Content Warning: Rape, Acid Attacks, Violence
Marianne Hatley ~ The most pressing issue in South Sudan would be the South Sudanese Civil War. As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, there’s between tensions between the two major ethnic groups which are the majority Dinka population and the non-Dinka populations. I believe that ethnocentrism is the main cause of this conflict because each group sees itself as superior to the other. Political tensions as a result of the president at the time, a Dinka, and his vice president, a non-Dinka. These tensions soon escalated into violence. Most of this violence was inflicted on the non-Dinka community by the Dinka military forces. Mostly Nuer and Shilluk people were targeted so they had to flee the country or be killed by Dinka soldiers. Besides the ethnic cleansing of the Nuer and Shilluk people, there are many other human rights violations occurring. For example, violence against women is at an all-time high. Many women, specifically non-Dinka women, have been raped by these soldiers. Among women, acid attacks have been frequent also. However, these women aren’t just being attacked by the Dinka but also by their own people. There have been reports of women being acid attacked by their own boyfriends. Children have also fallen victim to the many humanitarian violations. There are reports of non-Dinka children being killed and fed to humans. These children are also being forced into battles and to join the military forces. Hundreds of children, many of them captured non-Dinka children, have been recruited.
