LIFE & CULTURE

NEW HOPE FOR

SOUTH SUDAN
THROUGH SPORTS

Even after its independence in 2011, long-lasting ethnic conflicts
still persist in South Sudan. National Unity Day, a sports festival for“Peace and Social Cohesion” that began in 2016 with the supportof the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has been broadening
the mindset of the country’s young generations toward bridging
the differences in ethnic backgrounds.
While the Olympic and Paralympic Games
provide a stage upon which the world’s top athletes
can compete at the highest level, they are also an
opportunity to bring cohesion and hope to countries
through sports. South Sudan provides a good example.
After conflict that lasted more than half a century, thecountry won independence from Sudan in 2011. But
there have been repeated domestic ethnic conflicts
since then, and even now there are over 3.8 million
refugees inside and outside the country. Despite suchcircumstances, four athletes from South Sudan will
be heading to the Olympic and Paralympic GamesTokyo 2020. The athletes found it difficult to train inJAPANSOUTH SUDAN

their own country, but they discovered a way aroundthat impasse thanks to support from the Japanese cityof Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, which organized along-term pre-Olympics camp for them beginning inNovember 2019. Guem Abraham Majok Matet, whowill compete in the men’s 1,500 meters, says, “ForSouth Sudan, which has long suffered from a civil
war, the opportunity to appear in the festival of peace[represented by the Olympics] has great significance.
I want to give the kind of performance [at the Games]that will encourage people in my home country.”
The future Olympians and other athletes fromSouth Sudan had lacked the opportunity to train andcompete domestically amid their country’s instability,
but eventually they got the chance through the annual
National Unity Day (NUD) sports festival, launchedin the capital city, Juba, in 2016 with the assistanceof the Japan International Cooperation Agency( JICA). Athletes aged 19 or younger gather fromaround the country to compete in athletics, football,volleyball, and other sports, with the tournament
providing a springboard for outstanding talents toadvance to international competitions, and then on
to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As the only
official sports tournament in the country, NUD gives
the young South Sudanese athletes the chance to win
glory in their chosen fields, and attracts more than
60,000 spectators.
Another major goal of NUD is to promote peaceand social cohesion through sports. JICA fully
supported the South Sudanese government at thetime of the tournament’s founding, with the aim ofproviding an opportunity for young people—whowill lead the country in the future—to get to knoweach other and overcome the barriers of ethnicity.
The wide-ranging support included funding andarranging preliminary events across the country andconstructing competition grounds. Since then, JICA
has continued to support and work together withthe government and international organizations todevelop NUD further by formulating various creative
projects, one example of which is the peacebuilding
workshop during the tournament, where athletes
from different ethnic groups can interact with each

NUD draws athletes from across South Sudan
to compete in a variety of events including
athletics, volleyball, and wheelchair basketball.
(Photo taken at NUD 2020)

Four South Sudanese athletes representing their country have been training
at a long-term pre-tournament camp ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games Tokyo 2020. Guem Abraham (middle), who will compete in themen’s 1,500 meters, joined a middle-distance race in Tokyo in April, inwhich he placed second, recording a personal best.

Left: During NUD, a tug of war event takes place where athletes from different states formteams. The tournament staff, including KANAMORI Daisuke from the JICA South Sudan
Office, have a team, too.
Right: There is also a workshop to learn about peace, at which the athletes express their own
pro-peace messages.

other by learning together. In addition, the NUD
participants are also able to deepen their exchange
during the tournament just by living together. AsKANAMORI Daisuke of the JICA South Sudan
Office says, “We assign dorm rooms so that athletes ofdifferent ethnic backgrounds share rooms together.
By eating and sleeping in the same place, they get toknow each other, becoming friends and staying intouch through social media after the tournament.” Ina 2019 questionnaire, over 95% of athletes responded
that they had become friends with a participant fromanother part of the country.
After the tournament, the athletes serve as peace
ambassadors throughout the country by sharing theirexperiences at NUD with their local communities.
The way they do so varies, from organizing sports
events for children of different ethnic backgrounds
to talking about their NUD experiences on theradio. Still, the athletes have something in common.
“Many of them try to form deeper friendships incommunities and teams, with an awareness that theyare serving as role models,” Kanamori says.
In addition to being an Olympian, Guem Abraham
Majok Matet is an ambitious yet kindhearted peace
ambassador. He says, “I think that NUD contributes
to peace in South Sudan in a way that is hard todescribe in words. By letting us directly interact withothers in the country with different backgrounds, thetournament has enabled us athletes to let go of thevarious preconceptions that we might have had andhas helped us learn to understand each other.” At theOlympics and Paralympics as well, his aim is to turn theGames into an opportunity for greater cohesion thatbridges ethnic divides. “I want to put smiles on the facesof many people in South Sudan. I want to do that notjust through my running but by actively engaging in any
activity that leads to peace. My hope is that by doing so I
will bring smiles to my fellow South Sudanese.”

Photos courtesy of JICA