Loved by God

It is easy enough to accept that the poor deserve our special care and concern. That is quite straight-forward and not so threatening: we share the bounty we have received with those less fortunate. It is, however, an altogether greater leap in faith to accept that we should be happy and continue to praise God in wretched circumstances; but, in Agok, that is what the people do!

 “They are living under trees with no food and little water”

An energetic man intent on helping his people, the local priest, Fr Biong, has found donors to pay for many truckloads of rough hewn timber, bamboo and matting to be brought to Agok. The people will make themselves tukuls – mud and stick walled houses with grass roofs. Fr Biong had arranged this for 6,400 households but just as he was getting ready to distribute the building materials, he found further displaced people had arrived. They are living under trees with no food and little water – more than 400 families, mostly women and children, who have fled from recent fighting. With the aid of the Governor of Abyei, Fr Biong managed to get 200 bags of sorghum for these recent arrivals but I am not sure how they will cook it as they have no pots or pans!

 “Not once did I hear a teacher complain about their” We were in Agok to teach English to more than a hundred teachers. Some walked two hours each way to get to our classes. Attendance was very good. [...]

Ominous Rumblings

It seems almost unbelievable to me that sensible men who know one another and usually seem to respect one another, even with their ideological differences, can be so belligerent towards one another. Surely they have a common goal of peace for their peoples. The northern leadership is now spruiking the ridiculous line that they are going to liberate the south from the SPLM, that is to say, to free the southerners from their own government. I guess there are many in the north who may believe this political line but it is not the reality!

What is more disappointing to me is that there are many in the South who seem to be cheering on and encouraging the provocative actions of their leaders. I was surprised to find in Yambio last Tuesday that all the shops were shut. The police had enforced closure because there was a rally in support of the taking of Heglig by the South. Yes, Heglig was part of the south in the 1950s but an international court did declare it part of the north a few years ago and that verdict seem to be accepted by the south – until very recently when the southern forces attacked and reclaimed it. So, for a change, moral right seems to reside more on the side of the north but strength on the ground lies with the south.

Why has the south done this? Perhaps because the north has been bombing targets in the south and some retaliation is seen as justified. The south is [...]

Time for Eternity

The Holy Thursday liturgy was relatively short by South Sudanese standards – a little under two hours. Then there was the procession to the altar of repose – and the antiphonal singers sang, and the congregation responded, and the choir sang and sang and the people responded and responded! I found myself immersed in their awe and reverence – paused in time before God in eternity.

 It was twenty minutes after the mass ended, before the altar of repose, that the first person made a move to leave. I found myself thinking, ‘These people have time for God and they are teaching me to have time too.’ God lives in eternity and we are called to God. Maybe we need to start practicing for life in eternity! If I am always impatient to get to the end the liturgy, then what kind of practice is that? Maybe we need to be ready for long liturgies – heaven is forever!

 We have no television here. In fact I never even listen to the radio but I believe it is available. There is a phone tower under construction near by. Soon we shall have mobile phone coverage. I know some people who have already bought their sim cards for the new network. I have decided I don’t actually like mobile phones all that much. Too intrusive! Sometimes it is good to be non-contactable and left with time for ourselves and for those who are important to us .

I must confess, however, that I really rely on the internet. With [...]

Sticks, Stones and Mangoes

It may be very hot in South Sudan at present but this is the mango season and the people come energetically alive to eat great quantities of mangoes. Even one sister in our community ‘confessed’ she had eaten 20 mangoes today! It seems every child we see has a mango in his or her mouth – and a stick in hand to throw at some bountiful tree! I found myself thinking what a blessing the mangoes are but maybe it is not a blessing to be a mango tree. Many trees lose branches – overladen with the weight of mangoes! More boys finish in hospital at this time of the year, than any other, falling out of mango trees when branches break under the weight of boys pursuing the succulent fruit. The forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden is sometimes described as an apple. Highly unlikely in the hot climates of the Middle East! I think it would have been a mango. Mangoes, of course, are not actually forbidden fruit but rich and delightful food. The mango is a provident tree offering shade and, in season, nourishment. Yet it is rewarded not by tranquility and peace but by having sticks, stones and green mangoes tossed at it trying to dislodge the ripe mangoes. A mango tree gives generously yet is rewarded with attack and abuse.  Perhaps the mango tree is unaware of the missiles hurled at it to dislodge the desirable mangoes. Trees are non-sentient. In due course, the tree will drop all of [...]

