Women’s leaders invited to the peace talks in Addis Ababa called for ‘repentance and humility’ from South Sudanese leaders seeking power rather than peace. They denounced war as evil, associating it with arrogance, greed, falsehood and hatred. The following statement was distributed on Friday by the ‘South Sudan Women’s Bloc’ and was signed by Amer Manyok, Mary Bior, Maria Gideon and Chelsea Badal.
Women for peace
The price of peace is to abandon fear and replace it with faith – faith that if we obey God’s laws we will receive God’s blessings. The price of peace is to abandon hate and allow love to reign supreme in our hearts – love for all our fellow human beings over the world.
The price of peace is to abandon arrogance and replace it with repentance and humility, remembering that the way of peace is the way of love. The price of peace is to abandon greed and replace it with giving, so that none will be spiritually injured by having more than they need while others in the world still have less than they need.
– This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.
– Our prime purpose in this life is to help others and if you can’t help them at least don’t hurt them.
– The root of goodness lies in the soul of appreciation for goodness. If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for others.
– When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot when you realize that everything spring only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.
– The only alternative to war is peace and the only road to peace is negotiations.
– For it isn’t enough to talks about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
– This I know. This I believe with all my heart. If we want a free and peaceful world, if we want to make the deserts bloom and man grow to greater dignity as a human being – we can do it! Whenever we experience happiness and peace in our natures, we are at the gate where the medicines of joy, laughter, play, fun and humor flourish.
– South Sudan women need peace, a people’s peace – a peace without victory, a peace without conquests or indemnities.
- No more war widow,
- No more war orphans,
- No more war wounded disabled
- Peaceful nation one people
File photo: Women’s leaders at a training by the Committee for Healing, Peace and Reconciliation in Yei, South Sudan, October 2014