South Sudan: The Two Opposite Sides Of The One And The Same Coin

By Ngor Arol Garang

Toss the coin and see how it would fall, then check all the sides. Obviously, there are two sides to a flipped coin. The coin is South Sudan. It is a land swept by fears of various categories. There are unknown and known fears.

Fears linked to the government stem from perception that there are forces working for regime change and members of the public believing that things will never get improved however long the current crops of leaders in the show are allowed to stay beyond their worth.

The fear of the latter group is anchored on the pervasive incessant insecurity. Roads have been rendered impassable by floods; prices of consumer goods and services have surged and the economy on the verge of collapsing.

Salaries of the civil servants and foreign-service personnel take months to be paid.

Crime rates in urban centres have risen. Vulgar is becoming a way of making a living. People look at each other with suspicion, with each suspecting the other as the reason behind the unfortunate life staring the family in the face. Panicked consumers stockpile food and weapons.

Everything appears uncertain. Lack of clarity and certainty is pervasive. No direction. Everything and everyone are in the state of confusion filled with rancour and irritation. Optimism has given way to despair, cynicism, and pessimism. There is no hope.

On the other side of the one and the same coin, everything appears glamorous. Some huge fortunes are made. Plots are bought and built on in haste. Children of the well to do continue to go to schools in foreign countries. Wedding and engagement parties are conducted at chosen time and possessing insurance cards, allowing them to access medical care and services at own time.

The government’s reaction to the situation is inconsistent and ineffectual. Ordinary commerce grinds to a halt; investors find no safe assets. Political factionalism has grown intensely.

Everything appears to have fallen apart. This was all as true of revolutionary France in 1789 and 1790 as it is of South Sudan today.

Events taking place in other countries preoccupy the attention of the young people wishing extension of similar events which transform political, security and economic structures; and when they do it is because such events expose current structures to be already broken and institutions illegitimate.

The country is going down fast and when it falls it will be difficult to pick the rubbles. Better it is rescued. The early it is saved the better.