The More Girls Bleach, the More Boys Drink Alcohol

Most of the times some of my colleagues in the art of writing have posted articles that cursed the new attitude seen with our girls who bleach in deep search for beauty. Of course this activity has brought down our proud culture and our given African color of black.

Nowadays it is very difficult to find a girl maintaining her original skin. Every girl is under big temptation of trying to become white. As girl reaches the age of around thirteen and above, the African original color of her dear skin shall turn lighter and lighter. And the black skin disappears and finally fades out. Her face will be the browner area in her body yet her legs shall remain spotted up with brown color. And the original black color remains scattered around the legs and at hands and fingers. In fact you will find that an African girl is betrayed by her original black color because everybody will know that the girl has bleached as the spots on her body remain evidence.

When I go out-door the first thing I could glance is a girl who applies cream. That alone hurts my feeling. A girl with wrong face is always and easily seen in our streets as well as in our many bus stations and tea places. In working places and education institutions you will find true black African ladies wearing faces with fake brown skins. Faces which are not real. Faces with cream scratches are never avoided at all. The badness of it is that some girls don’t really know how they can nicely apply this dreadful chemical material on their skins just to get the best of their demands in proper application. Because of poor and abrupt approach, they don’t really know the best choice for their skins. So that is why it is common to find girls with cream wounded faces. Other girls keep applying from house to house using different cosmetic cream-types at ago damaging their skin completely. Of course they remain with scarring and sore necks.
However, I have seen that, boys also do carry beer wounded faces. Boys also do go with alcohol wounded legs. They do go out with mouths and lips having alcohol sores. They drink comfortably and as the move out of bars they easily fall down hurting their skins. I have discovered that the more girls apply cream in their faces, the more boys drink alcohol. They are on a serious competition. I don’t know who will win the game.
Up to this extent we would only want to know why girls bleach and why do boys drink? Girls bleach because they want to look beautiful. They think that if their colour of skin is changed to white then they will have possessed more beauty than ever. They have assumption in their minds of becoming whites (kawajat). They think that men shall love them more if they look white. Other girls use it because they think that it is a fashion for everybody and therefore they are forced to do what their friends and age mates do.
On the other hand, boys drink because they want to forget their problems. They want to feel high and proud. They think that they are making good use of their money when spending it on drinks. They have assumption in their minds of becoming wiser. They want to be brave and strong. They have assumption in their minds that forgetting problems is the easier way of solving them. And because of this, most of the addicted drunkards are lazy. They don’t work. They don’t want to solve their problems but just want to forget them and continue drinking and drinking. Yet their problems remain unforgotten and unsolved. And the problems also continue to increase; this is a secret they can’t realize. And in all this, boys are left with diseases like lung-cancer and many other health complications.
For girls who are just rotting their original skins with chemicals they are wrong, men appreciate girls for what they really are, not because of their skin colors. Over time, some blacks believed that looking "white" was more attractive than their natural skin color. But that was all with understanding of colonialism and whites’ superiority.

Anyway, people are confused in this world of today which has no proper parents to stop children from doing bad things. Nowadays, you find an old mother of over fifty applying cream together with her thirteen year old daughter. What does an old mother do with beauty if that is the case? You find people of different age and responsibility having equal childish interest. So here our girls lack mothers at home to give special advice because the mother wants the same thing as the daughter. If the father of the house tells his wife to stop young girls from applying cream, the wife would reply; “these girls are not applying cream in my face.” Imagine!

The situation is the same for the young drunkards whose father drinks. You cannot find a father who drinks advising his son to stop drinking. He will fear talking to his son though he knows very well that both of them are going wrong. Because of these situations our youths whether being girls or boys are in difficult conditions and temptations. They can never find correct teachers at home to follow as their role models. And that is why youths drink as they like and bleach as they desire. As many people can say that bleaching is dangerous for health I think it is the same to say that drinking which is mostly practice by boys is also dangerous for health.

In many states in South Sudan as the number of shops selling creams increase, the number of bars increase as well. If you come in our streets the number of ladies having bleached faces are more as the boys walking in zigzag directions fearing no traffic on public roads, who at the same time speak with their twisted tongues with alcohol smell. Of course the more girls bleach, the more boys drink. Why all this competition on two bad habits?

South Sudan Independence has come, what next?

