Caged Animals - a Cry for Justice: Indefinite Cruelty From war-torn South Sudan to Australiaʼs Detention Centres

I'm Mamer Dau Thuch, the author of The Shadows of Wrath-Life Trials.

I was born in South Sudan, a country known both for its extensive resources and its dangerous civil wars.

Poor leadership has led to widespread fear in South Sudan.

Civil wars have killed millions since 1983 and have forced millions more to fl
ee to neighbouring countries. Many more people have taken refuge in Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries across the globe. In 1991, I myself faced death in South Sudan. Conflict always made my life and safety uncertain, and I was exposed to the horrors of war at a young age. In 1991, the genocide struck the citizen of Bor, perpetrated by the Nassir faction. I was almost killed, and when I survived, I was left with nothing but my memories. I fl
ed to Ngalngala in Central Equatoria State, thinking that the war would eventually cease and that I would return to my village. But safety did not come, and I never saw my village again. I would be a refugee for the rest of my life. I do not believe that peace will prevail in my country in my lifetime, and I know that others who share similar journeys to my own feel the same way. I am haunted by the horrors of Bor's genocide and by the trauma of the civil wars in my village and which I also faced in my country. The atrocities I witnessed in South Sudan helped me to understand the world and gave me my story to tell. My hope in telling the story of my life's trials is that, should I live to marry and have children, they will read about my experiences and understand the history of South Sudan. I hope that my future family and my readers will learn what it means to be a refugee and what it takes to settle in a country so far from home.