We are the face and the ambassadorship representing our nations and people. This refers to all of us because we are the people of South Sudan. Whether we live in our beloved country or conflict has taken us far away from home, we have an essential role in keeping our history alive, celebrating our traditions and supporting our home country in any way we can.
As the eminent historian David McCulloch said, “History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” Sadly when I arrived in Australia, I met many young people of South Sudanese heritage who knew nothing of their roots and felt disconnected from their own heritage. They knew nothing of their own history.
My own personal history has made me who I am today. I was born and raised in Wangulei, and despite my travels, my heart is still there, although it has been 26 long years since I left home.
I have many happy memories of growing up in our beautiful country. Without being disloyal to the great country of Australia, my second home which has taken me in with love and support, my first home will always be South Sudan. I support our country wholeheartedly as my prime motivation in life.
I am still in contact with school friends from Katilu Primary school via our WhatsApp group. This dedicated group of former students carry out community projects and is currently working on plans to rehabilitate the school building so we can encourage and support the next generation.
My High School, where I was chairman of the New Sudan Students Union, used to call me “Ambassador”, which was a great honour to me personally however, also instilled in me the pride of our great country.
I was proud of our achievements. Our activities were supported by many notable leaders, including the former Governor of Jonglei State, Philip Thon Leek Deng, my maternal uncle late Elijah Malok, former governor of South Sudan Central Bank, former minister for petroleum Dr Lual Acuek Lual, and the current Archbishop Peter Bol Arok.
I left South Sudan as a refugee fleeing the civil war, and my life took me to Australia. Here I was fortunate to receive a university education. When I graduated, I had two flags, my traditional stick, and a message to Australia, the best second home, as they invested in me.
The title of ambassador has stayed with me, but it is essential to remember that all South Sudanese people can play this role when living overseas. It is our duty to raise awareness and support the people back home as much as we can. We owe it to our heritage to understand our history and make it available to the younger generation.
I have devoted my energies and resources to keeping our history alive and accessible internationally. First, I did this by making South Sudanese books available and then throughout the World, on my Australian journey,
I met many people of South Sudanese heritage who knew nothing of their history and culture.
With my university degree in business studies and my South Sudanese roots, I realised that the key to educating people was to provide information about our history. Thus I decided to start my own publishing company in order to provide a voice. It has been a labour of love rather than a business move, but so far, progress is encouraging.
Going into bookselling when the world is going digital has been tricky; nevertheless, I am optimistic that people will come back to embrace paperback/hardback textbooks rather than ebooks and audio versions. Recently I had a fruitful conversation with the Ambassador, comparing notes about the book industry and what can be done to encourage reading culture among us.
I told him if I was selling cattle, Jieng, Nuer, and Murle would have bought it all or raided it, and although they may be passionate about traditional entertainments such as wrestling, for books, no one cared. However, will their children follow the same traditional path? It seems unlikely.
There is a thirst for history out there that can help and shape our beautiful young country. After all, if our young people understand the struggles and traditions of our country, they can help build a better future.
The groups that Africa World Books is working with are contributing to providing reading materials about their country of origin. Honourable veterans are aging, and information is at risk of being lost. We encourage everyone to record their memoirs and contribute to South Sudanese society as soon as possible.
The memory of the hero who never wrote down an account of his exploits will vanish after a year or so, and although he may be remembered by his tribe, this will soon fade and never cross the borders.
So writing your memoirs is essential if you want people to know and appreciate the contribution you made while living. Your story will become part of the national conversation, and your memoirs shall continue to live on for long into the future. By Peter Deng of Africa World Books.
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