In the first place one needs to congratulate his country men & women for the achievement of the independence of their beautiful motherland, the Republic of South Sudan. It has been a long walk to freedom. Thanks God for giving us a perfect answer to our century-long prayers for freedom, peace and development in an independent South Sudan. This road to freedom has been walked by all of us in South Sudan, so we are all the achievers of the independence whatsoever the case maybe. It is my right to be happy and say congratulations to everyone because I had also walked the road and had known its cost and price during the journey.

As a person who has understood and attended the struggle for quite long time since my childhood; and indeed knowing very well some of our martyrs we had lost their lives during the process in our long fight for independence and freedom, I had no doubt that the independence would be successfully achieved at the end of the day. I knew very well that the result of Struggle would be finally achieved peacefully. And indeed it happened! I thank Dr. John Garang who simplified the struggle to a referendum vote instead of gun blast because some South Sudanese had tried to betray our rights during the war but they worked very well during the vote of independence because it was a simple struggle. I also thank Salva Kiir Mayardit who swears not to take the people of Sudan back to war because the history would repeat itself. If it were not because of these two men, the freedom would not be achieved believe me or not. I have loved Kiir for giving a good practical explanation to the Khartoum regimes and the world that South Sudanese know how to rule and can successfully rule themselves. It is a challenge none of South Sudanese had dream t for or brought to practice during the limited rule in South Sudan.

In Malakal and maybe anywhere in South Sudan or other places people dropped tears in big amount when the flag of the old Republic of Sudan was lowered followed by the raising of the flag of our young Republic of South Sudan. People cried because they didn’t believe that they were free at last. I felt tears in my two eyes about to fall down to my feet. However, I held my head up straight and stood firmly to avoid any single drop. I managed to do it and I did not cry. I knew that I was free at last so I better rejoice instead to cry. I knew that Garang had paid his life for me and so the enemy was defeated and it was my right to cheer. I also knew that Salva Mayardit was a good and strong leader so I better clap for him and chant for happiness. I knew that I had cried and mourned for so many years and many times for my people I had lost during the war. But date 9 July was for me to beat my chest and say that I love you my ‘motherland.’ It was a day for me to say that my people did not die in vain but they died for a cause.

So, what next? Freedom is achieved and the country is an independent South Sudan. What shall we do? We need our shallow minded politicians to understand peace. We want our politicians to avoid community against community politics and surely hatred need to be buried completely because it has no use at all. We need to change our attitudes in the new nation. The largest country in Africa is divided into two because of its famous longest war giving birth to the newest and the youngest nation in the world. A politician who wants to come to power because power greed need to be well informed that we are tired of him. We need good leader.

And to my dear youths let’s avoid wrong uncles who confuse youths because of their positions. Our sturdy war against laziness must be inaugurated by all strong and energetic youths. We shall speak it clearly with our own lips that laziness and staying clean forever is not a civilization but an evil thought and practice. As youths who fought successfully for independence during referendum and beyond, we need to campaign for peace and unity in South Sudan and I am quite sure that we can. If we are committed then tribalism shall die among our communities. This can be possible if our lips and hearts speak but only for peace and unity shunning hatred and conflict. It is up to youths of this country to work for development or remain the poorest nation in the world. And there would be no reason for struggle if wrongdoings overcome our thoughts and activities. After independence we need peace and development.

The bell of independence rings at our doorpost!

At everyone’s doorpost rings a bell of independence asking each and every one of us to be ready to receive the new baby which shall be soon delivered on July 9th. It was the same bell which was rung on 16 May 1983 and our people responded to it with high spirit and struggle during the war. The same bell was rung when we voted for our motherland and we chose the independence of our nation. Great nations are always founded in the aftermath of blood recession, corpses dry up, bones decompose and equivocal equation solves justly and fairly. In South Sudan one does not really imagine the number of people who died in the war and went uncounted, though sometimes the UN estimates that 2.5 million were killed during the two civil wars in the country. So the independence which is at our doorposts is the price for the lives our brothers and sisters who paid their own blood for the liberation of this country. The loss of 2.5 million lives was sorrow during the war but it will be great happiness on July 9. So it is a great pleasure.



