"….I have surely seen the
affliction of My people who are in Egypt (South Sudan), and have given heed to
their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians......Exo
3:7
The current disturbing footages that are being
circulated in the social media from South Sudan show how dire the need for a
lasting peace is in our baby state. Decomposing bodies lying on the streets,
mutilated bodies with internal organs protruding etc leaves one wondering
whether those behind the violence are really human beings.
There was a sigh of relief when cessation of
hostility deal was agreed upon and signed. The citizens of South Sudan saw an
end to their turmoil and hoped to wake up the following morning to clean the
mess in their states and go on with their normal life. But this has not been
the case. Every day we see and hear reports of mass killing and displacement
without mentioning the sorry humanitarian state the people are in.
I’m very sure the question that is ringing in the
minds of the people of South Sudan at this time is “where is God?” As the
church in the AMECEA region continues to encourage our brothers and sisters in
this young state that even at this trying moment God is in control, it is also
time to take a more affirmative action. The church needs to offer them a
shoulder to lean on. We should feel their pain and cry with them.
The church in
Africa more than ever needs to speak in a prophetic voice to the warring
leaders of South Sudan and remind them that human life is sacred and therefore
should be respected. It is time the political leaders in South Sudan be
reminded that the people they are slaughtering like animals are created in the
image and likeness of God and it is only God who is the author of life should
take it away. They should be reminded that they will need the same people who
they are killing to vote for them during the general election.
Although the Catholic Church in AMECEA through
Caritas Africa is offering humanitarian assistance and continue accompanying
the country in prayers, there is a lot more that need to be done. The inhuman
acts that took place inside the Cathedral of Malakal left the entire Church in
South Sudan traumatized and in urgent need of psychological support. So many
people are locked in between the fighting solders and cannot be accessed with
humanitarian assistance. The church needs to intervene for their sake and have
the corridors of peace opened.
The church in Africa needs to join hands with IGAD
and other bodies that are heading the peace talks in Addis Abba and convey
God’s message to the defiant leaders. She needs to visit and listen to the
Church leaders of South Sudan share their experience of the four and half
months of horrible human crisis. The church needs to console the people of the
young nation. As the saying goes “A prophet is not heard at home” may be if the
church outside South Sudan speaks, the two leaders will listen and agree to a
peace deal. People of Sudan needs the company of their Christian brothers and
sisters from Africa to journey with them through the process of forming a
stable government after the fighting and seeing them through the process of
making a new constitution.
