Abyei is endowed with vast natural resources. Abyei has water; Abyei has oil; Abyei has prominent enlightened leaders; Abyei is a prosperous land. Abyei has a long history of enormous contribution to the freedom of South Sudan.
The editor of Warriors from Abyei in the Liberation of South Sudan, Dr Francis Mading Deng, is the best example of an outstanding scholar-writer in South Sudan, Africa and beyond; he has written over four books. The Africa World Books team is blessed to be working with him. Dr Deng is a politician, statesman, and diplomat, who served as the newly independent country's first ambassador to the United Nations from 2012 to July 2016.
The book, Warriors from Abyei, has been released and is signed in this photo by the eminent editor and scholar, Dr Francis Mading Deng.
We thank all those who contributed to the publishing process. I congratulate the co-authors, Pieng Deng Kuol, who was a brilliant student of engineering when he joined the liberation struggle, Awuor Deng, who tells the story of her rebellion jointly with one of her half-sisters, Nyenagwek Kuol, a fighter turned ambassador of peace, and Raphael Tikley Abiem, a nine-year old child soldier, driven by anger to leave his education in a prestigious Catholic School in the North to join the rebellion. All of them have set an example for other veteran liberators to follow. This book can serve as a template for how to document a community’s contribution to the liberation of the nation.
I wish to thank the friends of Africa World Books who have stood by us throughout this challenging journey. Their immense support is much appreciated.
This book is now available through various channels, locally and internationally. Please contact us for further information. Nation-building is a collective effort, and regardless of the distance and the benefit one is getting, we, as privileged citizens, must do extraordinary things to make our nation proud and respected in the eyes of other countries.
My heart is in books. History must be recorded before it is lost. I will continue to thank the talented authors for their dedication in making reading materials available to all current and future generations. The authors will live many lives because books are forever. Generations will follow in the footsteps of those who have written books, whereas the stories of those who share stories orally will be limited or lost. I urge our veterans to share their memoirs with our nation. Your immense contribution can only be known nationally and internationally through books.
In my clan, only one person has written four books since creation. Oral history and illiteracy have enslaved us. I say “No” to oral history. Our fervent desire is that Africa World Books will contribute to eradicating illiteracy and the oral culture across South Sudan and Africa.
Peter Deng
Founder/CEO of Africa World Books (Publisher & Distributor). Email: peterdeng@africaworldbooks.com