29/08/2026
US CARRY PENS AND BOOKS, NOT GUNS: A CALL FOR PEACE AMONG SOUTH SUDANESE YOUTH
By Mr. Yakani
Our forefathers, fathers and mothers carried guns and fought through difficult times because they believed they were fighting for a better future, freedom, dignity and peace for their people. Many sacrificed their lives, families, opportunities and dreams in the hope that the generations coming after them would live in a better South Sudan.
Today, the responsibility before us as young people is different.
We do not need to carry guns to fight one another. We need to carry pens, books, ideas, knowledge and determination to build the country we want.
enemy should not be one another
Regardless of where we come from, which community we belong to, which language we speak or which part of South Sudan we call home, we are South Sudanese.
Our differences should never become a reason for us to kill, hate or destroy one another.
South Sudan is blessed with enormous natural resources and human potential. Yet many of these resources remain underdeveloped or untouched. Instead of turning our energy against one another, young people should be asking:
How can we use our knowledge and skills to develop our country?
How can we transform our natural resources into opportunities for our communities?
How can we create jobs instead of creating conflicts?
How can we become doctors, teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, farmers, innovators and leaders who contribute to national development?
When young people fight among themselves, everybody loses. Families lose loved ones, communities lose their productive members, children lose opportunities, and the country loses valuable human capital.
Worse still, internal conflict can create opportunities for others to take advantage of our divisions and exploit the resources that should benefit our people.
us exchange the gun for the pen
A gun may destroy a life in seconds, but a pen can transform a generation.
A gun can create fear, but education can create confidence.
A gun can destroy a school, but a book can build a future.
A gun can force people to run away, but knowledge can empower people to remain, rebuild and prosper.
This is why I call upon South Sudanese youth: let us carry pens and books with zeal.
Let us pursue education and vocational skills. Let us embrace entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, agriculture and professional development.
Let us make education our weapon against poverty, ignorance and hopelessness.
must begin within our homes
When we speak about peace, we should not only think about political leaders, armed groups or communities.
begins with us.
Peace should begin inside our homes.
A husband and wife should learn to communicate, forgive one another, respect each other and resolve disagreements peacefully. Parents should create peaceful environments for their children. Children should learn to respect their parents and one another.
From the home, peace extends to our relatives, neighbors, schools, workplaces, communities and eventually to the entire nation.
It is difficult to demand peace in society while there is hatred, violence and unresolved conflict within our own homes.
If we want a peaceful country, let us first become peaceful people.
speech will never build South Sudan
Hate speech does not solve problems.
It creates suspicion.
It creates fear.
It deepens divisions.
It can turn a disagreement into conflict and a small misunderstanding into a serious crisis.
Our words have power. Therefore, we must choose our words carefully.
Before sharing a message, making a speech, posting on social media or speaking about another community, we should ask ourselves:
Will my words bring people together or push them apart?
Will my message promote understanding or hatred?
Will it contribute to peace or fuel conflict?
Young people have a responsibility to reject messages that promote violence, hatred and division.
diversity should become our strength
South Sudan is home to diverse communities, cultures, languages and traditions. Diversity should not be treated as a weakness.
We should learn to see one another as partners in nation-building.
A person from another community is not automatically your enemy.
A disagreement does not have to become a war.
A political difference does not have to become hatred.
A community difference does not have to become violence.
We can disagree and still coexist.
We can have different opinions and still respect one another.
We can come from different communities and still work together for the same country.
South Sudan we want is in our hands
The future of South Sudan cannot be built by guns alone. It will be built by citizens, responsible leaders, peaceful communities, skilled young people, hardworking families and a generation that refuses to be manipulated into destroying itself.
Our forefathers fought for the future they believed in.
our generation build the future they sacrificed for.
Let us turn our pain into determination.
Let us turn our differences into diversity.
Let us turn our natural resources into opportunities.
Let us turn our youth population into human capital.
Let us turn our schools into centres of transformation.
Let us turn our pens into instruments of peace and development.
message to South Sudanese youth
My fellow young people, do not allow anyone to convince you that killing another South Sudanese is the solution to your problems.
Your future is more valuable than a gun.
Your education is more powerful than hatred.
Your ideas are more valuable than violence.
Your life is more important than any conflict.
Carry a pen. Carry a book. Carry knowledge. Carry hope. Carry peace.
And when we talk about peace, let us remember:
Peace starts within.
Peace starts at home.
Peace starts between husband and wife.
Peace starts with parents and children.
Peace extends to our neighbors.
Peace grows within our communities.
And together, peace can reach our nation.
South Sudan does not need a generation that destroys itself.
South Sudan needs a generation that educates itself, unites itself and builds itself.
Let us choose education over violence, dialogue over hatred, unity over division, and development over destruction.
Our country has enough resources for all of us. Let us stop fighting one another and start building together.
βHate speeches won't change anything, but rather make room for conflicts.β
~MR YAKANI
Voice of Yei
South Sudanese United Students Association-"SSUSA"Soma ss
