An open letter on the issue of Abyei, you published on Sudanesonline.com

Dear Gibreel Musa Ahmed,

How are you in Doha? You know what, I spent seven months in that beautiful city; it was developing then, and those skyscrapers I see now on the television were not there yet. My contemporaries were Mahjoub Ibrahim Hassan, Hassan Satti, Kamal al-Zubeir, Mohammed Suleiman, and many others. I have lost contact with them, and do not know whether they are still there. The period in which I was in Doha, Qatar, was between April 1991 and December of the same year.

In any case, the reason I am writing this letter to you is an article you wrote in the electronic publication referred to above, titled “Abyei is The Most Important Region for the Messirya”. If you had accompanied it with your private electronic mail, you would have received it as a private communication. So I was a little bit confused: I did not have an address, nor could I ignore the things you wrote in that article. I therefore decided to write you this open letter.

Indeed, your article does not contain anything of substance worth considering in a detailed response. It contains platitudes and general false statements. This sort of views intrigues me. They invariably come from people who hold prejudices against my people of Abyei. And in this case, I would assume somebody writing what you wrote must be from the Baggara. If, in fact, you come from the Messeriyya, your point view is understandable.

I also assumed that before writing your article you must have read the 256 pages of the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC), no matter whether you are from the Messeriyya or otherwise. Because I believe that when a person writes in an electronic media such as Sudaneseonline.com, he must be careful about what he writes about, for the simple reason of unintentionally insulting the intelligence of the media readers, some of whom are very well-informed about the current issues, and Abyei is among those current issue.

Your article contained no facts, no reference to either history or geography. Each line you wrote raises questions. For instance and I quote, “Since ancient times Messeriya believed to be the original population in Abyei besides to their brothers of Dinka Ngok who were coming from the deep south…” Since when, the Messeryya were considered the original population of Abyei? Are there no specific dates, and what is the meaning of Abyei? Is it an Arabic word, if so what does it means in plain language?

Where is your evidence that the UN is supporting the Ngok Dinka? Why do you think that the fact that Ngok Dinka is claiming its historical right is not to their interest? Do you know the interest of Ngok Dinka more than they know? Where are your facts to support such an assumption? From what historical facts did you based your conclusion that the Ngok Dinka arrived in the area after the Messeriyya? Who is the indigenous of the Sudan? The Messerriyya or the Ngok Dinka? If Ngok Dinka is the indigenous of the Sudan, how come the Messeriyya who admittedly migrated from the Arabian Peninsula be the first to arrive in the area?

Mr. Gibreel, each line in your article raises questions, and I do not think that I should waste my time following through those questions. I will advice you to at least read the ABC report before you take up your pen and write again. In Doha Qatar, there would be one or two Ngok Dinka chaps. Why don’t you approach him/them and calmly discuss with him/them the issues involved?

Yours Sincerely
Charles K Deng
[email protected]