Book laments war in S. Sudan

TheLast Train is a collection of poems written by Akol Miyen Koul, a Sudanese poet and journalist, who lost his brother and other kinsmen due to the war in South Sudan. Written in a more direct style, The Last Train captures the suffering, tribulations and despair that war and conflict can cause to a people. The poet strongly advocates for unity of purpose, inspires and gives hope.  The collection is dedicated to Nelson Mandela for his sacrifice and devotion to the struggle of his people in South Africa.

What makes The Last Train stand out is the choice and use of words by the poet. The poet uses direct words and stylistic devices, making the reader to easily get the message. The use of the first person narrative draws the reader even closer. We are able to share the pain with the persona, cry with him and hope with him.

He uses this because he lost a brother in the war. Indeed, Akol, after many years in exile, attempted to return home with his wife and daughters, and nearly lost his life during the December, 2013 war. After being stranded in South Sudan, he managed to get out of the country. That was the rude shock to his children who were visiting their motherland for the first time.

Akol powerfully shares the miseries of the people of Sudan. In the poem ‘O Peace Come,’ the poet, while pointing out the “horror, suffering and fear,” wonders if indeed peace will ever come by in that country.

In a powerful way, he summarises by calling upon the Southern Sudanese to unite and save the country from the turmoil. 

In the poem ‘The Last Train,’ which is also the title of the collection, the poet portrays some urgency in solving the prevailing problem. He notes “Oh brother and sister/ Let us check our only train/ because there is no other train/This is the second and the last train”

Rhyme and repetition have effectively been used to create rhythmic effect, in the poem I love the red sea,  you can’t but admire the use of repetition and rhyme to emphasize the need for peace in Khartoum.

The word bleeding in the poem ‘Our Mother Africa’ is repeated a record 12 times to emphasize the level of intolerance in a number of African countries.

Despite most of the poems talking about the situation in south Sudan and some other African countries affected by war and conflict, this collection should be a perfect read for Kenyans. First, it is said that a wise person learns from other peoples mistakes while a fool, from his own. Secondly and probably most importantly, when you destroy your own house, then expect no one to put it in order for you and finally, that we can only succeed as a country if there is unity.