Excitement and hope: the Comboni Superior speaks

Father, the Comboni Missionaries were “born” in this land. How are you experiencing this event?
“We have received greetings and congratulatory messages from many people. Almost as if the independence of Southern Sudan was one of our conquests. In part, you’d be right. We have never left this land, even in the darkest years of the civil war. We never even thought of doing it. It is here that the Comboni were born, thanks to Comboni’s experience and vision, and it is in this land that we must look to understand the meaning of our mission. ”

These days, Dinka, Nuer, Bari and other communities in South Sudan have put aside the divisions of the past to gather under the same, the new national flag. Can you look to the future with hope?
“We can and must. After years of suffering and deprivation, we absolutely must in order to overcome localism and opposition. This does not mean that there will be not be problems, but the conditions exist to accept the plurality that is part of the culture of this people. The same applies to the new institutions that should certainly be accompanied and supported. ”

What struck you the most in these days?
“Surely the contrast between the suffering caused by civil war and the joy that the South Sudanese have been able to express during the celebrations. The wonder at the arrival of a day that many dared not even hope to see was reflected in their eyes. I speak of the wonder about what is happening, the possibility of a new life that is offered before them and for which they thank God with the songs of their tradition. ”

[In: www.misna.org - From our correspondents in Juba, Alessia de Luca and Vincenzo Giardina Tupputi]
Foto: P. Raimundo Rocha