Social media, marriages among causes of animosity among youth – lobby
Hate speech and disagreements in social events such as wrestling are some of the factors sowing seeds of discord among the youth in Jonglei State.
This came up during a community peace dialogue by the Jonglei Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (JIPDS) on Tuesday.
The dialogue that brought together three counties of the Greater Bor Community — Twic East, Bor and Duk—was aimed at addressing the causes of conflict in the area.
It was attended by 40 chiefs and youth leaders from the Greater Bor Community.
Speaking at the workshop yesterday, Deng Anyang, Executive Director – JIPDS, said the dialogue tends to provide a platform for the youth to address the root causes of the conflict among them.
“I need Bor community which is united. We need to have one Bor that will represent the will of this land. If they continue to have hate speech among themselves, there will be no room for them to live peacefully,” Deng said.
He urged the youth and the communities to refrain from social media hatred and stop mockery statements against other communities.
“I take this opportunity as a courage to bring people of Bor community together so that we have the durable solution to this issue of ‘I am Bor, Duk and Twic’ to an end,” he stated.
The paramount chief of Bor County, Malaak Ayuen, appreciated the effort done by the organisation to bring the youth together.
“The main causes of the division and conflicts among the people of Bor community include marriage issues, hate songs and speeches,” Malaak said.
He called on other organisation to arrange for a similar campaign to bring together the people, especially the artist, wrestlers and women.
Wal Alier, the chairperson of Jonglei State Youth Union, said that the division among the youth is fueled by hate speech and wrestling.
He said the problem in the country is that the youth like following politicians as well as focusing on their respective communities.
“We need to be one and live alone the politicians,” Wal said.
