In remembrance of Dr. John Garang

I vividly remember the day Dr. John Garang died seven years ago. I was at the university attending a lecture. Upon receiving an urgent phone call, my professor suddenly announced that the lecture was over and that campus was being evacuated. The leader of South Sudan, Dr. John Garang had died after the Ugandan presidential Mi-172 helicopter he was flying in crashed mysteriously. We were advised to go home; chaos had erupted in the streets of Khartoum. 

I was a student in my second year of university. Though I was young and oblivious towards most of what was going on in my country, I held great admiration for this man. I was confused about the war but pleased about the peace agreement he had sought after. 

In a matter of minutes, waves of disarray sparked across campus. As I walked out of the lecture room, I could see smoke from a few kilometres away. I heard gun shots and the sound of glass being shattered. Panic spread amidst the students and moments later, only a few of us remained inside the university. Most of the students drove their cars back home, and there was no one from the administrative staff to make sure we were safe. Ironic; given that I studied at a private university owned by a man who ran it like a tight ship. 

 I tried calling my sisters to make sure they were okay, but the network was down and I couldn’t get through. I tried for hours; the signal never came back until later that night. I knew my parents were probably trying to call me from overseas. They were worried sick; news channels were rife with footage of riots taking place all over the streets of Khartoum. 

There was no way for me to get home. I had no car and there was not one taxi, rickshaw or public transportation bus in sight. All bridges were blocked by angry southerners. The police was absent. Hell had broken loose. 

Those who were left of us had decided to stay together citing that there’s power in numbers. One of the senior students who stayed behind offered to drive us to a friend’s house, located a few minutes from campus. The ride wasn’t easy, we were intercepted a couple of times. On our way there, I saw cars in flames, shattered glass on the floor and a lot of public property destroyed. 

When we finally arrived at the friend’s house, we quickly turned on the news. It was even crazier in other areas. I prayed that my family was fine. Hours later, I was able to get in touch with my sisters. They were all home and safe. My parents were able to reach me and I told them that I was okay. I was told to stay put; returning to my house was not an option as all bridges were blocked until the following morning.

I was puzzled with everything that was happening around me. I wasn’t happy with the street riots, thuggery and looting but I had an understanding of why this was happening. Though Sudan and South Sudan were one country, it certainly didn’t feel like it. It wasn’t easy for my southern compatriots to accept the death of a man like Garang. It was as though their one hope for achieving freedom had been stripped from them. For me and many others like me, accepting his death was a challenge as well. I just wished that on a day like this more people would have known this. 

Dr. John Garang was, and still is known as a great revolutionary. His vision for a “New Sudan” overcame tribal and religious differences and brought the people together in unison. 

In his infinite wisdom, it is this same God that made the Arabs, that made the Nuba, that made the Fur, that made the Dinka, that made the Nubians, that made the Beja, that made the Shuluk, that made the all 500 different ethnic groups in the Sudan. And who is to amend God’s creation? This person; I’d say he is against God! I will WIN this case! ~ Dr. John Garang (1945 – 2005)

I never stop wondering how different things would've been had he still been alive. Would the south still have seceded? Would he had been able to control the damage done by the NCP over the past seven years? Would he had been able to stop the war in Blue Nile and South Kordofan? Would have there been an oil conflict in Heglig?

I know that his legacy lives on; and that we from both Sudans have a responsibility to see it through.

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