Education and development are two critical elements to bring peace and reconciliation between the warring Murle and Lou-Nuer communities of Eastern Jonglei together with a stronger presence of the Church.
Retired Bishop Paride Taban of Torit was part of a ten-member team the Sudan Council of Churches sent to Pibor and Uror counties on Friday for a three-day mission to bring the two communities together after 600 people were killed in yet another attack.ECS Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul headed the mission that split in two groups of five to visit Pibor and Uror counties.
Bishop Paride led the group that met the Murle community in Pibor.
He told SCR News that he was very impressed with the isolation in which those communities live in Eastern Jonglei. He said they are good people in dire need of development and education and a stronger presence of the Church.
Bishop Paride said people in Eastern Jonglei are completely cut off from the rest of the country especially during the rains.
There are no roads, and a piece of soap that in Juba costs two pounds there costs 12.
Bishop Paride added that the youth needs alternatives to earn money in order to pay the bride-price and marry. And sports facilities to have an alternative to inter-tribal fighting.
He urged politicians to take seriously the needs of those peoples and NGOs to assist with new roads, schools and some development schemes.