18/03/2026
Open Letter to the President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
By Atong Atem Barach
Speech on Peacebuilding and Mediation for South Sudan and Africa.
Honourable Father of our Nation, President Salva Kiir Mayardit,
Your Excellency’s daughter, respected leaders of South Sudan,
Honourable leaders of African nations, and fellow citizens,
Today, I stand before you with a heart full of hope and a vision for our beloved South Sudan and our continent.
Our nations are young, full of potential, and blessed with people who have the strength and wisdom to create positive change. Yet, we have faced many challenges—conflicts, disagreements, and divisions that have caused suffering, tears, and the loss of many dreams.
We cannot ignore our past, but together we can shape our future.
That future must begin with peace.
True peace is not only the absence of war—it is the presence of understanding, dialogue, compassion, and respect for one another.
Books on peacebuilding and mediation are powerful tools. They teach us how to resolve conflicts without violence, how to listen to each other with patience, and how to work together for the good of all. These books are not just collections of pages—they are guides for leaders, communities, and every citizen who dreams of a safer, stronger, and more united nation.
I respectfully address our Father of the Nation, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and Your Excellency’s daughter:
we humbly ask for your leadership in introducing Silversil to our country so that our people can be free from tears and suffering year after year. With your guidance, with education, and with peaceful solutions, we can build a South Sudan where joy replaces sorrow, hope replaces fear, and unity replaces division.
To the leaders of South Sudan and to all African nations where wars have brought pain and despair: let us learn from the wisdom of peacebuilding and mediation. Let us use knowledge and dialogue to heal our lands, to teach peace in our communities, and to build a future where every child can grow without fear.
Let us act today, not tomorrow, for every moment counts when lives and futures are at stake.
I call upon all South Sudanese—students, teachers, leaders, and families—to open these books, read them, and practice the lessons they teach. Let us embrace mediation, compromise, and empathy. Let us teach our children that dialogue is stronger than anger, and that understanding is more powerful than hatred.
Together, we can create a South Sudan—and a peaceful Africa—where disputes are solved at the table, not on the battlefield. A continent where communities live in harmony and where every voice is heard, valued, and respected.
Let us rise together, open the books of peace, and write a new chapter in the history of our nation and our continent—a chapter filled with hope, courage, unity, and progress.
Fellow citizens, honourable Father of our Nation, Your Excellency’s daughter, and respected leaders of Africa, the power of peace is in our hands. Let us use it wisely. Let us read, learn, and act. For South Sudan, For Africa, for our children and for generations to come.
The writer is a student studying in a neighbouring country.
she can be reached at: +254102912629
Email: [email protected].
