advancing Nuer from taking their lands. One of the memorable campaigns ended in killing the Annuak king by the name, Diiw Majaak, at the present day Jiokow town in the Western tip of Gambella region. These campaigns and many others did not deterred Nuer from advancing and annexing more lands; on the contrary, it encourages Nuer to occupied substantial portion of the Annuak lands. The Annuak also killed some permanent Nuer bodies during those campaigns; among these bodies were those of Nyachay Nuar Thoan, and many others. In deed, they often used Nuer war songs to carry their messages to Nuer audiences, which often highlights their grievances"

Here the victims of the wars of aggression is linguistically vilified, presented as some kind of nothing but a victims who brought upon themselves the suffering, and pains because they resisted subjugation and inhalation by the occupying force. Therefore according to this assertion the guilt should lies on Anyuaks and not the Nuer stocks who were the blood thirsty, aggressors and occupiers of the other people lands and waters. Therefore the Anyuaks were presented here as killers, the wrong doers once again the aggressors’ and predators have been skipped of their responsibility, of their accountability and of their action. The Nuers in this manner of statement do not want to deal with what JACQUES ELLUL called “personal problems such as good and evil or the true and just or meaning of life or the responsibility of freedom which are important in other societies.

For Nuers the savagery, the wanton destruction of other people lives and the forceful robbery of other people properties and the aggrandizement and the seizer of other tribal lands by force is glorified and promoted as good values. All the new breeds of Nuers are encouraged through this mythological illusion to disregard lives, to do the same crime as their ancestors did in the past. These kinds of initiation are expected of them when they begin to reach the age of an adult hood.

All Nuers possesses’ defeatist’s mentality, they harbored nothing good in their minds about their own world, if they saw good things in other societies, they simply become overwhelmed, innocently fell victim and psychologically induced themselves as enviers of wants. And in their views those things they do not find in their own society, must also be done for their society or be given to them at sheer helm of others... And If they can do it; can’t have it someone must do it for them or else they can get through the mouth of the primitive spears anyway.

The Nuers wanted to attain justices, liberty and freedom through execution of other tribes, for them Nuers’ power of barbarism is beyond any state political power, the states they reside in, and therefore states machineries are unacceptable; no consideration for them. Therefore impunity, lawlessness is encouraged and promoted as valves that had to be carried on nourished for the survival of Nuers. 

But at the same token they blame others or the states they live in when all their devil plans have gone wrong for them, were caught in the firestorm or when they are in the quagmire of no exist and trapped inescapably.. Then the Nuers begun to consult their propaganda masters to propagate for them a far fetched cry, painting anything they could get or everything they would stumble on in their way with “Red” color, blamed the common and the whole world for not responding to their crisis. In this way they Nuers are forced by reality to values state and the people they live with as a rescuer; which insures justices, freedom, and liberty for all, as Kong reiterated in his latest paragraph:

"On the political front, Annuak occupied all positions in the region, justifying that they fought side-by-side in the liberation war with the ruling party and that they have earned the rights to rule the State with the Iron fist. They had forgotten the fact that governments are conceived to solve social problems and not made to tortures their own subjects.” Now in the second paragraph the Nuer propagandist’s asserts that government is necessary to resolve problem of problems makers. Whilst in his second argument he state that; “having no other options to survive and the government not listening to the complaints of its citizens, Makuey residents left to settle near the bank of the Baro River. It has to be emphasis here that the river often provided fishes not only to Makuey residents, but also to good numbers of Gaat-Jaak Nuer during the dry season" In this assertion the writer encouraged out lawlessness and praised the actions of impunity taken by his community to annexed Anyualands as something justifiable in the eyes of the law. And below he blames the states for considering them as warlike tribe:

"The false illusion from the government in justifying its position that “Nuer is warlike people” has no precedents as story shows. They are in the current state of lawlessness due to the government policies, which neglects them and their complaints. No society can live peacefully without laws enforcement. At the same token, government’s policies that favor one community in the expense of another community are inherently unjust. Rulers have to be aware that treating their subject equally is a smart ways in promoting peaceful co-existence among different groups" Here the aggressor with out pressures from no body reluctantly admits the wrongness, the behaviors of his kin, and without expressing very much about their conducts he shuts his feelings of remorse and continued blaming the state and Anyuak, and scapegoat the crimes of his people, without shouldering his people about the responsibility, accountability of wrong deeds they had committed against the Anyuak.

I disagreed with this guy because he framed his statement by selecting; targeting the Anuak and that bothers me and other people of good conscience the most. For instant: Kong suggestions were; like we do like the highlanders or any one else in our land, that is wrong Kong. Kong, the reason some of us do not like the highlanders is because they the highlanders and their business community came to our land, I mean you and me now for one purpose, that is to extract the wealth of the local and uselessly pump the native resources till they went dry and out of no use, and ship their ill gotten wealth back to their birth places just as the Indians did in Uganda in the 70s. Of course many highlanders had contributed to our societal development materially and spiritually. But that is not an excuse for the abuse, to let’s down. The British people ruled India for 150s years is it an excuse for them to abuse and violet the natural rights of the Indian people because they were masters? I do not think so. It is said in the bible he is who down will be exalted” We are now the masters of destiny. We should never let anyone tell us what to do, how to be. Things have changed for good and there is no turning back.

Look it certain that politics can solve administrative problems concerning the material development and economic problems of Anyuak and Nuers, but as you have seen it neither Anyuwa nor Nuers is the really master in their ancestral territory. And they do not control their destiny far as the politics of Gmabella is concern. To blame Anyuwa for not caring about Nuers is just like blaming Anyuwa why they don’t have cows like Nuers. It said that we come this to level, accusing each other of wrong doing. The nature of the conflicts between Anyuak and Nuers in my understanding is not something that would be talked bout with revisionist attitude nor is something to lambaste and boast about in the stage of the wider world. It has to remain local without being exploited by those who has touched the American hamburger.

And excuse me; by reading what Kong has wrote, without knowing about Nuer people. I know now as other people did about Nuer people. Kong is entitled to his statement; always let’s not anticipate goodness only from adversaries. Kong’s writing may not represent the whole Nuer; if it is then something must be wrong with whole society; of which I do not believe there is something as such.

Amhare Gilo wrote this review for the Anyuakmedia.com, he can be reached via amhareo@yahoo.com