I have written about the creation of this ministry somewhere, but I will go into it in more detail. It is, I think, a feasible suggestion. But you’re welcome to disagree and discourse with me rationally.
Ethnic groups, or to use the dreaded anthropological term,
‘tribe’, are the basic sociopolitical units in South Sudan. This makes them the
center around which the South Sudanese society operates. Unfortunately, some South
Sudanese have bought into the failed Western idea that tribes can be wished
away, and our societies live in a de-tribalized environment. This is an
extremely dangerous myth. It makes us overlook the problems engendered by
tribal affiliations and belonging and wish for a utopian world where ethnic
groups do not exist; a cosmopolitan world of Kwame Anthony Appiah where our universal similarities are
overplayed and our ethnic differences downplayed. But as Walter Rodney, in his
classic, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, has noted, ethnic differences are not the problem. The
problem is how we operationalize our ethnic differences.
While states like the United States and the United Kingdom
have historical infrastructure and luxury to make de-ethnicization of society
central to identity discourse, a state like South Sudan does not. Even the
United States melting pot ideology has refused to melt. As Isajiw Wsevolod has argued, ‘in any search for
identity, one’s identity becomes relevant because through its ancestral time
dimension one can, at least symbolically, experience belonging.’ Therefore, we
should not simply wish our differences away nor do we have the luxury to
downplay how some people still strongly attach to their tribal customs and
traditions. So, what should a state like South Sudan do?
The creation of Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA)
Creating this ministry would ensure that those engaged in
encouraging coexistence have the resources and the legal (not merely moral) power
to go about their duties. Ethnic groups affect politics, economics and the
general social life so they should be treated with the seriousness with which
they affect our lives.
Tribal elders, local chiefs, local and federal members of
parliament, state governors and religious leaders would play a great role in this
ministry at state and federal levels. Solving ethnic feuds should not be left
to people who do not have permanent resources and a legal status. Putting an
important social institution under a ministry with other roles is to downplay
the problems of ethnic groups and their potential importance in our political
culture.
Within this ministry, tribal elders and local chiefs would
feel acknowledged and resourced materially to fight troublemakers within their
own ethnic groups. They will have the resources of the state and the advantage
of knowing their own people. It is better to be told about the importance of
other tribes by one’s elder than to be told by a political leader far removed
from the daily experiences of the tribe.
Well-resourced and framed Inter-tribal understanding
Various groups still make unfounded assumptions about one
another and this fuels mistrust and foments conflicts. Since the ministry would
have annual budget and personnel, it would have the resources and human power
to engage in grassroots outreaches and education for inter-ethnic
understanding. It is the Bari that is in the best position to educate Shilluk
children about the custom of Bari through face-to-face education or through
pedagogical materials financed by the ministry of tribal affairs in
collaboration with the Ministry of Education. It is the Jieeng that are in the
best position to educate Zande children about Jieeng ways of solving disputes
in collaboration with security forces.
Children need to be exposed to the idea that one needs to
understand others before one judges them because inter-ethnic judgements based
on falsehoods or exaggerated assumptions
are compromising coexistence in South Sudan.
It is therefore dangerous for us to assume that South Sudanese ethnic group
will magically understand one another because we so wish them to. Efficacious,
people-centered work must be put in place beyond leaders’ verbal pronouncements.
Peace Initiatives among tribes as an ongoing, grassroots
process
Because tribal feuds are an ongoing social and security
problem in the country, it is a mistake that leaders only react to
ethnic feuds. Modalities need to be put in place and ongoing campaigns about
coexistence made continuous. Ethnic conflicts have become very ubiquitous and
regular so peace and togetherness consciousness should be made a continuous
social consciousness in South Sudan. But this cannot be achieved if the federal
leadership and religious leaders only wait to solve disputes after people have
killed one another. With a ministry and
resources, MTA officials would be able to travel the country and train local
peace campaigners to keep the conversation ongoing.
Recently, President Kiir advised the security forces to end armed conflicts and road
ambushes. This is a short-term solution, if not utterly misguided. While some
of these road ambushes may be motivated by economic reasons, there is the
security of one’s ethnic groups that gives people the audacity to steal or kill
without fear of being given up to the authorities.
Additionally, some tribal feuds (such as cattle wrestling)
are encouraged by the way tribes feel about one another and their cultural
upbringing. These problems are deep-rooted and cannot be solved by sending the
security forces to tribal groups. There must be long-term, consistent programs
to tackle ethnic dispute. Mr. Tut Gatluak, President Kiir’s national security
advisor, recently argued that ‘We call upon the state authorities, especially
the governors, to work on the protection of the lives of the people of South
Sudan.’ This is a problem that needs more than a ‘call.’
What is needed is a permanent and long-term program. The
conventional methods of ending conflicts are inappropriate here. Some tribes
need to be disabused of some of their dangerous cultural ideals. But this
cannot be done by intimidation or crude security raids. It needs to be done in
a way that would ensure the ethnic group in question does not feel threatened.
And this cannot be done without the cooperation of chiefs and elders.
Even now, in some parts of Africa, Albinos are hunted and killed for their parts because of some wild
tribal beliefs about the magical value of their body parts. In West Africa,
children are still ostracized when accused of witchcraft. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart, Okonkwo was forced by custom to kill a Ekemefuna even when he did
not want to. Okonkwo was also exiled to his mother’s people for seven years
when he accidentally killed a young man during a cultural event. Letting go of
cultural beliefs and customs is difficult.
Sometimes tribal folks become doctrinaires when it comes to
their own tribal customs and it takes education and social change rather than
force to disabuse people of what they believe about their own people and
others.
In the end, we cannot wish our tribal differences away, but
we should not also assume that they are good or bad without putting down
concrete and well-financed processes that would ensure inter-ethnic
coexistence. MTA can incentivize youth, women and elders that try to make their
own ethnic groups peace minded. It’s a folly to castigate other ethnic groups
of being violent while condoning violence within one’s own ethnic group.
Kuir ë
Garang is the editor of 'The Philosophical Refugee.' Follow him on twitter @kuirthiy
