12/10/2025
โFor Those Who Built Their Nation With Blood, Not Social Mediaโ.
By: Amos Akoon Kuch Buoi-magakdit, Juba
This is for the 2.8 million lives lost South Sudanese from every tribe, every village. Our countryโs the worldโs youngest nation, but its story? Thatโs centuries old. Long before anyone recognized South Sudan on July 9, 2011, it lived in our peopleโs hearts. Fathers, mothers, kids, farmers, soldiers, civilians they all bled for a land free from oppression. This ainโt about hashtags. Itโs about sacrifice, grit, and refusing to back down.
The Roots: Colonial Mess (1899โ1956)
Under British-Egyptian rule, Sudan got split. The north got schools, roads, political clout. The south? Ignored. Marginalized. Left behind. Our communities Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Azande, Bari, so many others held onto African identity while the north Arabized. That neglect planted seeds of anger. Took decades, but that hunger for freedom grew.
You donโt build a nation by neglect. Freedom doesnโt come easy.
First Civil War: Fighting to Breathe (1955โ1972)
Before Sudanโs independence in โ56, the south rebelled. Seventeen bloody years. Soldiers and civilians endured hell for basic recognition. The โ72 Addis Ababa Agreement gave us self-rule a Band-Aid, really. Sovereignty? That dream kept simmering.
Autonomy was just the start. Peace? A pitstop.
Second Civil War: Blood and Broken Dreams (1983โ2005)
When Sudanโs government shoved Sharia law down our throats, war exploded again. John Garangโs SPLA led the fight. Two decades of chaos. Families torn apart. Villages burned. Normal life? Gone. By 2005, 2.8 million dead. Millions more refugees. But through it all? That dream of freedom never died. This wasnโt about social media clout. It was life or death.
They fought with hearts, not hashtags. With blood, not trending posts. Peace Deal & Freedom Roadmap (2005)
After endless talks, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement dropped. Finally, a real shot:
- Southern Sudan got its own government
- Power-sharing up north
- Fair oil money splits
- A referendum: independence or unity after six years
Freedomโs forged in struggle. Not tweets.
Birth of a Nation (2011)
From โ05 to โ11, we rebuilt. Governments formed. Institutions started. Scars everywhere, but peace held.
January 2011: The vote. 98.83% screamed independence.
July 9, 2011: South Sudan breathed. Juba, our capital. Worldโs newest nation.This country wasnโt built on social media. Itโs built on our peopleโs bones every tribe dreaming together.
Growing Pains (2013โNow)
Independence dawned with hope... then crashed. Political fights. Ethnic clashes. Oil-dependent economy tanking. Infrastructure shaky. But our people? Still standing. Still fighting to honor every sacrifice.
Freedomโs sunrise not noon. Weโre still learning to walk. The Real Deal. South Sudanโs story isnโt political games or online buzz. Itโs 2.8 million lives given not just Dinka or Nuer or Shilluk, but all of us for a land we could finally call home.
To those building nations online: Real freedom costs lives. Not likes. Closing Thought. Weโre a nation forged in fire, but carrying hopeโs torch. Freedomโs never free itโs paid in blood. Every kid born today in Juba, Wau, Malakal? Theyโre the legacy of those 2.8 million souls. May we never forget. May this nation grow strong. United. Free.
Iโm a son of South Sudan. These words are mine aloneno institutions, no politics. Just truth. Reach me at: [email protected].
