South Sudan at Heart

Children of South Sudan need better education, but not petty businesses By: Abraham Daljang Maker JUBA:  child labour in South Sudan is reaching its highest peak in the capital Juba for instance, you see children of all age doing any businesses for their survival. When you pay a close attention in the morning during rush hour, you see young boys riding commercial motorcycles carrying people who are going to do their businesses. These boys are too young to be doing that kind of business, but no one seems to notice this or maybe people see it but shrug it off as none of their business. One day as I was on hurry to the city centre, I saw a boy riding a motorcycle, he stopped to ask me if I needed a lift; I asked him how old he was and he told me he is sixteen. He refused to answer many questions about why he chose to be a motorcyclist at that tender age instead of going to school. These children are at risk in many ways: Firstly, they are too young to control the motorc...

Could the culture of violence be rooted in the language we speak? By: Abraham Daljang Maker JUBA: there seems to be a link between the hostility most of us have and the language we speak. I am not good in speaking Arabic but I have something little which I can use to order food and strike small conversation with other people. Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself because everyone in South Sudan speaks it to certain level, but I console myself due to the fact it is not an official language although everyone prefers it informally. To cut this story short, I am just wondering why people sound impolite when speaking Arabic. I have observed this for quite a while, and sometimes I fail to distinguish between quarrels and normal conversation. I am not being bias about this particular language, nor am I naïve about it but there is something peculiar about the way people speak it. When I hearing people speaking, it all turn as heated debate even when it is normal conversation, everyone ...

World press freedom day, what does it mean to south Sudanese journalists? By: Abraham Daljang Maker: JUBA: South Sudanese journalists join the rest to the world to celebrate the world press freedom day. But what lesson do we learn from this crucial day as journalists?  There are many ways of defining what freedom means, but in my own view, I can say that freedom is when you choose to do something without intimidation and torture both physically and emotionally. Therefore I would say press freedom is when journalists execute their daily activities without being harassed by authorities. What then does it mean to have press freedom? Does it mean that journalists should write any crap with believe that there is freedom in press? Do we as journalists have to just speak our minds about what we see is best for us without catering for the interest of the public? Do we have to strive for economic gain without seeking the truth? The answer to all these questions is a big No. ...