The team of government peacebuilders and UNMISS peacekeepers listened intently and responded with strong messages on conflict resolution, the power of dialogue, and the importance of community-led peace
JUBA, South Sudan, June 18, 2025/APO Group/ --
As morning breaks, the vast and open plains of South Sudan’s Lakes state are filled with sounds of cattle and the overwhelming smell of smoke.
It is at this relatively quiet time, that a team from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and state authorities from the Ministry of Peacebuilding set out on a drive.
They aim to meet herders, armed youth, and residents in cattle camps that dot the landscape. Why? To hear their concerns and discuss the possibility of a future without violence.
For generations, cattle have been a symbol of wealth and pride across Lakes. And, in recent years, they have also become a source of deadly conflict. Cattle theft, revenge raids, and competition over water have left a trail of grief in local communities with countless lives lost and properties destroyed.
At one such cattle camp called Buol, 24-year-old herder Makur Magor Bok stands firm at the centre of a gathering. A seasoned cattle keeper despite his age, Makur carries a weapon, not out of malice, he says, but out of necessity. “If I knew my cattle and my family were safe, I would give up my gun today,” he says, gesturing to the automatic rifle slung across his shoulder. “We are not criminals, we are just afraid.”
Makur told Civil Affairs officers from the UN Peacekeeping mission that thieves had stolen one of his rifles, along with phones and solar chargers. Though he knew who was responsible, he made a decision that surprised many in his community. “I could have tracked them and fought with them, retrieved my belongings and avenged myself, but I remembered the peace messages I heard from UNMISS before. You said revenge only brings more killing,” he explained. “So I reported them to the traditional authorities. I want to believe in the law, not in a gun and, hopefully, I won’t be disappointed”
His unprecedented choice—to trust the system instead of fuelling the cycle of violence—sparked a debate among his peers. Some responded with irony, while others said that they had seen enough of their people die over senseless quarrels.
In another nearby cattle camp, Abuok Deng, a 17-year-old girl, shared her fears. “We sleep in fear. On any given night, someone might raid us. I think to myself that maybe this is the night I lose my baby brother; maybe this is the night someone hurts me,” she exhales, with looking out into the distance. “We need safety.”
The team of government peacebuilders and UNMISS peacekeepers listened intently and responded with strong messages on conflict resolution, the power of dialogue, and the importance of community-led peace. “This visit is not about disarming people,” stated Ruby Awude, a Civil Affairs Officer. “It is about creating the kind of peace and safety in communities that makes carrying a gun unnecessary.”
As twilight fell, the team left behind more than just words: they left seeds for lasting peace. Whether these take root depends not only on institutional change but also on the courage of individuals like Makur and Abuok.
Their words reflect the hope that still flickers in Lakes state: that even in a place tormented by cycles of conflict, there are those who choose peace.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
And the point of giving ID cards to people you don't know the identity of is?
They also need to impliment was to track the ID of a person so you cannot change you ID whenever you feel like it.
I am who I am is my identity. Even looks have a language, and accent can identify one's roots and where one is born. No matter where one is, Somalilanders know each other.
This RFP is fixed. It is just a show to claim transparency. The writer of the proposal who owns his own ID company in Dubai is the one who will be announced as the winner of this generous contract approximated to cost 4 million dollars. The ID company owner is the cousin of Bashe Morgan. The 12 day notice of this proposal is not even enough to study the proposal.
gmail and hotmail addresses?!
That shows how serious the organizers of this shameful scam are, a scam designed to put money in someone's pocket and directly undermine national interests of state building.
This process normally takes at least a year and in a country like ours much longer – we don't know where our eastern border is, there's no civic registry, people don't know their birth date, nomads are freely roaming the region and are not residents of any country; there is no law regulating ID cards, there is no assessment study, there is no trained staff. People are uneducated and don't know why should they register, and how.
And what about multiply registering and measures to prevent it – there are at least two powerful groups with vested interests to do that, clans and al-Shabab, not to mentioned neighbouring countries.
But all that is not important to our government. They have their own agenda, compromising national interests only to stuff their pockets with money. Poor Somaliland.
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