HOW UGANDA HARASS SOUTH SUDANESE IN UGANDA

By Abunerry

Torit.

The Voice of Ink

It is quite stunning to mention how Ugandans and their authorities are harassing their fellow neighbours, the South Sudanese. Throughout my stay, I have learned a lot from Uganda, both politically and socially. Earlier on, as a refugee in Uganda, I experienced hospitality; I do not know if my childhood deceived my understanding. Today, it is quite different. In Uganda, if you identify as South Sudanese, you will be given names that do not match your identity. South Sudanese are harassed beyond measure, as noted.

Calling a South Sudanese person a Sudanese is harassment. You cannot equate me or identify me with another nation when I am not. Many times, we are identified as Sudanese instead of South Sudanese, a mockery suggesting that our lifestyle still equals that of the Sudanese people. You know what it means to be in Sudan: terroristic, slavish, ruthless, uncivilised… Walai, mention more. Ugandans should know we are no longer Sudanese; we have a sovereign state with absolute powers equal to theirs. We are very independent, with basic rights and freedoms that are independently enshrined and protected in the Constitution of the country. We are not Sudanese; we are South Sudanese, with three great regions: Greater Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal, and Upper Nile, comprising 64+1 tribes.

Taxing South Sudanese heavily at the border point in Elegu is another issue. The Ugandan authorities should know that Elegu is not in Uganda; Elegu, without doubt, is South Sudanese territory to date. Bringing the border post within Elegu is not only an international border crime but also a trespass on land ownership and automatic assimilation of the South Sudanese. We regret the taxes on each crossing to Uganda, whether directly or indirectly.

Confiscation of South Sudanese refugee identity cards is another concern. It is pitiful indeed to see Ugandan authorities confiscate South Sudanese identity cards at border points with the intention of deterring them from going back to Uganda. This is very unacceptable. Refugees should be given the chance to move freely; they are also human beings with rights equal to those of your citizens, whom you have given the freedom to move. Give them a chance to come and see their land, to motivate their colleagues to return home if you do not want them.

Poverty or disease carriers. Claiming that South Sudanese are carriers of poverty and disease is very unacceptable. That is xenophobic and has no place in the current world setting. Ugandans should know that AIDS and corruption entered Uganda before South Sudan. Recently, the rate of infections in Uganda has been higher than in South Sudan; above all, the disease has even infected some South Sudanese in Uganda. How do you claim we are carriers of poverty and disease, restricting us completely from freedom, while allowing your people to mingle with us freely? It is alarming.

All South Sudanese are Dinkas. Generalising all South Sudanese as Dinka is also harassment. I have experienced this myself; because I am quite tall and dark, when I identified as South Sudanese, instead of being accepted as a South Sudanese national, I was treated as a Dinka. I was charged highly when I bought a pair of shoes in a shop. In Uganda, every South Sudanese is assumed to be Dinka, which is very wrong. South Sudan is not made for the Dinka alone; it is made up of sixty-four tribes that equally share the responsibilities of citizenship. The Dinka are just one of the tribes among others. Stop placing all of us in the same category. If you have negative judgments about them, know that we are not all the same. Each tribe has its own identity.

Harassing our hawkers and roadside sellers is also a concern. Every South Sudanese found hawking in a town is forced to stop the business and, above all, is restricted to refugee residential areas, which are very limiting. No South Sudanese is allowed to hawk freely in the country. Yet, if you come to Nimule, for example, Ugandan hawkers and itinerant traders cross the border without challenges. Why don't you allow refugees the same freedom?

I chose to write this because you have troubled us too much to bear. You have branded us as people equal to wild animals who do not deserve human treatment. You charge us differently or more when we buy goods from your shops. Your dowry demands are quite high if you hear it is a South Sudanese man marrying your daughter, compared to a Muganda marrying a Muganda or a Muganda marrying an Ateso. You demand more from our students who study in the same schools and classes as Ugandan students.

You do not give South Sudanese a chance to participate in voluntary leadership in institutions like schools. If it happens at all, it is often through bribes. There are many more issues I cannot mention, but I am saddened by the mistreatment of my fellow citizens. Please, we need respect for all. We are one community in the EAC. We have many things in common. Respect our rights as we live in obedience to your constitutional authority governing all foreign citizens.

Writer, Critic and Teacher