Listen now to the voice of South Sudan

Children play on a destroyed fighter plane in Juba on April 21, 2016. Since the first bullet was fired exactly four years ago, then multiplied a million-fold, the South Sudanese have been forced to listen to the deafening sounds of civil war. PHOTO | CARL DE SOUZA | AFP

We refuse to be silent. Not anymore. Since the first bullet was fired exactly four years ago, then multiplied a million-fold, the South Sudanese have been forced to listen to the deafening sounds of civil war.

Guns firing. Women screaming. Children crying. Feet scuffling to safer ground.

But no one ever cared to listen to our voices. The voices of millions of people who are not party to this conflict.

The people want to be heard. But how can they if the space and opportunity for the people who represent them is limited?

That space continues to be dominated by the elite.

While they represent the interests of their peers at the negotiating table, the concerns of the rest of the population remain unheard.

TATTERED

Men in crisp suits can never begin to imagine the tattered lives of people who suffer the most in this war: The women targeted by sexual violence; youth deprived of an education as they flee armed clashes; people with disabilities stranded on distant islands with little means to provide for themselves. Lack of inclusivity is one of the reasons why conflicts continue to explode across the world.

If only greater space was created for those who can best represent the voices of the majority – the people who can’t understand the reason for the fighting - we wouldn’t just be aiming for blanket political settlements or tone-deaf policies.

The focus would be on finding solutions. Peace processes exclusive to the elite are doomed to fail.

Yet, if you include the voices of communities through civil society organisations, peace agreements have a 64 percent greater chance of lasting.

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

We saw the power of active citizenship during the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya.

The people campaigned for peaceful co-existence. In doing so, they ended the violence that killed more than 1,000 people. We know how peaceful movements like this can muffle the guns that are cocked for more carnage.

In South Sudan, even with limited space, advocates have proven creative and resourceful in making sure that the call for peace reaches every corner of the country.

SECURITY

We have seen this through sport, where people from different tribes play football together.

We have seen this through visual arts, poetry, and music, where artistes express their weariness over the war, calling on all to embrace peace.

We have also seen civil society push for security sector reform. As armed groups negotiate through the gun, South Sudan Law Society and Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation are doing extensive research and consulting with communities to learn how to prevent killings.

They are building evidence to support recommendations that will hopefully lead to changes to the law to protect women from sexual violence.

ARMS

Laws that will curb the proliferation of arms. Laws that will make every South Sudanese feel a little safer.

A country where everyone feels safer a common vision for all peace advocates, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, and ideology.

A South Sudan where women will carry on with their daily activities without facing the risk of rape. Where every child can have a quality education.

A South Sudan where people can access affordable health care, and mothers don’t have to risk their lives to bring a new life into the world. It’s time to make this a reality.

We cannot do it as individual organisations. But together we are powerful. While others show their force by the number of their troops or by how loud a bang their guns can make, we can show ours through our voices, united in one goal. Let our voice echo throughout the country, and the rest of the world.

Ms Moriku is Oxfam’s strategic partnership manager in South Sudan. [email protected]