ROLES REVERSAL: ALDO AJOU DENG AND ELDERS’ LOSS OF VALUES

Hon. Aldo Ajou Deng

I’ve written a lot about elders acting like young people and young people acting like elders. This is embarrassing and it shouldn’t happen in any society. But this is sadly the reality in South Sudan where elders are the ones beating the drum of war and division while young people beg them to speak the language of peace, inclusion, and inter-tribal togetherness. Given the fact that the country is now in turmoil and risks descending into a genocidal mode as United Nations has recently warned, one can clearly see that elders and the senior intellectual class have lost their way.

A number of young people, including this author, have been accused of targeting one self-proclaimed, infamous group of tribal elders’ whose language and agenda are divisive, abusive and myopic. These group, commonly known as Jieeng (Dinka) Council of Elders (JCE), came to political and public prominence after December 2013 mutiny and subsequent civil war. They became so vocal and tribally divisive that their writings and interviews became too hard to ignore. While supporters of JCE, most of whom tribally motivated, claim that these elders have both democratic and constitutional right to air out their views like any South Sudanese civil society groups, one needs to note the kind of messages they pass along and the motivation behind the existence of such a group.

None of us would have much to say against JCE had they focused on Riek Machar and his politico-military activities without targeting Nuer and Tribes in Equatoria. Undoubtedly, these elders have every right to criticize Riek Machar or any political party they deem unacceptable given political affiliations they embrace. However, they have gone above and beyond what could be considered a democratic and constitutional right. They resorted to the denigration of non-Jieeng tribes in the states of Equatoria and the former Upper Nile region; something that is contributing to more hatred and tribal division. Vilification (as Anei did on his book tour in Australia) of other tribes, no matter the motivation, is not only morally wrong, it also contributes to national instability. Given the powerful role these elders play in government, and given the fact that the president is Jieeng, any denigration of Non-Jieeng tribes becomes inexcusable.

I have written and posted videos as respectful as I could, urging these leaders to use their organization to bridge the gap between and among various tribes in South Sudan. And more importantly, I have also urged them to be the ones to advise youngsters against impulsive actions or tribally-charged utterances against other tribes. Surprisingly, there are people (including JCE) who accuse this author of having instigated hatred against Jieeng. Really? Asking my own people to be responsible and inclusive in order to avoid fueling tribal hatred is being considered, bizarrely, by some people as ‘garbage.’ That's really out-worldly bizarre. 

But no article, from JCE, has garnered much attention like the recent one by Uncle Aldo Ajou Deng Akuey. Notable in the article is the divisive and abusive language, historical inaccuracies and a manner of speaking not expected of an elder statesman, intellectual and seasoned politician. Our elders, essentially, have lost their way.

ELDERS VS. YOUNGSTERS

The first thing that horrified me and many others is the simplistic and embarrassing level the elder statesman has gone in his abusive and divisive language. I expected Uncle Ajou to correct young people he believes have gone astray without mentioning where these young people come from and without being abusive. Pitting different sections of Jieeng against one another is not advisable to anyone leave alone an elder and veteran politician. 

I have my critics and to some extent, ‘haters’; however, I have never resorted to calling them out by where they come from. I either call them out based on their own personalities or by their political affiliations. Tribes or clans are things I avoid when calling people out in terms of political differences unless I feel part of the group I'm calling out. The only people I have called out on clan basis are leaders from my own Jieeng section, the Twi of Jonglei state. Charity begins at home and that’s why I criticize leaders from my own sub-tribe or tribe.  I cannot criticize leaders from other areas of South Sudan when leaders from my own tribe are at fault.

Ajoudit could have criticized his young critics without referring to Jonglei or Bahr El Ghazal or any tribal associations for that matter. Besides, he could have also done so without calling them ‘foolish’ or people with ‘blocked’ minds who ‘skipped’ history in school. Where can we [youngsters] go if elders are the ones holding up the big, red flag of division and abusive language? It’s darn scary!

HISTORY

It’s very true that Ajoudit has been in Sudan’s and South Sudan’s political arena longer than many of us have been alive. However, that doesn’t mean we should take his historical narratives as true at face-value. Like any learned persons, we need to fact-check his historical claims. This is neither to disrespect elders not is it an assumption that ‘one knows it all.’ We are educated to think for ourselves, to find out truth by ourselves. History is not formulaic. It’s usually twisted by people writing it to suit their sociopolitical or socioeconomic agendas as long as no one subjects their historical narratives to facts-check. Please fact-check all the historical incidences I’m citing here.

Dear Universal 'Racist White Man’, Violence Presupposes Fear (Part I)

Photo: Ibrahim AlRabeh

Now that I have your attention, I’m going to say that I will from now on refer to you as European or European-X (you can pluck in your country if you are outside Europe). I don’t fancy the idea of referring to people as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘brown’, ‘yellow’... as if people are goats, chicken and cattle. I don’t know what was wrong with your ancestors but they fancied colors like the love of kinder kids with crayons. But, hey, they were very funny, I tell you. Using the same color [black] to refer to Colin Powell and John Kufuor is hilarious. 

