Adier Mach Deng's

South Sudan-1967: The Year the Chiefs were killed. The area of South Sudan designated as “Twic East” or “East Twic County” is today a matter of contention for many who currently live in South Sudan. It was the British who originally created the “Region’s Administration System” in order to manage the tribes of greater Bor one by one, on a case by case basis.  These regional systems of administration were used to elect judges or “Chiefs” from the tribes to handle community affairs. It was then up to these Chiefs to handle local tribal conflicts. After Sudan’s independence from Britain in 1956, the newly minted centralized government of Khartoum introduced a districting system. The region that had been known as Greater Twic East became the domain of Paramount Chief Ajang Duot and was renamed, “Kongor District” which was actually the name of his own clan/family group. This system of districts was then consolidated further by President Gaafar Nimeiry who lumped the regi...

Twic East: The Battle of Panyagoor, South Sudan Panyagoor in particular became the staging grounds of the conflict and when Riek Machar’s SPLA-Nasir faction stormed into the region most of the residents scattered and fled to safer territory. But regardless of their fear, the people were still starving, and so when they heard that the United Nations was dropping much needed food rations at the Panyagoor airstrip, they put their fears aside and out of sheer necessity made the three day journey out of their hiding place and right back into the cross-hairs of Riek’s soldiers. Sick and emaciated throngs of humanity began to congregate at both the airstrip and the store house where the aid was normally delivered, but at both locations they were viciously turned away by Riek’s men who had taken control of these two vital locations. Threatened with being shot on sight, they were being denied the very Aid that the United Nations had sanctioned for them. In the face of such totalitarian strong...

Dr. John Garang and Manute Bol on Bor Massacre: Just a few blocks away from where Garang and Machar’s declaration was taking place, another prominent Sudanese man was making a declaration of a whole other kind. His name was Manute, and he was the first Sudanese basketball star to grace the NBA. When the brutality of the early 1990’s had been unleashed upon his home country he was also the first person of prominence to speak out in the United States. OxFam, the international aid agency was holding a conference on Capitol Hill and the lanky nearly 8 foot tall Basketball player had been invited to speak. Leaning over the podium that barely even reached his waist, Manute a man often known for few words suddenly became prolific in his expression of how much his people were suffering. As he told the expectant audience, “Look at me. I came here to America and I live like a King, I have money, I never have to worry about what it is I eat. Everything is taken care of. Every night I...

Dr. John Garang and Manute Bol on Bor Massacre: Just a few blocks away from where Garang and Machar’s declaration was taking place, another prominent Sudanese man was making a declaration of a whole other kind. His name was Manute, and he was the first Sudanese basketball star to grace the NBA. When the brutality of the early 1990’s had been unleashed upon his home country he was also the first person of prominence to speak out in the United States. OxFam, the international aid agency was holding a conference on Capitol Hill and the lanky nearly 8 foot tall Basketball player had been invited to speak. Leaning over the podium that barely even reached his waist, Manute a man often known for few words suddenly became prolific in his expression of how much his people were suffering. As he told the expectant audience, “Look at me. I came here to America and I live like a King, I have money, I never have to worry about what it is I eat. Everything is taken care of. Every night ...

Excerpt:  One of the officers, a man in his late twenties, called us all together one morning. “We are going to separate into two groups,” he told us. “The older boys form one line. Right here.” He stepped forward and drew a line in the dirt with his boot. “Now,” he said, “and I mean right now.” From the sound of it so far, this was going to be bad, I thought. The officer showed no humanity, no emotion, except a sort of anger. Quickly, the older boys, including my cousin David, hurried to line up. “Much too sloppy,” the officer said. “Make this a straight line. The SPLA doesn’t tolerate less than perfection.” He waited till the boys had formed a near-perfect row. “All right,” he continued. Now you younger boys. Behind the older ones. And I want a line just as straight as theirs.” He waited till we tried to make a perfect row. “Good,” he said. “Now those probably are going to be the only words of praise you’ll hear from me. We’re not here to please one another. We’re here to be sol...

By: Adier Mach Deng. Hot air seared my lungs; my body dripped with sweat. How could we do it? A few steps and I wanted to turn back. The sand burned my feet; the sun beat down so hard my head pounded. And we’d gone only a few steps into the Sahara.To say it was horrific is an understatement. In less than an hour some of the boys began to reel and stagger. They dropped over and couldn’t get up. They were too weak already, too dehydrated. “We have to help,” I yelled to my cousin. “We can’t just leave them here.” His face filled with anguish. “What can we do? There are many of them falling. We can’t help them all.”