Wednesday, April 7, 2010

What do you know about the type of foods you eat most?

By Atok Dan Baguoot



It would be a surprise to learn that organic and inorganic food substances form the major supply of food stuffs on the market today. Food produce without synthetic chemicals is minimal on the market since what imported from Uganda and northern Sudan is purely fertilizers’ grown food. Its chemical contents are almost 90% compared to our home grown African crops under traditional agricultural methods of production. In my rural home town of Parieng, thousands of hectares of land were then ploughed by traditional farmers and grow traditional African crops without fertilizers yet the lands could yield good harvest without exhaustion easily.



That art of hard work has faded off in favour of laziness hidden in pretext of modernization. Our people didn’t use to go to hospitals whenever they were sick simply because their immune system was strong enough to defend them from any attack. Sicknesses like malaria and other typical African sicknesses were tolerated or get cure through local medicines. And the reasons were because of the quality of food they eat comparatively to us who eat modern food and with accessibility of modern medicines,



My recent discussions with the director of Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organizations, Mr. Majak Deng Kuol taught me how dangerous it is to go about eating while you do not know the quality and health impact pose by the food your are eating. It has been a recent acquired culture among the Southern Sudanese that eating bread in local restaurants is a civilization. In Juba today, nobody can tell me that s/he eats at home at day time especially during working days and hours of the week. Traditional cooking style in the house is substituted with buying already baked bread on the market. Those who still adhere to cooking in their houses only prepare the soup and get bread at the nearby kiosk. Laziness is promoted to its climax. Even bridegrooms don’t bother to prepare traditional dishes for their brides as before. It is those who are financially crippled who dare cooking both soup and Acida/ugali and kisera for that matter.



Sodas of varieties and tined water are served at every meal instead of tape water with natural contents. Immediate adverse experience with frequently taking of soda and eating all these sorts of inorganic food substances which are almost junks if not is heartburn.



What I would like to share with you today is the adverse effects of frequent eating of high chemical contained breads and sodas of different brands. In fact, for a bread to be baked there is need to have at least yeast known as potassium bromide in it to flavour both the taste and swollen it size as seen. Medical practitioners know the side effect long use of this chemical to your health. Contact one of them. Cancer is one of the effects associated with as a result of the dangerous chemical. Mr. Majak told me retarded thinking ability among infants another. This actually accounts to why cancer was a dominant disease in northern part of Sudan.



Bread/haash has been the daily meal for almost since the establishment of modern towns in the north. In the South and other parts of country where traditional type of foods were eaten, it is minimal although few cases that had been there were more genetic. High carbonated sodas do also cause what I cannot tell but I hope you know how you normally feel when you have taken much. In functions, those who don’t take hot drinks find it difficult after they have taken much soda in the process of accompanying the occasion to its end.



Besides stressful situation of sodas and bread, eating expired imported food is also at the rise. As much of our daily food is imported from multi-directional pathways, we are always suspicious of the quality of food we consume. Is it expired or not is a normal question. Without it being expired from the manufacturers’ calendar, poor storage facility also affects and alter the quality and taste of that very food substance.

Your health digest is to know your natural physiological needs in order to live your days allocated to you happily instead of becoming regular goer to hospitals. “Health is wealth” therefore, you have that inalienable rights to question on quality of food you eat in spite of your financial circumstances.

“He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it”, Karl Von Knebel.



Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio & TV and can be reached at atokfuture@gmail.com

Keep your registration token in the safest place ever known to you

By Atok Dan Baguoot



"I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am."



Euphoria of elections would be a lively source of regrets to most of us who still live under the yoke of ignorance, and who deem the current registration exercise as something for politicians and their close family members. Be rest assured that it is your moral and democratic rights to participate in this exercise as it is a continuation of the twenty years armed struggle we wholeheartedly waged against the oppressive Khartoum regimes to attain this very process which most of us see as an affair of people in white T-shirts with beautiful writings on them.



Now that registration is over, and again comes another stressful part of the process and that is to say, checking names on the register display which will be done soon as the process is halted. Names shall be displayed in all the centres where you will be obliged again to put off your chore of the day to reconfirm if your name correlates with the one on your rest of documents and for the case of those without National Identity Cards, the right pronunciation of your names is in its place.



