BY DAK BUOTH RIEK GAK
‘‘The future promise of any nation can be measured by the present prospects of its youth.’’-John F. Kennedy.
Two decades ago, the World Conference of Ministers for the Youth devised and recommended the International Youth Day. On 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly, via its resolution number 54/120, made a unanimous decision to declare the 12 August as International Youth Day.
This day is significant because it was set aside to address the persistent and perennial challenges facing our gallant Youth around the world. It is a day to acknowledge and appreciate the ideas and roles played by the Youth in their respective localities. Also, this Day serves as a reminder to the world of the moral and legal responsibility to care and guide the Youth to achieve its full potential.
The Youth is an integral part of our African society which forms the majority of our impoverished populace. Therefore, all developmental policies and programs ought to be youth-centered. The good people in all levels of decision-making must know and appreciate that they hold those positions in trust for the Youth and the next generation.
This week, on 12 August 2024, we marked International Youth Day under the Theme: From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Innovation and Sustainable Development.’’ I would like to take this opportune moment to provide definitions and roles of the following inter alia; The Youth, the Senior Youth, and the Senior Youth of South Sudan.
Youth
The term ‘‘Youth’’ lacks a universal definition, and this lacuna is attributed to the fact that Youth undergo different cultural, political, social, and economic experiences. Despite differences, some efforts have been made to arrive at an agreed definition of the Youth.
Renowned Sociologist, Stephen Moore opined that Youth is ‘‘a period of transition between childhood when we are bossed around and regarded as having nothing to offer or contribute to the discussion on matters of importance and adulthood where we are weighed down with domestic responsibility such as having children.’’
In the preamble of the Africa Union Youth charter ratified in 2006 at Banjul, Gambia, Youth was defined as a person between the ages of 15 to 35 years of age.
As an avid reader of the Africa Union Youth Charter, I have crammed at least three Articles including but not limited to one, Article 11 on Youth Participation avers that every young person shall have the right to participate in all spheres of society; two, Article. 21 (e) (f) on Youth in the Diaspora decrees that state parties shall promote and protect young people living in the Diaspora; and that state parties shall encourage young people in the Diaspora to engage themselves in the development activities in their countries of origin; and three, Article. 26 (k) on Youth responsibilities states that Youth shall have the duty to encourage a culture of voluntarism and human rights protection as well as participation in civil society activities.
The East African Community (EAC) which is the constituent political entity operating within the jurisdiction of the African Union borrowed the above-mentioned definition of youth being a person aged 15 to 35 years old. In 1981, the UN Secretary General’s report recognized that ‘‘there is no universally-agreed international definition of the Youth age group’’ However, for a statistical purpose, the United Nations without prejudice to any other definitions suggested by different entities, defines Youth as the persons between the age of 15 and 24 years.
Lastly, we, in the Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS) adopted the Zimbabwean definition which termed the Youth ‘‘as someone who is starting to enjoy freedom for the first time.’’ I prefer this definition largely because it is mixed in the sense that it defines the youth not just biologically, but also politically, socially, and economically.
Senior Youth
On 28 December 2017, Tito Ter Manyang, the former Chairperson of the defunct International Youth for Africa and now Chairperson of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, phoned me from Uganda and asked what I meant by the Senior Youth. I remember telling him that we just wanted to be unique in our way. In addition, I told him not to complain because we were not complaining yet they called themselves International Youth of Africa while they were South Sudanese existing only in Uganda.
Whenever I pen something on social media about the Senior Youth of South Sudan, Activist Moulana Wani Michael would react and dismiss us immediately saying there is nothing called Senior Youth. My response to him has always been that we are entitled to define the Youth the way we want and that we refused to follow the existing Youth definitions which were made without our consensus and consultation by those who drafted and crafted them.
