Tribalism Puts The Unity Of South Sudan At Risk

By: Ogeryath Oger

For a great number of years, South Sudanese have been living together peacefully and united without any tribal problems or discrimination based on tribal origin. It is true as well that through intermarriages; the communities went through honest integration which cemented unity among various communities and families for number of decades. Though South Sudan is a heterogeneous country, there still exist the sense of unity among the people of South Sudan in various states though the previous conflict acted as a catalyst in creating and intensifying tribal tensions and hatred in various communities simply because some South Sudanese blindly used tribes as the best weapon to address their own difficulties and eliminate those whom they didn’t desire. As a result of this wrong approach of using a tribe as a weapon of destruction, the disease has turned into a cancer eating up and affecting our own country and putting the country in the most confusing situation ever.

It is natural to be attached to one’s tribe or community since from a tribe we originated, but it is abnormal to use tribes as the sources of defence and destruction in addressing vital issues like the land disputes or political issues. Historically, the tribal elders worked for the stability and unity among various communities, but the story is completely different nowadays as the tribal elders are powerless or politically attached to certain political parties and this has made tribes to be attached to certain political parties as well. The change in the ways of how the communal conflicts are solved has greatly encouraged the rise of tribalism in the country, which also left countless people tribalists.

The presence of social tensions and lawlessness in the country also contributed to the rise of tribal mindset among South Sudanese as well. Social media in South Sudan is also poisoned and negatively affected by hate and tribalism in that South Sudanese no longer discuss vital issues like peace and unity but division/separation.

Though the realities on the ground in our country are bitter and can’t be denied, it is within our own ability/strength that these problems can be eradicated or solved and create unity among all the tribes in South Sudan through employing the rule of law in the country in order to eliminate land grabbing, land disputes and political disputes which have been the origin of the rise of tribal mindset in our country. With positivity, the tribal elders should be supported and listened to in order to have the tensions settled and trust rebuilt among different communities in the country.

Towards destruction and disintegration we may lead South Sudan if tribalism isn’t eliminated within our social, political and economic systems. For the sake of unity of all the South Sudanese, we must sacrifice ourselves for social cohesion, which in long term may enable us to build a strong nation in the decades to come. The land disputes, communal differences and land grabbing, which are the actual sources of tribalism in South Sudan, should be honestly addressed.

For the coming years we shall always remain united though different tongues we speak, and upon ourselves we shall always rely on for progress and survival. It is therefore true that we can’t exist without one another, only that what is required of us is immense respect and lawful interaction with one another. Tribes make up South Sudan, but tribalism destroys.