Choose Non-Violence Communication, Bishop Hiiboro Urges.

 “The nature of violence explains the uncomfortable state of every human being, the ugliness, and rudeness in society: it depicts the absence of peace, cross, beauty, and harmony.” These are the words of Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussalla, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio while speaking on the International Day of Non-Violence, October 2^nd.

 Bishop Eduardo appreciated those who were wise to give the day its due importance as he pointed out that violence is in the heart of many things and individuals who become violent towards self, issues, people, and overflowing to the community.

 “There are various types of violence namely, self-violence, natural violence, and communal violence. All this goes against the will of God who wished everything to be beautiful during creation,” His Lordship pointed out.

 He indicated that the world has experienced violence from nature through myriads of calamities with Corona-Virus being the recent global form of violence. On the self-violence, the bishop explained that cases of drug and sexual abuse, gender-based violence among others that end up impacting the society negatively.

 “Self-Violence affects everyone in the long run. It pours out into the family, to the community, to the state, and to the nation at large. Something that emanates from a single individual ends up inflicting suffering to an entire nation.”

 Closer home, the Bishop gave an example of how violence has affected South Sudan as a country through years of war and conflict that has caused innumerable sufferings to the citizens.

 “Violence of war is heavy upon us South Sudanese, it is right on our faces. For a whole year, we still do not have a stable and complete government because of violence. We have not managed to realize the beauty of our country since it was formed,” the bishop expressed.

 He went ahead to decry the poor state of the infrastructure, education system, health services, security, and the rule of law which he says is a result of violence in South Sudan. He noted that a good percentage of the youth are languishing in poverty thus engaging in criminal activities due to frustrations caused by a lack of job opportunities.

 “There is always a non-violent way to communicate issues. It’s upon us to choose peace and harmonious co-existence over violence,” Bishop Eduardo urged.

 He called upon the citizens to learn how to appreciate as unique all the sixty-four tribes of South Sudan. He added that each tribe has a uniqueness that contributes to the greatness of the nation. He pointed out that when one person messes, the whole tribe shouldn’t be stereotyped by an individual’s mistakes. This, he said will help alleviate tribal stigmatization as he called upon the media not to fan violence through poor reporting that can fuel division and strife.

 The Bishop in conclusion reiterated the call of the Holy Father Pope Francis on the need to add non-violent programs to the church's peacebuilding activities.

 The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2^nd October by the United Nations, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The objective of the day is “to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”.

 Bishop Eduardo has been in the forefront calling for an end to years of violence in the world's youngest nation which has been ravaged by internal conflicts, which has resulted in the loss of lives and displacement of millions of citizens. Recently when he met President Salva Kiir, the Bishop urged him to speed up the efforts of the peace implementation process which will pave way for the country to move forward.

 His call echoes the many voices from individuals such as the Holy Father Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Most Rev. Justin Welby, the international communities and bodies to the country's leadership to implement the long-overdue process of ending the stalemate in the country and bring lasting peace to the suffering citizens of South Sudan.

By: Wairegi Triza