I know it is going to be a bit tedious for those of us whose time is spent in bars drinking the whole the day. Losing a document would just be like toppling a cup half full of bear on the table and order another round but for the case of misplacing a registration token, you won’t order for another one because it is once and for all.



Try keeping your voter registration token in the safest place ever known to you. It is your visa to freedom and your patent to gentility if you are to live in the world of your dream. Obey the triplets, of your party, your constituency, and yourself to determine your destiny without prejudices.

I won’t like any of us be moved by the euphoria when seeing the rest of colleagues queuing up yet s/he is a victim because you did not registration therefore, you shouldn’t vote too.

It is you the youth that am talking to because the future is yours. Your uncles and so forth are almost at the sunset of their life and careers as politicians. You are instrumental in changing this society brought down by their shortsightedness and lack of focus. Try to reach across the board and recover your future.



This white token is the only viable valid document that can be used in recruiting new drivers to drive us to the Promised Land of equality, justice and prosperity. It is the salt for your daily decent food which you can eat without efforts from your tribal egos and ethos. Perhaps, it powers will transcend behind tribal lines because recruiting right driver for your constituency guarantees justice in distributing seats on the bus. Southern Sudan free from tribal nuances is possible through you the youth, unlike your elders whose minds are intoxicated by their tribal shadows.

Keeping your token well is the best required out of you as the best candidate of the job in changing this nation and you will never be victim of the euphoria but a joyous participant in the elections.

Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio and TV and he is reached at atokfuture@gmail.com

“Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets”.

By Atok Dan Baguoot

Nowadays, Juba and other major towns in Southern Sudan and Sudan as a whole are beautified by photos of candidates, advertising themselves for their voters to know who they are exactly so that when that D- day comes they should be able to know who they should vote.

Since 70% of voters in Southern Sudan are blind voters, most of the rural voters would be tempted to vote for those beautiful human beings whose photos appear almost like wedding show cast, however, those well fed and decorated photos appear so because of invention of modern equipments that smoothen human skin.

These beautiful elections posters and banners all over Juba towns and anywhere else tell you how serious Southern Sudanese are with democracy although election alone doesn’t measure how mature is the societies in dealing with democracy because election is an element within the Greece Democracy.

“Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world”, for this government to be for the people, by the people and of the people, these well selected pictures deserve the space they occupied.

They might be seen as dirtying all the walls and trees but they are healthier than those bullets which riddled them those years. There would be no more wailing and giggling of children for none other than fear of sky giving birth to death besides desired rains. Our founding father of this nation Late Dr. John Garang De Mabior (RIP) said that Sudan will never be the same again as we sign this peace, therefore, Sudan now stands two chances and that is either peace forever or ruin forever and remain as a failed state.

My short message to voters is that never let your voting be swayed by these beautiful profiles full and political rhetoric without knowing who that person is exactly because you will either regret in term less than the last twenty years we spent fighting. Ahead of us are elections but the most important part is the referendum whom we have invested all our efforts whether be it government, civil society and individuals.

I know there are flatter tongue politicians who could be able to convince you beyond your belief, watch out of these talkers. Their speeches would move mountains and turn all impossibilities into possibilities, turn all their messes into strength while their well designed pictures will lure you into beauty contest and vote unwisely based on pictorial compromises.

Most of these politicians have finished all catchy and capturing English positive adjectives, describing all what they are to do to you as the innocent voter. Their well calculated words know your strength and weakness hence; you will always be their victims. Besides pictures, tokens shall be given in exchange of your votes. Sudanese men and women are the most beautiful human beings according to Biblical description, thus be aware when dealing with these pictures.

Lastly, the only barometer of measuring their accuracy is to know them before they could know you after all they all come from our villages and some of them were leaders before so what is the reason of not knowing them better then they think.

Pictorial magnitudes would either sway you but unless you know how much does each beautiful picture cost. Better go to artists along all corridors here in towns to consult so that you know how honest they were in their previous duties. Otherwise, the cost of these large size pictures is almost equivalent to quarterly budget of a young country like Southern Sudan if, and probably this might be where our money looted in the last five years might have gone to. Therefore, your vote will either help reduce or eradicate corruption in determination. Remember our President General Salva Kiir Mayardit saying zero tolerant to corruption.

Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio & TV and can be reached at atokfuture@gmail.com

Attractive unity versus attractive separation

Atok Dan Baguoot

“A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten,” said John F Kennedy.



