Dream No. 9 Of 10: Un-obstructed Passage "You are out of luck if you are a long-haul truck driver bringing the country’s much needed goods from Mombasa in a gruelling slow journey to Wau via Juba and points beyond" 18 August 2016
By Alfred Sebit Lokuji All previous dreams come to naught, without the unhindered movement of goods and people. Freedom of movement is a natural right - obvious even to animals and birds. Why, why, why, must a road-user be always asked “mashi wen?” What business is it of yours where I am going? If there was danger ahead I would have heard about it! Sometimes I want to be Mr. Nice Guy and respond to Mashi Wen: “Your XXX sent me an urgent love SMS, I must go see her!” and let’s have a go at it right there. That maybe a more glorious way to go, than wait to be shot for no known reason on your way from Church by Mr. Unknown Gunman! Even IN TIME of PEACE, “Mashi wen?” Freedom is far until you do not hear this anymore any time of day, night, week, month or year! There are official ways to record your movement if need me – Not this way. And who is asking this? Generally and obviously untrained persons! Where are you going? Perhaps some nuts just enjoy the shrieking sound of a whistle to stop drivers! Even in peacetime, “mashi wen?” - coming from the parched lips of a person with questionable authority! All that is clear is that he is wearing some kind of uniform or slung an AK47 on his shoulder. You might get hit by a recklessly driven numberless vehicle, full of unkempt young men who rush out to tell you that you have to pay for their damaged vehicle at a location of their choosing – even if it is their driver’s fault. They never heard of insurance! You know this is part of “your government”, and so you feel overwhelmed, helpless. You are out of luck if you are a “foreigner” bringing goods into the country without gifts or very expensive shai for them. If you are not convinced about this reality, assume you are going to Rejaf to build a tukul with some very ordinary wood you purchased from Suk Jebel in Juba. You are stopped by white-dressed robbers as you exit the market area. As you enter the cross-roads in front of the barracks, you meet some more who want more; at the exit of Suk Sitta you meet yet more; as you turn towards St. Theresa’s Cathedral some more; at the Davinci crossroads, you meet another group; and as you are about to thank your god that it is all over, you find some more at the Rejaf junction, and maybe even more at Gumbo Market! They always begin with “mashi wen?” Do they represent one government? You are out of luck if you are a long-haul truck driver bringing the country’s much needed goods from Mombasa in a gruelling slow journey to Wau via Juba and points beyond – and your reward is “mashi wen” or “kalas shuflena shai”? Even diplomats, under clear immunity rules, “mashi wen?” As you enter a public office as a citizen, “mashi wen?” This IS a nightmare – and the dream is that it will stop, to allow new towns to spring up! Pre-requisite: equal protection of the law; and freedom of movement for persons and goods guaranteed. Posted in: Opinions - See more at: http://gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/19778/Default.aspx#sthash.NcmhNkns.dpuf -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqMLQV3PBZJTmkvbnYVYz6zwoe0P2DfE%3D8axT_1K4yOTA%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