Affirmative Action

‘Which way to go?’ asks the Cheshire Puss in Alice in Wonderland. ‘Any direction is better than no direction’ comes back the reply. South Sudan is not quite like that but one does wonder, at times, exactly where the country is heading. The president, Salva Kiir, is reportedly very definite that he does not want to take the country back to war. That direction towards continuing peace may be a broad one but it is an important one. It is noticeable that some prices in the market, after a period of very high inflation, have begun to fall. Upwards galloping inflation was not a good direction. This is a welcome reversal of direction but the best signs of new directions I actually see in our own enterprises. We now have 76 resident students in our Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau. We have had more than 1500 teachers follow our in-service programmes and this week we began the delivery of pre-service training in both Yambio and Malakal for non-teachers wishing to become teachers. One problem in South Sudan is that teaching has not been a highly regarded occupation. I surmise that when ones own teachers have been untrained or very poorly trained, one does not become inspired to become a teacher oneself. ‘Example’ said Edmund Burke, ‘is the school of humankind and they will learn at no other’. Good teachers may inspire children to become teachers themselves but a poor teacher does not inspire anyone! Teachers, moreover, are also not paid well in South Sudan [...]

Oil is a curse

In St John’s Gospel, chapter 11, we read about the death of Lazarus and the grief of his sisters Mary and Martha. The gospel also tells us that  ‘Jesus wept’ even though he knew he was going to bring Lazarus back to life. When Jesus saw Mary’s grief, ‘he was deeply moved’. In fact, twice within a few lines, this phrase, ‘deeply moved’ occurs.  Last week, this phrase took on new meaning for me. I travelled to the Abyei region in South Sudan, at the request of the parish priest, Father Biong. Fr Biong, is a Dinka, a big man with sparkling eyes, a young priest committed to helping his people. Those same eyes filled briefly with tears as he recalled and described the horrors of witnessing his people fleeing from the ravages of the destruction inflicted on them. Fr Biong was ‘deeply moved’ and indeed, visiting his people I found it deeply moving.  These people, victims of war, displaced about 30 kms from Abyei to Agok, are living in very poor circumstances indeed.  Abyei is oil rich but is a disputed territory in the northern part of South Sudan. Although most of the South has enjoyed relative autonomy and peace since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, Abyei has twice been destroyed, firstly in 2008 and again in 2011 when the destruction was virtually total. The people have been forced to abandon their land which is now patrolled by an Ethiopian United nations force. Fr Biong describes seeing many dead bodies that [...]

The Gift of Hope

The smiles of children and the inquisitive looks are wonderful. They take a wide-eyed view of the world and see everyone and everything as friendly. I enjoy winking at small South Sudanese children. They laugh and smile at my simple facial contortions. It seems winking is not part of the local repertoire of interaction techniques. The children make me laugh when they try hopelessly to wink back. I have come to believe it is unusual in South Sudan to see a woman who is not carrying, or caring for, a child. Grandparents come into play and one often sees a child passed into the arms of another adult – or sometimes to another sibling. Young children help nurse smaller children. There is no doubt that ‘people production’ is the major ‘industry’ of South Sudan. Yet so many children are a great gift of hope. They bring warmth, optimism and create family consolidation. It may be that there is disturbingly high ratio of 187 children out of every 1000 in Western Equatoria who die before the age of five whereas in Italy, it is only 4. The children I see here in South Sudan seem happy and content. Every generation is renewed by children who bring to adults the great gifts of hopefulness and optimism.What is a problem? An opportunity to find a solution! The man within me has several times said to himself here in South Sudan: ‘Now what the hell do I do about this?’ In every crisis, which usually simply results in doing [...]

