South Sudan's traditional wrestler Alijok Nhial (R) from Yirol reaches out to Majolot Mayom Macher from Terekeka as they compete in a peace match during national championships in Juba, South Sudan February 1, 2020. |
JUBA,
South Sudan
South
Sudanese wrestler Kur Bol Jok strode into the arena, his chest - smeared with
ashes and dust - puffed out as he faced his opponent, bracing for the fight.
Wrestling is a hugely popular sport in the world’s
youngest nation which has been devastated by five years of civil war. Athletes
say it is one of the few outlets where ethnic groups who have fought each other
can engage in friendly competition.
“Wrestling brings peace as different people come
from different places to meet and create friendship,” Jok told Reuters before
the match, a white plastic crucifix around his neck. “Winning brings joy and
losing is normal because it is not a real fight.”
Matches draw huge crowds across the country and
carried on sporadically during the conflict.
Some wrestlers, from pastoral communities where
cows play a critical role in livelihoods and culture, smear their faces and
chests with white ash from fires of cow dung. Bright animal print cloth,
slashed into ribbons, dangles over their shorts.
Jok, dressed for combat in leopard-print, strained
as he grappled with opponent Mar Jalot before flipping him over in the red dust
and putting his hand on Jalot’s chest to signify victory. There’s no hard
feelings.
“We came here for peace with all the tribes
gathered to witness the game,” said Jalot, whose outfit was decorated with
cow-print cloth.
The carnival atmosphere, where wrestlers break out
in dances to celebrate victories and women chant the names of the victorious
athletes, is a welcome respite from the hardships of daily life.
Conflict and corruption have destroyed the
oil-producing East African nation. It won independence from neighbouring Sudan
in 2011 after decades of scorched-earth warfare.
Then civil war broke out two years later, killing an
estimated 400,000 people before the warring sides signed a peace deal in 2018.
On Saturday, the president and former rebel leader formed a long-delayed unity
government.
The civil war forced a third of the population to
flee their homes; many have not returned. Last year’s unusually heavy rains
brought widespread flooding, and the currency fell off a cliff during the war.
More than 5 million people need food aid, according to the United Nations.
Sports is one of the few distractions: in a nation
with few roads, little electricity and where most schools don’t function. Most
importantly, it unites young people divided by war, said wrestling coordinator
Limor Joseph.
“It is ... the games that brings them together,” he
said. - Reuters
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