It is in every Northern politician mine in the Sudan that unity is to be made attractive whereas the Southern Sudanese politicians talk of possible separation of the South if the North fails to present beautiful courtship in the process of awaiting for referendum of the South comes the D-day when the so called marginalized masses of the South, Abyei area and popular consultations for the two States of South Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. The two faceted scenarios are being seen as a matter of recycling political retirees to continue enjoying the status of governance in the name of self determination and unity. The whole issue is just the bitterness of losing power to public through democratic means. Unless attractive unity is in the interest of political class, it will always remain unattractive to public but unless attractive separation is availed to public, it will also remain unattractive to political families or the dynasties of Sudan.

Why should separation be made attractive for the marginalized Southern Sudanese and the rest? This actually answers the myth associated with five decades struggles posed by the people of Southern Sudan. Frequent sophisticated Japanese Toyota cars on our roads without social amenities does not answer the question of the lost of two millions lives but it even presents the same scenario which provoked the cause of series of rebellions because marginalized population is still denied resources and a say in the kind of governance in spite of their long and bitter struggles.

Alternatively, our fortunate political class in the South would have opted for attractive separation if NCP fails to provide impressive and attractive unity as far the greed laid in the peace pact. This in fact attributed to rampant insecurity which most of our political class mispronounced as tribal hatred. It is actually expression of resentments of which each and every tribe feels marginalized by the other tribe yet it isn’t the fact. Out people are unable to discover the genesis of their problem and where it positions itself because they are kept busy of NCP bad deeds. All these came about because the government policy of financial devolution is not that very clear and that’s why monies end up in state headquarters without reaching the population in Payams and Bomas. Some people termed it as corruption which contributed to lack of services to people but unless the system was deliberately designed to make poor remains poor and rich to maintain the status quo.

Some people do describe the current isolated settlement pattern in Juba to be one of the reasons. Hai Amarat in Juba where almost GoSS Ministers are concentrated was deemed appropriate because there, good roads, light, and water services are available to political families because it is them to decide where to take development to. These are simple facts which fuel chaos among our people and it is undisputable couple to severe hunger over the entire region. Residents of the political families in that very place do go to foreign countries for health check to where the rest of their asylum families stay.

For separation to be attractive there must be government of the people for the people and by the people where constitutional post holders are among the population to have direct influence over the governance. For separation to be attractive clouds of doubts of which GoSS is criticized can be cleared through a transparent leadership and it can be done by bringing corrupt suspects to book. Let go for election so that government of appointment is put aside since it interferes with participation of people in the governance. Let constitutional post holders go and build their houses in their respective constituencies for development to be closer to people because 90% of the current MPs don’t have houses in those places they represented. Lastly, both attractive unity and separation were resultant forces of premature independence Sudan obtained in 1956 from Britain. So the whole story of the protracted struggle the South underwent would just be a vicious cycle of moving away from Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (independence) to Sudanization and from Arab hegemony to Africanization and finally to resource controlled or looting state where ruling class will emerge as victory but not the local Southern Sudanese. Mathematically, it can be stated as Anglo-Egyptian condominium versus Sudanization and giving to Arab Hegemony in sideline of Africanization + ruling class state where chaos are inevitable but avoidable through the elimination of corrupt practices.

Its belief and creed are of forceful persuasion

By Atok Dan Baguoot



Its true colours are of distress and hopelessness

Its wings are of despair and hatred

Its bone marrows are of jealousy and envy oil

Its claws are of sorrow and regret

Its skin is itchy and troublesome

Its breathing is of fire and hot humid

Its eyes are of ill-watch and curse

Its name is of deception and cunning



Its first character is of Nasty worst “N”

Its middle identity is of Curse “C”

Its last perception is of perjury of bad “P”