Significant Impact

Three weeks of the Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS) teacher training in-service programmes have now been completed in Malakal and Yambio and two weeks in each of Leer and Rumbek. SSS staff are training teachers in four out of the ten South Sudan States but are accepting residential students from all States. In one of the four States, Western Equatoria, SSS is also developing an agricultural programme (at Riimenze) which helps provide food for the 40 students in residence, and the 55 day students, in Yambio. In a fifth State, the SSS registered nurse training and mid-wifery programmes have resumed. In the capital, Juba, in Central Equatoria, a sixth State in which we are based, SSS pastoral programmes and our South Sudan central administration are located.  Recently it was pleasing to meet an Australian delegation in Juba, led by Sudanese-born Australian, George Meat Pietch who is soon to be ordained as a married deacon in Australia. He was accompanied by Fr Tony Feeney, a Melbourne parish priest, and Br Michael Lynch, a Salesian, on their mission to set up a well-resourced Catholic school in Bentieu, the birthplace of George. I later met George again in Malakal when he visited his wife’s family. George, who is from the Nuer tribe, was not accompanied on this trip by his Shilluk wife, who remained in Australia to care for their six children. In recent months, we have welcomed several new members to our long-term resident team delivering teacher training: Sisters Carolyn Buhs and Sally Frommelt from the USA [...]

We can make a difference

Enormous resources have been poured into South Sudan since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in January, 2005. What signs of genuine progress are there among the ordinary people as a result of this? Is there any evidence that there is more opportunity emerging for the people generally?  Some things are very noticeable: more school buildings, more vehicles, more variety of goods, even with the current shortages. But severance from the north has come at a cost. One sister wrote recently: ’I like Malakal but I liked the old Malakal more’.. .. . when there was town power most nights, diesel fuel was relatively cheap, fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs were there in the market and gas was available.  There is no doubt, I believe, that new supply routes will be opened up and that readjustment will occur. I asked a class recently, ‘Was the war worth it?’ There were plenty of responses giving reasons why it was, even from those who lost family members during the war. Among this class of young men and women between the ages of 19 and 30, only 12 out of 32 still enjoyed having their fathers alive.  The mothers of 26 of this class were still living but in most of their families some siblings had also died. The war was directly responsible for the death of many people but indirectly for many more who died from starvation, poor health care and harsh living conditions. Yet the major gain has been continuing peace and a pervading sense of [...]

Companions on the Journey

Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS) is a deliberately chosen name. After a recent visit to South Sudan, SSS Board member, Brother Jorge Gallardo, who has been involved in the project from the beginning, wrote: Just after the signing of the CPA, the Bishops Conference of Southern Sudan appealed to the leaders of Religious Institutes in Rome for help. The Union of male Superiors General (USG) and its female counterpart, the UISG, together, responded by taking the courageous decision of creating a new model of mission for religious life. Different Religious Congregations would commit financial aid and/or personnel in order to provide teacher education, health training and support programs to assist the South Sudanese people in their quest for peace, unity and reconciliation. The project was given the name of Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS). There is a clear stress on the preposition “with”, underlying the commitment of its members to accompany the people of South Sudan, empowering and supporting them as they rebuild their lives, their communities, and their societal structures.  When Sr Ninet in Malakal, one of the pioneers of SSS who arrived here in 2008, attended a recent meeting in Malakal, the Minister of Education described SSS as ‘best partner’ because of ‘the continuity and consistency’ SSS brings to its work, offering experienced teachers who stay on with the people rather than doing short tours of duty. SSS brings a further ‘S’, stability, to its work in South Sudan. One South Sudan government official remarked that SSS is the only organisation in all [...]