At this time one is in high spirits to find himself being among the survivors of war. One is happy to find himself to witness the people of South Sudan celebrating for freedom on July 9. So in this case it is our real responsibility to complete the vision our departed martyrs. We must make sure that the love of our nation should come first beyond everything. Therefore, we must delete the spirit of tribalism which is scrolling in every person’s brain.




I never like at all when I see that our roads are not constructed, our children having inadequate classrooms and our university students sitting idly at homes without attending their learning. But with our independence we think that our problems shall be overcome one day. We are quite sure that the spirit of no development must change with the coming of South Sudan as an independent state in the world. We would rather need to increase our speed for development and slow down for tribal politics or politics of hatred.



We need to restart our spirit for patriotism as independence approaches because this needs special joint efforts in order to overcome challenges that are ahead of us. That is to say the love of our country should come before the love of our ethnic groups. It is well-known that each of us comes from a certain ethnic community in the South but that cannot be the reason of our conflicts or failures that occur occasionally in our entire region of South Sudan. We cannot blame God for creating us in different communities with different cultures and languages. We must thank God for creating South Sudan rich of so many cultures and languages and for this reason we must be an important and a strong state in Africa and the world.



As days of our independence grow near we would suppose try to search for true unity and love in reality. We should learn that we all belong to each other if we want to build this nation in good spirit and without growing conflicts in it. Whatever language we speak it make no difference, we remain one people in one country of South Sudan which our forefathers fought for and indeed they became heroes and martyrs as we all witnessed.

Why does GoSS sponsor students abroad and leave local universities unprepared?

By Ariik-Dut Atekdit

It has been a long silence since last year that all southern Sudan universities closed down because of referendum. During those days everybody was filled with the referendum spirit of patriotism and an interest to vote for separation. So with no doubt all the students in southern universities accept to go for referendum and come for education maybe after separation results. Of course South Sudan is registered with five national universities of Juba, Upper Nile, Bahr el Ghazal, Rumbek and John Garang University of science and technology.

These universities have not been operational since the time of referendum for reasons best known to Government of South Sudan (GoSS) ministry of Higher education. The five institutions in the new nation are the only existing government departments for human knowledge expansion in higher education and of course they have been on deferment for about five or more months since last year. The GoSS ministry responsible for the universities has been from time to time pushing the regional universities calendars from unknown date to other unpredictable dates ahead of nowhere causing a lot of irregularities. This of course has confused a number of students across the newly born nation as all but none is kept in dilemma. So what is the problem here? We voted for our new nation and we better continue with our education or we shall not be productive.

Rumors say that the ministry of higher education is caught unprepared to welcome faculties with students which used to operate in the north with what they term to be lack of accommodations. However, I can not really agree with that cheap reason put forward by the concerned bodies if it is alleged that way. Repatriating south Sudanese universities from the north to their original places was a decision of long time ago since the formation of GoSS; tongues in Juba have never stopped speaking on this fact. And so everybody knew very well that South Sudan universities would be transferred to their original places in the South even though the country would remain united. This is a simple fact I want to underline. So whether caught unprepared or not everybody knew about it.

I blame GoSS for not constructing any university buildings until now. Building the universities’ infrastructures whether being in Juba, Wau, Malakal or elsewhere would be better if it was done earlier. But I just wonder why our leaders always keep things late until the darkest hours.

The ministry itself is to be blamed of not making possible measures during these five months to build some infrastructures to accommodate the repatriated faculties and students. I would like our leaders to sit down and draw plans and straighten framework that will help these talented students in their quest for education. If it is not done this way, then there is no reason of saying that people want to eliminate illiteracy. It will be purely a support to unwanted illiteracy in the region. Suspending five universities of hundreds of thousands students will not be a wise idea at all.

Whatsoever the case maybe; my question remains: Why does GoSS sponsor students abroad and leave local universities unprepared? This question desires an answer. It is not fair that other hundreds of thousands of students are cheerfully pursuing their various professions in the neighbouring countries under GoSS sponsorship while it is difficult for the same GoSS to build lecture halls or hire lecturers to teach in the South. If the Government in Juba wants to suspend our studies in the south then we want the GoSS abroad-sponsored-students to hold on until the government is ready to build our universities or sponsor all of us if that would be better. I think it is much better and cheaper to widen the standard of our local universities and their infrastructures instead of depending on foreign learning for ages that does not work. It is just a waste of large amount of national resources. It is not wise at all for a country like South Sudan to depend on the neighbouring countries for everything like to say food, other goods including education.

