Veteran journalist VERONICA LUCY GORDON has passed on the baton, but not before telling the intriguing story of life inside enemy lines as the people of Southern Sudan fought for the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression. AYEN ACHOL DENG caught up with the co-founder of the Association for Media Women in South Sudan and the first female executive board member of the Association for Media Development of South Sudan, where she represented AMWISS
AYEN ACHOL DENG
This reporting is sponsored by the Norwegian People’s Aid as part of the Female Journalists Network to increase women’s voices in the media. Badru Mulumba is project editor
AYEN: Who are you?
GORDON: I am a female Journalist by profession, but currently I have shifted from a journalist to an activist working for inclusion and promotion and empowerment of women. I have a diploma in community studies and rural development from Juba University. In the 1980’s, the number, of graduates in the country was very low; whoever completed secondary school qualified for formal employment.
My first job was in the Sudan National Broadcasting Cooperation, from 1985 to 2000. In 2000, a majority of the southern journalists were retired. I was retired when I was young, but it was a forced retirement because the Sudan government understood that the southern part of the government would be going for secession.
After retirement I worked for the Coordination Council for the Southern States that had been created when Dr. Riek Machar broke away [from rebels], joining Khartoum under the Nassir Faction around 1991 and he was appointed as the President of the Coordinating Council of the Southern States. When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, we were also re-enrolled in the National Broadcasting Cooperation to work for Southern Sudan.
I was trained, for six months, on reporting for newspapers and photography, by Hirondele and by the BBC Trust. Around 2006, I was producing and translating programs for Free Voice [targeting] returnees about the land mines. I was a broadcaster for radio and television – a news anchor. There were community Radio Listening groups. I was part of the listening groups. I worked as coordinator. It was under Sudan National Broadcasting Cooperation, supported by UNICEF.
I had a column in the Juba Post, reporting on girl’s education. In 1983, I was a volunteer with the Nile Mirror Newspaper; we worked for 9 months and we were not paid because of the re-division of the country [when the] 1983 Addis Ababa Peace agreement was signed. That was the only newspaper in the country.
In school. I was responsible for newsletter on the wall, writing daily articles for my colleagues to read. That was the beginning of my journalism. I was a member of drama and music society in school. I was a class monitor and a head prefect. My leadership started by that one, when I was still a student
AYEN: What inspired you, who is your role model?
GORDON: My role models where those ladies, who by then were in the State Parliament, such as Victoria Yar. Most of them have died.
Ayen: What skills have helped you?
GORDON: Let me say that I am courageous. I am friendly to each and everybody. I use polite and diplomatic language. I have very good writing skills I built from being a student. From the community I came I was seen as a role model. By then many people did not know how to write and read letters. When I went to the village, everybody would come. I would write letters, edit for them, take those letters and read to those who couldn’t read. By doing so, I was developing those writing and reading skills.
AYEN: What do you like, what do you not like? What are the challenges in your career?
GORDON: I have a dream to grow, grow in knowledge, ideas. What I don’t like is obstacles that block me from achieving my dreams.
AYEN: How do you manage the challenges?
GORDON: There are challenges if you have limited knowledge to carry out your duties. So you have to go and build your capacity and build those skills.
AYEN: How do you balance between home and work?
GORDON: Many people say it is difficult. But it is all about committing yourself. Commitment is first. Once you are committed to do your role successfully you can do it without getting tired. Journalism is not an easy work compared to other professions. I was a broadcaster in a radio station and I had to produce my own programs, edit them and take them on air.
The most challenging thing that effected my job was the 21-year conflict. I was working under hardship, between survival and success in my career. There were issues of insecurity, because all bombs were there. Working in the war zone, because of bombardment, was not good for me. There was a shortage of food even in the town; that was very dangerous for us. There was limited movement and we were not as free in the southern part of the country as journalists and our media was not free. Most of the work we did as journalists in the country, we did undercover. It is the same way we are complaining today; the government looks at [public broadcaster] SSBC as a mouth piece, but [doesn’t consider] other media houses. The same thing applied during our time. Radio Omdurman had to come down to [southern regions to] cover news and any event that took place in Juba. All the southern part or the southern zone, under the [national] broadcasting cooperation, the staff were seen as rebels [rebel sympathizers]. So these are some of the challenges were facing.
Our children, specifically my children, were always under the trench. I am on duty, my children are under the trench. This was the biggest challenge. Sometimes I had to take them for safety, hide them, and go to work. You had to go with your food and prepare very fast. When you went to sleep you [slept next] to your children. At times, between work and home, we were being bombed. Even at night, we were not safe because of the curfew. We were being escorted. My husband had to come and escort me back home. There was no transport. In terms of payment, money, that was not a problem; being a cooperation, we were well paid, like an independent agency. It was an independent corporation. This one [SSBC] is [government-run] now. Then, it was an independent entity and our payment, with all the allowances, were in the place. I was working under hardship conditions, between your job and family, and taking care of your children, for the 21 years, when we did not step out [of Juba] and we were not even exposed to any other place. That was the most challenging time. We were just inside juba for 21 years
AYEN: What is your last word to women who want to become leaders?
GORDON: To women who want to be leaders and managers in media houses, all professions, leadership is not easy. You have to take it upon yourself [to solve] problems of others and help them live with it and work on them. Leadership needs skills, leadership needs courage. You cannot sympathize too much in leadership, but you have to use diplomatic languages. You must be approachable. You can be hated because of the work you do and because of your interaction with the people. So with leadership one has to be very careful and very safe, in interacting with the community, including other leaders in management or leadership decision.
