Give Garang the respect he deserves
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By Isaiah Abraham
October 4, 2011 — Our generation has become these days inquisitive,
opinionated and worst contemptuous if not abusing to anything, even in
this case of late hero Dr. John Garang de Mabior the true son and
father of this nation called South Sudan. Someone somewhere here last
week phooey that our big man Garang shouldn’t be amortized or
celebrated; this is because he ( Garang) wasn’t a separatist, but a
unionist who only beat an about turn at an eleven hour. He charged
that Garang was an obstacle to Southern independence by killing
separatists. The writer concluded that the family of late Garang are
pushing hard their man, when in fact the credit of championship for
separation should have been delivered to someone else, probably SPLM/A
Nasir architects. I assume thereafter he was relieved and self elated
for having hurt someone he thought could never be allowed a foot note
in the history of this country.
Well, I have no problem with opinion or anyone criticizing somebody,
the elephant however is that to fake and attempt to be heard out of
self misguided malignant against particular person or community is
outrageous, and unforgivable. Take it this way on the onset: that
pejorative by that writer has nothing to do with the ideas of this man
called Garang but more of his character being attack. I have never
recall a situation in another country where leaders of Garang type
could go through such an unwarranted flay. Though internet politicians
have time and again to rub our society in a wrong way, especially
matters touching security and ethnic division (and now history), the
innocent people like you and me keep on burying heads in denial that
such people aren’t doing any damage to us. Unfortunately, they doing
what our archrival are doing.
Get me right brethren, no one has any monopoly to go against freedom
of expression, yet the kind of abuses we have belatedly attached to
our expression worry the concerned little people like this author. I
believe with all of my heart that there is always a red herring we
must be pussy foot, unless we hurt and later stumble and be laugh at
by ‘onlookers’. Someone is laughing at us when we hurt one another for
nothing. We must prove to ourselves and the world therefore that we
are capable of being objectives and civilized in our expressions.
Prejudices and the company aside! If we don’t, believe me we will not
be believe but end up playing around with our own history and the
people that brought us pride and dignity. Garang wasn’t god, no one
could claim it that way, and no gods live among men/women. Each of our
leaders has his time, we should be careful to give him the respect he
truly deserves than go indirectly otherwise to raise a profile of a
loser or under achiever whose political path is incorrigible.
Please, this is serious, unless we pretend and claim to nationalist by
‘day’ and devil by ‘night’. There is no incentive for us to allow
scrupulous senior politicians to hide behind their pseudonyms and
expect to get away with it. By the way, in which way should Garang go
to no history because of his ‘new Sudan’ project? How did the
rebellion of Akuot Atem and Samuel Gai become ideological differences?
Strictly speaking, the issue then in Itang wasn’t about separation and
unity differences but pure power struggle among the then leaders.
Again when Garang spoke of fighting separatists did that change his
strategy on the ground to free South Sudan? How about his other
speeches in which he had called for separation, why didn’t we put them
together with his speeches for unity and weigh his intention? How
about the CPA structure? Common! A unionist couldn’t have called for
separate systems in one country and still hope to unite the country;
where on earth did you find such a model leading to unity my friend. I
don’t think that specific writer didn’t know where Garang heart was
but tried to rob us of intelligence by being corrupt and malicious.
Granted, Garang’s new Sudan project took a long time to be understood
by Southerners, but the reality dawn later that he couldn’t have been
more right. We then tried separation twice, yeah, and others around
the other side of the world have also gone that way, but we all know
the consequences of shouting it loudly- it never came through singing
it. Garang new project after all have brought us freedom so safe and
square, why again do we need to waste time piddle on a noble project
done by a noble man?
By calling him father of the nation, we just giving him the
acknowledgement for a good job he has done unto us. It is an
appreciation for that man really did his part smartly. He is our
father! We could be having other ‘fathers’ but even in a race not all
runners win, there must one and only one that should be crown a
winner. It is not about ‘running’ but about finishing. Garang with all
other misgiving like any other human being should be celebrated and it
is not about his family doing it but the entire nation reserve him the
place for a great job he has done for our people. Give him space
please!
Isaiah Abraham writes from Juba; he’s is on [email protected]
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