But seriously, identities should be forged from cultures not from color as if we are kinder children. Color-Identity is childish; don’t you think? It’s 2016 not 1549 or something. Well, I know you fancy the past for obvious reasons.

But listen to me! We are all Human Beings. That’s a cliché I know, but it’ll soon be clear why I say that. I’m sorry to be pedantic but we all get jealous, angry, proud, fearful, hungry, sick and above all, we pee, pooh, and also die. Raise your hand if you are ultra-human and don’t go through those things. Nah! I see all your hands down! That I believe is a reasonable assumption you can agree with.

Left: John Kufuor; Right Colin Powell

But before I go on, I need to apologize to the good-hearted, the reasonable and the socially-grounded amongst you…if this offends you then I’m sorry! But remember, I’m always discriminated against and I’m regularly called a monkey, an ape, a gorilla so I think you would understand the point of my message.

Recently a one Pamela Ramsey Taylor (seconded by her friend, Clay Mayor, Beverly Whaling of West Virginia, USA)  threw an after-frustration mental party for she was happy that First Lady, Michelle Obama, who’s soon leaving the ‘White House’, wasn’t beautiful and classy. In her words, she thinks Mrs. Obama is ‘a [sic] ape in heels.’ This is actually a point of view held by many of you, the racist, Neo-Nazis and Eurocentric-ultra-nationalists.

After Pamela’s and Beverly’s comments, the activists, conscientious Americans and Civil Rights folks became outraged. I wasn’t and cannot be outraged. This might come as a surprise to you. And this too is going to anger Africans and all African-Xs in the world.  (Note: In my country, we use first names not family names formally…this respects genders, don’t you think? Last names make the world appear 100% male).

Now, let’s come back to the reason why I wasn’t outraged by the ‘ape’ insinuation. First of all, you know what you are saying is a natural fallacy but you say it anyway. Sartre would call that 'Bad Faith.'  You only say it because it makes you feel good. It nostalgically takes you to the past your ancestors had built. However, I feel sorry for you because that past will not, and can never come back. Trump will soon face that bitter reality! You will dream about it until kingdom come. I cannot get angry at you because you are struggling with a changing world; a world you don’t want to change but it’s changing.

I am not also outraged because you are afraid of me. There’s something in me you fear. You think what you hate about me is my physical appearance but no, it's my mind. Biko put it well, that "the most potent weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Why should I be outraged at a fearful person who’s rationalized the world in a manner that’ll only do one thing to him: stress him out. The sight of me doesn't make you afraid. Well, it does if  I am some African giants! My achievements make you tremble. So why should I be outraged at you when you are trying to portray your being as a mere human being with insecurities of the universal man. I am not going to be outraged at a man who’s scared out of his mind. Your hatred and fear of me is your tactical, survivalist being-in-the-world as Heidegger would say.

I am not also outraged at what you say about me because it’s your state of mind. It’s part of what gives you a sense of importance, that I am less than you because you say so not because it is naturally so. And you will keep that state of mind regardless of what I say about it. So getting angry at you will give you an impression that you’ve said something to me. No, you’ve not. You’re saying something about yourself; that you are not secure in your skin. Calling me an ape or a monkey is a deflection of your fears, insecurities, and inferiorities. Telling you ‘don’t call me an ape’ is a waste of time. You’re not the guardian of my emotions so I wouldn’t expect you to stop it. And even if you stop saying it, there’s no guarantee that you’ll not think it or discuss it with your kids and friends in the comfort of your home.

If you are secure enough in your skin and believe in the greatness of your people, then calling me names isn’t helping your greatness. But if you know that you’re great as a special racial group and that calling me name is a methodological parameter meant to make me feel insecure about myself and therefore easy to control, then I think we’ll in the future stamp out discrimination based on race. You're just scared of the African Person to the point that you don't want to know her.

Those Africans and African-Xs, who get mad when you call them names are only giving you undue emotional power over them. They know you hate them yet they expect you to respect their feelings. I don’t know what they think! They expect what they don’t expect! Am I blaming them! No! I’m telling them the fact that you always hurled nonsense against them and they feel sorry for themselves when they know very well that what you say is racial nonsense.

This is my introduction to you. The next essay will address the issue of calling me a monkey, an ape or a gorilla. You’ll get to learn that we all share in some form of monkeyness. You can read “Is ‘Black’ Really Beautiful?” is you want to be ahead of me. It addresses the issue of ‘monkeyness.’ 

See you in the next article. But Remember, I can never hate you because I cannot hate a fearful person, a person who needs my help in fighting fear.