Independence Day

9^th July was South Sudan’s third Independence Day.  It was a very muted affair at least in Nimule.  The current situation in South Sudan is no cause for celebration. 

The evening before, I was teaching some children in my room.  At the end of our session, they told me that if they did not sing the National Anthem correctly the police would shoot them.  They took this threat very seriously and were really scared.  I did my best to make a joke of it for them.  I asked them to sing the national anthem to me.  All the children know it really well as they sing it at school assembly every morning.  They sang it for me and I applauded them and assured them that they were excellent singers (which they are).

After I went to bed I got cold feet thinking about it.  Most probably it was the thoughtless threat of someone who wanted them to do their best.  However, elsewhere in the country, the police or soldiers have proved themselves quite capable of shooting innocent people, including children.  

On the day itself I was invited to lunch with my friends on the other side of Nimule.  I hopped on a boda and we set off.  We could see a long line of jeeps with huge national flags slowly going down the road with people also walking in the procession.  Before we had reached the centre of town we were stopped by the police and told that because of the Independence Day procession the road was closed to other vehicles.  The boda driver took me by a very different route along foot-wide footpaths through long grass and small villages of huts where the children were hugely excited at the sight of me on the boda.

I had a nice lunch and chatted with my friends before being driven back along the main road.  As we passed the football ground where the Independence Day speeches and main celebration were being held, it was very evident that large numbers had stayed away.  I don’t think there were more than 400 people there in all and plenty of soldiers in jeeps.  We passed the market which is usually a hive of activity with lots of roadside stalls.  Even on Christmas Day it is busy.  Yesterday it was completely empty.  Everyone was at home taking a day off work and keeping a low profile.  Maybe they, like the children, also thought things could take a bad turn.

I was expecting the next day to be a normal school day.  I don’t learn by experience, do I?  I arrived at the school to find school children playing football but the staff room locked and no teachers.  Finally the headmistress arrived at around 10 o’clock.  She told me that Radio Miriya (the national radio station) had announced an extension to the public holiday at 9 o’clock that morning.  This does not explain why the school wasn’t open at 8am.  Yet another day with no teaching.