In June 2024, when I became one of the peace negotiators representing the mighty South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A) in the Tumaini Initiative, another vocal member of People Coalition for Civic Action (PCCA) by the name Jacob Dut Bul, would ask me every time we met in the corridors of the peace negotiations at Ole Sereni Hotel to explain what I mean by the term Senior Youth. I would tell him point blank that Senior Youth is a young person in the front for the fundamental change in South Sudan.
On 24 January 2024, I explained the meaning and the roles of the Senior Youth in the live interview I had at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) with Ben Troy Njue. Proudly, we call ourselves Senior Youth by the virtue that we have an in-depth understanding of the problems facing South Sudan. This is shown and justified in our various advocacies and activities in which we came out bravely with practical action and proposals for South Sudan.
Criteria of Senior Youth
An ordinary Youth is different from the Senior Youth. Their differences are manifested in their roles and contributions to the society. An ordinary Youth is a person who believes in the old concept coined by late South African President Nelson Mandela that ‘‘Youth are Leaders of tomorrow,’’ which never comes.
On the other hand, The Senior Youth is an informed and inspired person who believes in the statement of Prof. Chinua Achebe that “a Youth and citizen who tries to avoid the contemporary social and political issues of his country will end up being completely irrelevance like an absurd man in the proverb who leaves his house burning to pursue a rat fleeing from the flame.” This statement is self-explanatory, for it says that anyone who stands aloof in matters of his country or community risks becoming irrelevant. In other words, the statement applauds those who take action sooner than later. I think this plan is necessary because they say “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Apart from their inspiration and beliefs, Senior Youth are often distinguished from ordinary Youth by the following traits namely; First, a Senior Youth is a Youth or citizen who has identified and understood a problem within his or her area of jurisdiction. Naturally, senior youth is not complacent in the sense that he is an inquisitive person who tries to interrogate his surroundings to ascertain the myriad challenges bedeviling the society. For instance, on 26 December 2013, the eleventh day after the conflict unfolded in Juba, we identified a problem of ethnic profiling and killing in Juba and across the country. We came out in the open to denounce violence and its perpetrators.
Second, a senior youth is a youth or citizen who has devised a solution to the problems he has identified in his community and the country at large. Many ordinary youth of now a day are known for complaining about one thing or another. But when they are asked they cannot tell the solution to the problem that they are grappling with. This lack of solution on the part of ordinary Youth is due to the negative culture of indifference that they have perfected over the years. On 26th December 2017, we mobilized ourselves and rallied behind the Peace Revitalization Forum proposed by President Festus Mogae then Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring Evaluation Mechanism (JMEC).
Third, a senior youth is a youth or active citizen who is often heard and seen doing something by applying the solution he has at hand. Sometimes, to have an idea is one thing, and to work on an idea is another. Today, you would find many ordinary Youth with brilliant ideas but you hardly see them pushing and trying those ideas. On 23 March 2023, we risked speaking up in total condemnation of the unlawful rendition and or deportation of asylum seekers back to South Sudan.
Senior Youth of South Sudan
Senior Youth is not the same as the Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS). The latter is an established organization founded by Kenya-educated South Sudanese professionals guided by the yellow star on our national flag to advocate for Peace, Justice, and Social Justice in South Sudan. It was formerly known as the Congress of South Sudanese Patriots for Peace and Reconciliation formed in 2013. It was founded in the wake of the 2013 crisis with clear objectives to dismiss and deny the rumors being peddled at the time that the war was between Nuer and Dinka communities in South Sudan. On 26 December 2013, more than thirty South Sudanese University Students and intellectuals convened a press conference at a Nairobi hotel in which we denied the aforementioned narrative and further called for dialogue between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar. As we converse, the struggle is still on. Having stated said that, I would like to repeat for clarity that the Senior Youth and the Senior Youth of South Sudan are the same because one, the concept of Senior Youth was coined by members of the SEYOSS, and two, the members of SEYOSS are all Senior Youth.
The writer is the National Chairperson of Legal and Constitutional Affairs of the SSPM/A and the founder of the Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS). He can be reached via eligodakb@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.