By Isaac Chol<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a strange quietness in Juba this week. Not the calm kind \u2014 it\u2019s the kind of silence that sits in your chest, making you wonder if you\u2019ve forgotten something important.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It lately happens every year around this time.<\/p>\n The Secondhand clothes \u201cAly-wara\u201d vendors at Konyo-Konyo still call out their prices. The Boda boda riders still argue about fuel. The shops still adjust dollar rates like they\u2019re playing a game only they understand.<\/p>\n But beneath it all, there\u2019s a question no one asks directly: Will there be Independence Day celebrations this year?<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s the first week of July. And in a country like ours, that means one thing: waiting without knowing what for.<\/em><\/p>\n You won\u2019t see official posters yet. You won\u2019t hear announcements on the radio. But the people know how to read the signs. And the signs are there. In Hai Thoura,<\/em> old speakers have been pulled out of storerooms. A group of youth tested a generator last night, and though the lights kept flickering, the music played anyway. A woman selling boiled eggs nearby swore she\u2019ll have chicken for sale on the 9th \u2014 whether anyone comes or not.<\/p>\n In Atlabara C<\/em>, boys are practicing dance moves in empty lots. No official competition, no promised prize. Just the unspoken agreement that on July 9, someone has to make noise. Even if it\u2019s just the beat of an old speaker on a borrowed fuel for the generator.<\/p>\n And over in Sherikat<\/em>, there\u2019s talk of fireworks. Not the state-sponsored kind. The other kind. The ones handmade or people smuggle in from across the border, saved for moments like this when silence feels heavier than bullets.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not about politics. Not anymore. It\u2019s about remembering we once had a day worth marking.<\/p>\n Even those who don\u2019t plan to join, know something\u2019s coming. You can hear it in the way tea vendors stretch conversations late into the night. In the way boda riders\u2019 joke about who\u2019ll get the first client on July 9. In the way the price of chapati rises a little \u2014 because some things never miss a chance to climb.<\/p>\n And the truth is \u2014 whether there\u2019s an official celebration or not, South Sudan celebrates in its own way.<\/p>\n Some will blast music on old radios. Some will gather around a cup of tea, sharing the same stories of \u201cthat first 9th<\/sup> July.\u201d Some will remember the flags. Some will remember the faces now gone.<\/p>\n And many, without saying it, will wish for small things: A meal that doesn\u2019t finish too fast. A day without bad news. A promise that maybe next year will be easier.<\/em><\/p>\n Hopeless people stop wishing for big things. They wish for the kind of small joys no one notices except those too tired to ask for anything more.<\/p>\n This is the week before the anniversary of a country that still calls itself young, still trying to figure out how to celebrate itself. And though no one will admit it \u2014 we\u2019re all watching. In some places, it\u2019ll be quiet. In others, it\u2019ll buzz. And through it all, a stubborn people will find a way to remind themselves: We\u2019re still here. And that, for now, is reason enough.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Isaac Chol There\u2019s a strange quietness in Juba this week. Not the calm kind \u2014 it\u2019s the kind of silence that sits in your chest, making you wonder if you\u2019ve forgotten something important. It lately happens every year around this time. The Secondhand clothes \u201cAly-wara\u201d vendors at Konyo-Konyo[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":37169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oped","category-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Isaac-Aguer-.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37170,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168\/revisions\/37170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAnd nobody dares predict what the government is planning \u2014 because most times, the government itself doesn\u2019t know until the last minute.<\/p>\n
\nWaiting to see what kind of day, 9th<\/sup> July, will be this time.<\/p>\n