Since January I have not seen any new building being raised in Upper Nile University Malakal campus and yet the ministry says they are working to set up infrastructures for the southern universities; if this situation is the same every where subsequently the future of our students and their universities is at its critical point.

We have seen that children of GoSS officials are not studying in South Sudan. Their children are sent to abroad to search for better education leaving us here in this unsolved situation with numbering conditions. We have so far learnt that our government officials don’t want to improve better education in the south because GoSS sponsor their children abroad. This is not patriotism at all and we need to evaluate our love for the nation more than sticking on the continuous selfishness that has erased ideas of unity and development in our big people’s brains.

Once again it’s not time for us to waste money by offering scholarship in foreign countries. The money that is supposed to be used for the aforementioned foreign scholarship should be used for expanding, renovating and constructing South Sudan universities, in order to accommodate the huge influx of returnee students from North Sudan.

Love is quiet and tender

By Ariik-Dut Atekdit
ariqdudic@yahoo.com
With the experience we have gone through, love can fit to be defined with words like quietness, softness and tenderness. Words that have special good actions towards people we are sharing life. Love is a light that allows people to see things that are not seen by others.

While romantic love in special way is a deep emotional, sexual and spiritual recognition and regard for the value of another person and relationship. Romantic love can generate many powerful feelings. It can provide a profound ecstasy, and a deep suffering when frustrated. To some people, romantic love is irrational. Romantic love can seem like an emotional storm.

In our last valentine celebrations many young people were seen moving gently on our poor roads and the small towns we have in South Sudan. You could see that their faces showed peace and they showed handling and care. And almost everybody felt high moving together hand in hand with a boyfriend/girlfriend.

To some people who stayed far away from their beloved ones, they talked over phones on long period subscriptions discussing love and their future. It is observed that it is rather easy to explain how much you love some one than showing it in action. With love descriptions we feel: Someone we love enters the room. Our eyes and heart light up. We look at this person. We feel a growing feeling of joy within us. We reach out and touch their hand. We feel happy and fulfilled.
I believe we all have a profound need to find things in the world we care about and feel inspired by.

Life is worthwhile - at any age - when we find something worth pursuing. In loving you, I see in you a part of me that is also you... I also see in you something that is really me. And there is you, a person of many qualities-- a person who is a mystery-- a person I am drawn to.

All life - by its very nature - entails a possibility of defeat. Because of this, we find pleasure and reassurance in the expression of life. Sharing our life and participating in life is reassuring that life is possible. Romantic love is an intense sharing and reassurance that life is possible
Sometimes lovers try to describe person’s body to prove that he/she love them so much. But does love remains strong in place even after marriage? My married and experienced colleague told me that most promises made by lovers when young never come true when they are married. But the questions remain, why? Where does love go to after marriage?
Before going further, I should talk about the institution of marriage. One kind of marriage is the utilitarian marriage. In this type of marriage there is an absence of mutual involvement or passion. This type of marriage is usually held together by social, financial or family considerations. In a utilitarian marriage the relationship is made tolerable by long separations, community activities and usually infidelity.

The other kind of a marriage is the intrinsic marriage. In this type of marriage there is passionate emotional and sexual involvement. The experience of life is shared. The relationship is considered more fulfilling and interesting than any social activity. In this relationship there is a tendency to avoid activities resulting in separations.

Marriage itself does not create or sustain romantic love. To love someone, and for that love to endure, requires the ability to see that person with clarity. For example, we have all seen how some people will romanticize or glamorize their partners.

Although you enjoyed last valentine day with your girl/boyfriend you still have a lot to do. Fascination, attraction, or passion may be born "at first sight". But love requires curiosity, patience, acceptance and seeing people for who they truly are. This usually takes time.

Romantic love is based on shared sight and is shaped by happiness. Immature love is based on shared blindness, and is merely a fortress against pain. We better look for love which is quiet and tender.

My Stolen Love on forced marriage

By Ariik-Dut Atekdit
ariqdudic@yahoo.com

I thought I was close to being a perfect boyfriend. I was charming, funny, very generous, expressed feelings of love to her... Then recently because of my absence she decided to leave me - I was too nice. But only just I heard a different story that my girlfriend is married by another man. And now I must begin to hate the culture that forces girls to get married to men they really don’t love. I have several times heard my colleagues or age mates screaming just because their beloved ones have been forced to own different men because of big dowry they do pay to parents. I thought I would not come across such a story but it was until recently that it has been inevitable.

