'Mudding' a hut

I received my appointment for Sudan in April, 2007. From talking to few of those who had some knowledge of Sudan, I knew that it was going to be a challenging mission. In actual fact, no amount of stories could ever prepare anyone for the tough challenge when you meet it face to face on the ground—simply overwhelming and beyond expectation. I had accepted my appointment from the General Superior and his council graciously bearing in mind the weighty words of the Perpetual Oath I had pronounced a few months before promising to follow Christ ardently as a missionary. The scripture quotation I subsequently chose for my ordination (Jn. 21:18) had the same idea behind it.

Damien Fuh

Having been here now for two years, I have come face to face with the hard facts and harsh reality on the ground. Working with a people who have suffered decades of war, who have been subdued, subjugated and discriminated against; a people whose spirits and dreams have been dashed repeatedly in the past. Finding encouragement to keep up the beacon of hope for a better future is no easy task.  Yet continuous despair is not an option. The future has to be faced squarely and all possibilities have to be harnessed to get some good results however difficult it looks.

Pupils at a school

The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 to end over two decades of war, gave a lot of hope and enthusiasm to Southern Sudanese; and also the dream of the opportunity for self-determination in 2011 (referendum). Since then, millions of Sudanese scattered abroad have returned to the ruins of their homes hoping to pick up the pieces and restart a new life. The government of the South and many NGOs are trying hard to bring some meaningful development in the fields of education, health, social and public infrastructure. However, many in South Sudan are only very cautiously optimistic about future prospects now because the political situation in Sudan is still quite uncertain.  The implementation of the CPA and the various steps to pave the way for the 2011 referendum have been fraught with many obstacles and delays arousing serious doubts and uncertainties.

In a very hard-hitting pastoral letter issued in Yambio, in January 2009, the Bishops of Sudan note with concern and anguish the present situation of the country. The problems in Southern Sudan can be examined in a two-fold approach i.e.  from outside, by mainly focusing on the sour relationship with the Khartoum government; and from within, consisting of internal squabbles within the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and its people.

Firstly, the Khartoum Islamic government after waging decades of war with the largely Christian/ATR and oil rich South is finding it difficult to let go easily.  So far, the implementation of the CPA has been delayed and important deadlines missed. The results of a 2008 census that is supposed to pave the way for elections in 2009 and referendum in 2011, are still to be announced. Besides, the census is said to be seriously flawed. Furthermore, the demarcation of the North-South border is still a big bone of contention. On many occasions there has been military build up on both sides of the border with worrying occasional fighting especially in the oil rich border towns like Abyei. There have been several other flashpoints between both armies and many believe that these flashpoints have got the potential of reigniting another war even before 2011.  Furthermore, the Darfur war and the recent arrest warrant issued for President Omar El Bashir by the ICC are putting pressure on the central government and people worry that it may distract further the government’s commitment to the peace process in the South. Lastly, the dreadful presence of the Uganda rebel group, (LRA) is making life in many southern villages increasing unbearable for many Sudanese who are being mercilessly killed in the most barbaric and  atrocious attacks.

In the south itself, many issues abound. Firstly, there is a problem of ethnicity.  There is still a lot of deep-seated inter-tribal animosity that sometimes probes its ugly head through deadly inter-tribal conflicts. Cattle-rustling is also present. It is feared that if such a trend continues, even if the conflict with the north is finished, southern tribes may turn on one another callously to settle old scores. Also, the presence of militia groups based on tribal lines and not aligned with the southern government but are openly being manipulated with money by outsiders is a worrying aspect too. It is really sad to see that in the so-called war with the Muslim north, it is actually southerners senselessly killing each other. Secondly, corruption and mismanagement have plagued the Southern government since its inception in 2005 even to the point that the acronym GOSS has been sarcastically likened to the Government of Self-Service. There are several civil servants who only appear at the end of the month to claim their wages even when no work has been done. Lastly, the incredible high price of goods and services sometimes baffles me. How can we justify the fact that Juba, the southern capital, is one of the most expensive cities on earth in a situation of massive poverty? It’s outrageous. In such a situation, the gap between the few rich people who have access to the institutions of power and money and the poor continuous to grow even deeper daily.

What then is the role of the Church in the present circumstances? The Church has got a critical task in trying to keep the hope alive in the hearts and minds of Southerners while at the same time challenging the powers that be to make straight their crooked ways. The Holy Father, in convoking the African synod to be held in October 2009,  has called the African Church to put reconciliation, justice and forgiveness at the heart the Church’s mission in Africa today. These themes are very relevant to the situation in Sudan. Reconciliation is a ministry in itself. As African Christians we ought to discover and live our brotherhood in Christ and not to be separated by walls of ethnicity. It is time to make the catchphrase ‘unity in diversity’ count, and seize the advantages that our cultural diversity invites us to embrace instead of making it a source of strife. As we pursue reconciliation, the virtues of justice and forgiveness are also knocking on our door. In any situation where there has been decades of abuse and subjugation combined with a corrupt judicial system, the concept of justice is sometimes mistaken and can easily be confused with revenge. Revenge is definitely not a way forward. While revenge seeks to implement the slogan ‘an eye for an eye’ (eventually making the whole population blind), justice seeks only to redress past injustices and to give the individual what is his/her due. And rightly so, because there can be no true peace and reconciliation without justice. Yet if reconciliation, peace and justice are pursued without forgiveness the process will be incomplete because genuine forgiveness is like the mortar or cement that binds the bricks of a wall together. Henry Nouwen calls it the cement of community life. But it is probably the most difficult because not many people are good at asking, offering or receiving forgiveness. We are always asking ourselves and wondering why the other person is up to and what his/her next demand will be. Forgiveness is particularly difficult from the view point of the victim who may still be suffering the effects of the abuse. Yet Jesus asks us to forgive countless times; and even to pray for our persecutors. This is an enormous challenge. Hard as it is, forgiveness could well be considered the true litmus test of our Christianity.

The community at prayer (kuernyang)

The image of Moses as the liberator of God’s people seems to be an apt one for any people desiring liberation. But who is this Moses in the South? There is no clear individual. And so we all have to shoulder the burden, each one carrying a little piece according to his/her strength and ability. Sometimes, I feel defeated, I feel despair, I feel  like giving up especially when it seems not everyone in the struggle both in the Church and outside is giving their optimum potential to our course. The situation is tough but the people are sometimes even tougher. It sometimes baffles me that after several years in a staffed school many pupils are still unable to write or read their very own names. One cannot stop asking what the future is for these young Sudanese and what is the way out? For me, while these matters have to be tackled at various governmental and Church levels, one of the ways fundamentally is keeping connected to Christ that I may get the energy to go on just for one more day. This whole experience for me is captured by Peter’s response to Jesus’ invitation to cast out his fishing net again at the end of a very laborious but completely fruitless night at sea: “Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the net.” Lk 5:5.

Once, I asked a confrere: “Why do you care to support just a single street kid when there are so many of them out there?” And he answered promptly, “That’s what the Kingdom of God is all about—like the mustard seed, so little when planted but when watered, nurtured and looked after, it gradually grows spreading its influence everywhere.” Yes, as long as there is a single candle burning in the darkness, there is hope for the darkness can never conquer it however intense the darkness is. This sums it up for me personally and to this hope offered by the gospel, we ought to cling in good times as well as in difficult times. And more so, it gives us, Mill Hill Missionaries working in Malakal, a credible raison d’être for our continued presence in South Sudan even when it’s not so enticing to be here.

Young Sudanese girl

Damien Fuh MHM

Tonga

South Sudan

April 14, 2009