South Sudan at Heart

I DIDN’T SEE YOU, BUT THEY SAY; YOU WERE A GREAT MAN. #WorldPoetryDay A tale of an orphan, the only child that lives! It’s haunts me, day and night yet I have no slightest hint of how you look. You left when I was barely five, you never say goodbye. Of course, how would you, to a 4-year-old child? How would, you when you were struggling with your last breath? Come, try to come today if it were possible and I won’t recognize you that you’re my father because, when you left this world, my eyes weren’t opened, my ears were closed, and my brain was too young to comprehend. The say that you were a great man. My mother (your wife) says it, my grandmother (your mother) says it, my aunts (your sisters) say it. the public who knew you say it. The say, you were a great man. I am trying, to keep the boat moving, the boat that you left floating on the waters. I know that you didn’t want to leave the boat, but death won’t allow you to do so. I am rowing it day and night to make s...

I AM ONE OF THE VICTIMS, AND YOU’RE NOT FREE EITHER. BUT TOGETHER, WE CAN ALL WIN IF WE HAVE ONE HEART AND ONE LOVE. By: Abraham Daljang Maker It’s already one month since the new year began, but I haven’t decided which one among my New year resolutions I should start with. I don’t even know how many decisions I have set for this year. I have been in a serious dilemma on how to answer anyone wishing me a happy new year, not so sure how pleasant it can be when the days are running faster than Austin Bolt. I am just wondering if 365 days in a year are real, I think some officials in the office of CALENDAR are corrupt, perhaps they cut off some hours in a day and bank them in their private accounts in the Swiss banks. Before one realizes it, the year ends, and it feels like just 365 hours instead of days. I am still having the arrears for 2019 resolutions, and now, I am caught up with the blank answer sheet. Those who have attended formal education will understand what it mean...

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY/THINK ABOUT ME? By: Abraham Daljang Maker Don’t let other people’s opinions and their judgment diminish your inner voice and kill your dreams. We have been the victims of these seven words. We have said YES to the requests that we should have said NO. we have said No to the requests that we should have said YES. We have walked to the directions that we should have avoided at all cost and we have left the path that we should have walked on to lead us to our desired destinations. All these happen because we must seek social approval, we just want to fit in so that we experience the sense of belonging. When I say “we”, I mean YOU and I and everyone else. We’re all in this game of “what will they say or think about me if I do this or that?” we choose our partners based on the social approval, we take up that job that we don’t like just to be accepted as part of the big family/society. Some of us choose our careers because of societal expectations. We succumb to u...

KNOW YOUR STATUS AND LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE. By: Abraham Daljang Maker It is like sitting in a death row, as if one is put in a firing squad with hands tie at the back-waiting for a bullet to hit you in any minute. It feels as if the world will come down crushing on you in the next 20-60 minutes when the results are out. Small beads of sweats form on your nose, the palms of your hands begin to sweat. Your heart beat increases abnormally, threatening to blow up your ribs cage in any minute. And your head starts heating up like a cooking oven; Your ears feel hot as if volcanic lava will ooze out of your ears anytime. The fear is not because of the bad life style one has been leading but it is the fear of unknown. WHAT IF? WHAT IF? and WHAT IF? Is the question that nags you as you wait for the results from the laboratory. The results that will you change your life in a positive way or negative way. One is not so certain about how to react when the test results are not in your favor. HI...

RUMBEK, WAS ONCE A MAGNIFICENT PLACE! NOW A HAVEN FOR REVENGE KILLINGS. By: Abraham Daljang Maker RUMBEK, WAS ONCE A MAGNIFICENT PLACE! NOW A HAVEN FOR REVENGE KILLINGS. By: Abraham Daljang Maker The bullet hit right into his skull; he collapsed onto the ground. He glared fixedly at his assailant; if he were alive, his first question would be, "you have wounded me; what have I done to you, my dear bother?" but his lifeless body lay stretched on the ground, eyes fixed towards the goon as if he would plead not to be reshot, Alas! He is gone; he died for the wrong he didn't do.  The attacker turned his back, swung Kalashnikov's Automatic Rifle over his shoulder, and walked away in broad daylight. And nothing happened, no arrest, no one even pursued him, but all you would hear were children and women wailing on top of their voices, asking God what they had done to deserve that. A few hours later, it's reported that Mr X was shot and killed by an unknown gunman. ...

Arrogance and war minded are the birthmarks of South Sudanese Published 5/25/2016. By: Abraham Daljang Maker Jr You won’t realise how your house is messed up until you step aside! If you are a south Sudanese who has one day stepped out of the country, you must have heard some of these words.   After a few minutes of turbulence in the air which would rearrange your intestines and make your bowel almost throw in the towel in despair, the plane finally touched the ground at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Behind the immigration desk in the arrival lounge, there was this face which I first mistook to be of a beautiful woman. But, gosh! It is a man, a beautiful man; describing him as a handsome man would be an underrated remark. With a cheerful smile, he stamped my passport and waved me off. At the exit door, this woman was holding a large placard in her hand with the inscription of my name in large letters; how on earth did she get my full name written correctly? A...

  Could this be the final nail on the coffin of South Sudan’s economy? Are some of the events in 2015 to be blamed?? By: Abraham Daljang Maker 2015 is just a few clock ticks away from us, and 2016 is in its final installation. Telecom companies are no longer friends on the pretext of currency devaluation; phone calls on customers are unbearable. Thus, talking on the phone becomes optional. Food is scarce in the market and expensive. South Sudanese pound puts on tatters begging American dollar for 18.5 only. Clans’ clashes in former states of Warrap and Lakes plus cattle raiding were on the front pages of newspapers in Juba and top stories in most local radio stations. Several presidential Decrees, aka. “Degrees” by ordinary members of the society were also dominant on South Sudan’s Television. Beneficiaries were so jubilant with “degrees” while the victims of the “degrees” walked home with scornful faces. There were a lot of rebellions and road attacks that occurred in the...