Love for girls these days is only considered unless you stay near them but if you happened to go far away from them then they must be taken over by other men. It’s truly confusing and this generation is going crazy with love affairs. I really see no success in it unless something is done. I didn’t know that this thing would happen. But because I have announced to follow my studies for a better future she defects my love. She got married while I am still pursuing my education. She knew about my school and she pledged to wait for me under any circumstances but things came out of her control. She couldn’t make it because a man paid a lot of cows and abducted her without any agreement.

I was left with nothing but memories. I could recall greetings from her soft and peaceful hands, her voice which sounded sweet, and her eyes which were so bright and straight although she couldn’t look direct into my eyes. She could turn down her face with what I shall describe as a smiling “glance”. We remained quiet, calm and mandated only to our love affairs.

I was attracted to her appearance and structure and my eyes would love only to look at her. The way she expressed herself when talking with me indicated that the girl was responsible and respectful I could suggest. When she looked into my eyes, she could pronounce “I luv u darling”. And for these cause I declared with her factual acceptance that she would be the mother of my kids. However, with this love which easily bases on materials no girl will be counted for one person.

We were almost to forget our names because we used to call each other “darling” or “sweet heart” as if our parents did not give us any names. I am sure our love would grow bigger and huge if her parents and that wrong man allowed her for me. We always shook hands in smiles and cheers; no hatred but love in surroundings. I thought that my love is big for her and she had enough only for me. I can’t blame her but the culture that imposes marriage on girls to marry men they don’t like. I am in actual fact sorry to denounce that Dinka culture which doesn’t give some more rights to girls but only looks into wealth first. Marriages should base on the mutual love of two couples. I think girls should be given rights to choose or reject men.

It may be easy to look around our world today and see the appearance of chaos, difficulty and strife. We better take examples from olden stories, divorce has become now an everyday event just because the couples don’t marry themselves base on true love but just on wealth and family backgrounds. Where will others marry? Yet, when we come from an open heart, we can also see our opportunity to love all things into balance, joy, harmony and peace. This planet does not need more visions of desperation, fear, doubt and hate - it requires an abundance of love, especially unconditional love, to heal and restore the beauty contained in every moment. This becomes the easier path once we take the first step and begin to share our love.

When we bring unconditional love back into our personal, professional, community and family lives, we begin the journey of restoring wholeness and happiness to our planetary adventure. Of course it takes determined effort on our part as the old ways of being are quick to return in our mind. However, this effort to love is rewarded with a new perspective on everything and all life benefits as a result.

In a forced marriage you are coerced into marrying someone against your will. You may be physically threatened or emotionally blackmailed to do so. It is an abuse of human rights and cannot be justified on any religious or cultural basis. It’s not the same as an arranged marriage where you have a choice as to whether to accept the arrangement or not. The tradition of arranged marriages has operated successfully within many communities and countries for a very long time, this should be adopted by all otherwise girls are married to wrong husbands and vice versa.

When I felt sorry of what had happened to me and my girlfriend, somebody advised me that I would get another girl maybe better than the lost one. But who knows? I only liked to see the movements of her two lips when talking. Because as she opened her lips up and down while pronouncing her sweet words to me. Her white bright teeth would satisfactorily appear charmingly giving me no more time to stare at them but unless she offered her diplomatic smile. Of course between her two lips are those well-planted and structured bright teeth of my deep heart interest and desire. And to tell you the truth I had no eyes to admire other girls by then. To me she was appearing like just an angel of life. Her dress of course appeared different and special. Her eyes too, were so welcoming and I really loved that. The hope that I only had was to plan to make her the mum and I the dad to our dear future children. Her mouth was so nice, her eyes so white and encouraging. I felt from inside my chest that she was really well-structured by the creator.

I suggest girls should not be forced to marry those they don’t like neither will men be allowed to pay more cows to buy love from the bride’s parents. South Sudan must find a law for that. The parents of girls should consider the right and choice of their daughters as they wait for us to complete our studies and come to marry their girls. As I finish this article I must think and try to find another girl who my heart may desire. It is a homework I must do but I feel so disturbed for the stolen love.