A seven-year-old girl identified only as Olivier has made an emotional appeal to South Sudan’s leaders to embrace peace and turn weapons of war into tools for food production, urging them to replace bullets with “janjaro,” beans in local Arabic, and rice.
Speaking during the commemoration of the 43rd Anniversary of SPLA Day in Juba on Saturday, Olivier delivered an emotional message calling for an end to violence and renewed commitment to the ideals of the liberation struggle.
“On this 43rd Anniversary of SPLA Day, we are here to remember the roots of the struggle and the vision of the great SPLA/M liberation,” she said before President Salva Kiir, senior government officials, military officers, diplomats and citizens.
The young girl said the liberation struggle was fought so that the people of South Sudan could live in freedom, peace and harmony.
“All this was so that we could have freedom, peace and harmony, so that we the children of South Sudan could eat, play and sleep well,” she stated.
She added that the sacrifices made during the liberation were intended to guarantee better education, healthcare, roads and a safer environment for future generations.
“It was for us to have better education, better hospitals, better roads, and a better environment,” she said.
Olivier made a passionate appeal for peace, urging leaders to abandon war and focus on development and agriculture.
“Let there be no more gun sounds, we need peace. Let the tanks be changed to tractors, let the guns be changed to hoes, and let bullets be changed to janjaro, (beans) and rice,” she appealed.
Her remarks drew applause from attendees as South Sudan marked 43 years since the founding of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), the former rebel movement that led the struggle for the country’s independence.