Its long problematic tail is of anarchy

Its forsaken cradle land is of frying pan

It’s newly and forceful acquired land is of boiling pot

Its old cousin is of fire swallowing family

Its land is of explosive chemical for hatred



Its belief and creed are of forceful persuasion

Its name is of coerce and association

Its doctrine is of falsehood and none of inquisitive

Its name is never of free choice

Its name is of deceitful lineage and descendant

Its newly forced name is none of tolerance to my ancient name

Its name is of pretense and protest



Its healthy wish is of ill wish to me

Its wise thinking is of my dull thinking

Its attitude is of disasters in my life

Its greed of my natural wealth is of my destitute

Its greed of occupation of my cradle land is of my devastation

Its greed of my honey is of my early death

Its greed of my fertile black mud is of displacement

It greed of my hospitability of my sufferings



Its abuse of my acceptance is of my regrets

Oh God of justice and freedom, oh creator of appropriateness

Oh giver of trust, oh taker evil

How just is my creator, how selfish is rival

Turn for my rescue, turn for our oneness

Turn for my jovial happiness; turn against my sadness and despair

Turn for my oneness, turn against our division



Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio & TV and he is reached at atokfuture@gmail.com

His flattery tongue, is his silver tongue

By Atok Dan Baguoot



Perfectly, he made it

Made it perfectly for them the oppressed

Molded it into your perfection

Perfection of your innermost desire

Desire you covetously desired

Accord him credit he who made it

He made it for you



To relieve you the oppressed

Oppression beyond your ancient history

Oppression that molded you

Into laughing stock

Into shoe brush likeness

Into his utmost happiness



Relieved you relieve, rested it upon you

Upon you was his seat, Seat of his usual comforts

Comfort of dishonest, Comfort upon he likes most



But he who made it perfect had dared

Dared for your total perfection

He is for your more perfection

For your perfect perfection

Never is never more oppression



Out for more oppression, is out for more perfection

In for more oppression, is out for more perfection

In for more slavery, is in for more ignorance

In for more deceits, is in for your own more short memory

In for more self hatred, is in for more self humiliation

In for more self gossiping, is in for his self salvage





None a self-defensive right is never self rights

Rights never identified is never righteously granted

Accord him he who defended, for he defended

Accord him he who still in for it, in it for you

Voluntarily did he do it, did for self-discovery did he do it





Him who did it yesterday, is him who does it

Him who humiliates me, is him who humiliated me then

Never has he never changed, is never but him

His flattery tongue, is his silver tongue

His present peaceful tongue, is his tomorrow’s war-liked tongue

His present persuasive tongue, is his tomorrow’s harsh tongue

His current hoarse voice, is his tomorrow’s adamant voice

His voluntarily offers, is his defensive cajole



Comparative value, is his comparative devaluation

Does his devaluation, is his credence

False credence, is his force credence



Atok Dan is an employee if Southern Sudan Radio and TV and is reachable atokfuture@gmail.com or 09917221411/0121940974

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tolerate to sit away even in a second.

By Atok Dan Baguoot



It is done

Properly done

He did it wholeheartedly

It is a deal done completely

It is done to block him from further entry

He was fond of entry without

And nobody bothers to ask

Not even a plain peace of it

He too signed it unknowingly

The past will never

Never will it happen as alleged.



It is properly signed

Truly signed to alter falsified past

A past meant to strengthen us

He isn’t here

Because it is so

He depleted my house he

Once occupied

He then called it empty

Empty not even a living thing

Yet he called me mud-like structure

Mud that he can not do without

Black as it appears

With ugly black appearance

That he can not tolerate to leave

Tolerate to sit away even in a second.



He was shortsighted

Shortsighted to figure its value

Its darkness

Its darkness that out weighed

Its colourfulness

Black that outweighed colourless soil

He one time pronounced it empty

But occupied

Occupied by him whom it was meant

Meant to be in without disturbances

But he created it when he entered

Not because he is reckless

But he was cursed by him the giver





A deal done is done

But still pilfering

The empty dark black mud

He then called it empty

Empty of his evil denials

He needs to apportion himself part of this black mud



He is in again in large numbers

Numbers that outweighed mind

Because of ill-gotten power from black mud

Gift of this empty black mud

Power that manipulates the source

See how powerful he is

He even speaks the tongues of black mud

Empty mud



He rejoices when I’m at worse

He rejoices when I’m at mess

He only appreciates my failures

He doesn’t expect me to prosper

Not even a notch of it

Not even an inch

He is a monster that dies courageously

He rejuvenates through my faults

My chaotic mood is his source of survival

Let us watch

Watch in stillness

He sleeps less in a year to conquer me.

He is a nocturnal like-creature.





The writer is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio and TV.

He can be reached through atokfuture@gmail.com