Clarity

I keep trying to write a post, and I keep getting thrown off.  I’ve limited myself to a small number of topics; refer to a few posts back.  I was hoping to build some structure and a way to move forward.  I think that this method will normally work, and I plan to continue with it. 

So, getting thrown off…the last time I wrote I had some hope that South Sudan would find its way back to peace.  Perhaps I was right that we are near a solution, but the day I wrote that post seems to have been the closest point to getting a deal out to the country in a long while, but subsequent events have been horrifying.  Now there is a growing consensus among impartial observers that Salva Kiir and his army have been guilty of unspeakable acts.  Before one thinks that the government in place is the enemy of peace though, Riik Machar’s opposition may be guilty of even worse crimes.  Further, it is suggested that Machar is nothing more than a proxy for Omar Bashir of Sudan, and his efforts to undermine his former rebel provinces.  They all appear to be bloody-minded criminals.  So where will peace come from?

Well, I had not planned to come right back to South Sudan’s war, so perhaps I should have diverted my attention, but it is terribly hard to do so when you feel despair for the situation.  I had planned on writing introductory notes about Thomas Merton.  Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who lived in the mid-20^th Century.  He was a prolific author, first about devotion to God through monasticism, and then about the horrors of war, particularly nuclear war.  My plan has been to introduce Merton as a prelude to talking about the upcoming 70^th anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima.  I wrote a few drafts, but Merton is such an inspiration to me, I got lost in how to start.

Well, now I’ve started to tell you about Thomas Merton, so I guess I’ll be able to hold onto that thread.  I just hope I can properly dive into his works before we get to Hiroshima.  We’ll see.  I’m going to get to him one way or another.  I may have been able to get that thread going, and then…

Charleston.

What can I say about Charleston?  It seems like everything I’ve spoken about unraveled with Charleston.

Charleston puts the Baltimore riots in a harsh, blinding flash.  The reason we fell into the rioting ultimately was hate, wasn’t it?  Never mind who hates who, it’s simply the presence of hate.

Why are refugees met with hate, in Europe, where no country will own up to the responsibility to care for people who have risked all to cross the Mediterranean; or in the US where we stigmatize with the moniker “illegals”, many of whom have legitimate cause for asylum.

In Africa, greedy, rapacious people divide Dinka and Nuer, SPLA and SPLA I/O over hate, then kill for power – and hate.

Hate now comes into crisp focus.  Nine beautiful, holy, people in a church were slaughtered for no other reason than hate.  Even the response to the Charleston Massacre has been tinged with hate, with suggestions that people in church should be armed to prevent violence; that a rallying flag for hatred should not be removed because of tradition.

Hate.  That’s what we have to fight.  I know that greed, and poverty, and ignorance will kill people.  Those things only become truly deadly in the presence of hate though.

It’s a sad thought.  Hate is preventable.  Preventing hate will fix it all.  And, while it may be the human condition to harbor hate, it is a higher condition of the human spirit to harbor love.  So let’s get to love.  I think people who see problems either fix blame or fix the problem.  Let’s do the latter.  In South Sudan, fighting bad people does not make you good.  It’s no different here.  Love makes you good.

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis (click here for the prayer in song)

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

South Sudan and the Arusha Peace Accord

5 months ago, in Arusha, Tanzania, the parties to the South Sudanese civil war signed an accord designed to bring peace and reconciliation to South Sudan.  That agreement is here.

Since the Arusha Accord was signed the warring factions of the South Sudanese Liberation Movement (SPLM) have only moved deeper into warfare.  The results have been horrific.  Today, however, it appears that the Arusha Accord may be gaining traction.  Today, President Salva Kiir, who famously wears a cowboy hat given to him by US President George W. Bush, has vowed to implement the deal according to the news source Gurtong.net.  It is hoped that the opposition, led by former Deputy Chairman Riek Machar will also commit to the peace process.  Over the past several days, fighting has intensified.  While this is distressing, it may be a sign that warring factions are finishing their campaigns, and striving for last minute advantages.

I believe that it is more likely than not that the two year old civil war is ending.  It is also noteworthy that:

• This is an Africa-led brokered deal, with South Africa, Ethiopia and Tanzania taking the lead.  The US, European and Asian powers have not exerted a neo-colonial presence, further relegating that massive injustice to history;
• The accord looks a lot like the South African Peace and Reconciliation deal following the overthrow of apartheid, at least to my eyes.  If it is the same kind of peace, and parties are diligent in implementation, hopes for a true and enduring peace will be achieved.

So, how does the prospect of a healthy and prosperous South Sudan look?  In the short run, the challenges are enormous.  We can expect residual violence to continue for a while, but if we are on the verge of peace, that will subside.  Grinding poverty is a destabilizing factor, as are the large amount of displaced people, both internally and externally from destabilized areas to the north and east, particularly in Sudan and the Central African Republic.  Allegations of Sudanese interference and hostility may threaten the peace.

For my readers who are primarily American, we should let the peace process proceed without interference, letting the youngest country on the planet build their own future.  It would be helpful if the World Bank forgives the South Sudanese debt, which is an effort that Americans can help with.  We should take note of the human rights issues that have occurred over the past two years, including the forcible recruitment of child soldiers, and instances of systematic rape used as a terror weapon.  While we wait for these issues to resolve under the Arusha framework, we should applaud the peace brokers from South Sudan, and leading African nations.  We should continue to educate ourselves to the issues facing South Sudan, and we should actively pray and/or meditate on behalf of peace in South Sudan.

I am grateful that the South Sudanese have a realistic, attainable chance at peace.  Bless you all.