{"id":91738,"date":"2017-05-08T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T11:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=91738"},"modified":"2017-05-04T11:11:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T10:11:34","slug":"people-choosing-peace-ayuel-madut-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/05\/people-choosing-peace-ayuel-madut-south-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"People Choosing Peace: Ayuel Madut, South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>2 May 2017 – <\/em>My name is Ayuel Madut. I come from the small South Sudanese town of Tonj, in Tonj state. I am 33 years old, and I am a former fighter.<\/p>\n

I fought alongside the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army (SPLA) that later took power in South Sudan. During the guerrilla war I was a child soldier. At such a young age I thought I fully understood the reasons for fighting the Khartoum government, which was our \u201cenemy\u201d then. Black, and Christian, Sudanese people were regarded as second-class citizens – we wanted to restore our identity and dignity among our population.<\/p>\n

But now, all that has changed. The so-called \u201cliberation\u201d that we fought hard to attain is a paradox.<\/p>\n

There are two major political divisions within the ruling party, SPLA. Now there is both Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army\/Movement and Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army\/Movement in Opposition. It is very difficult, at times, to comprehend because there is a large number of people who sacrificed, especially during the armed struggle, for this country. It cost them a lot. Some of my colleagues paid with their own lives, fighting for peace and freedom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ayuel Madut<\/p><\/div>\n

We are living in a period where there is big rift, caused by political players. But I have always advised brethren and friends to refrain from hurting each other. I strongly believe, and usually remind others, that these unnecessary killings – as well as humanitarian disaster – happening in our community, will end.<\/p>\n

Peace is everything. With peace there is no killings, no insecurities, development comes fast, young ones get education, trade flourishes, and the economy becomes viable and strong.<\/p>\n

Above all, I will continue to implore my countrymen and women not to lose the hope of getting the South Sudan we want from the South Sudan we have.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 peacenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I fought alongside the Sudan People\u2019s Liberation Army that later took power in South Sudan. During the guerrilla war I was a child soldier. At such a young age I thought I fully understood the reasons for fighting the Khartoum government, which was our \u201cenemy\u201d then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conflict-resolution-mediation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}