By Gurtong Correspondent
PERTH, Australia, 19 May 2010 - Emmanuel Majur Manyang, also known as Asamh, was buried nearly four weeks after his tragic death.
The journey of the young body saw it taken to the family home for brief viewing by relatives and friends some of who came from as far as Melbourne and Adelaide.
It was then taken to Saint Paul Anglican Church where Sudanese from all corners of the country, as well as mainstream Australians of goodwill congregated to pay their last respect to the youngster whose precious life was tragically cut short in a vicious hate crime.
Wrapped in both the Australian and South Sudanese flags, the coffin was carried by some community young men neatly dressed in all black suits symbolising their grief and broken-heartedness as were the majority people in the mourning crowd.
The church was fully packed beyond capacity as the Anglican Bishop flanked by four Pastors led the funeral service marked by a solemn mood and sense of deep grief.
In a eulogy read out to the congregation by a young member of the community, Isaac Marial Chagai, chronology of the young man’s life was articulately outlined, starting from his birth in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on November 21, 1989 to the point of his departure on earth in Perth on April 21, 2010.
A former member of the disbanded Joint Military Command Council (JMC) of the National Democratic Alliance Ahmed Fadlallah Khalid spoke on behalf of the Sudanese elders.
He concluded his short speech with a Muslim prayer in a solid show of unity and reflection of Sudan’s diversity.
The community leader Simon Yuer Deng also spoke.
Also in attendance were people from other sisterly African nations, namely Liberia, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia.
During the delivery of his comforting message, the Bishop acknowledged the suffering of the Sudanese people in their own country and said that their suffering was in a way, an embodiment of the suffering Jesus Christ had endured.
“You are the most persecuted people, you are dislocated, you are uprooted; given what you experienced and the trials you went through, we sincerely welcome you into our nation, Australia”, the Bishop said.
“Your presence amongst us gives hope; you are a representation of hope for the Australian people. Whenever I see a Sudanese person on the streets and in the shopping malls, I see a source of hope”, he added.
The Bishop further strongly emphasised that since the Sudanese people in Australia were also citizens of the Australian nation who have all equals rights and responsibilities, all the necessary resources and capabilities would be utilised in order to bring to justice the killer or killers of the young Asamh.
He therefore encouraged the community to be strong and embrace the spirit of togetherness with all other fellow Australians.
The religious leader said that the person who inspired him most as a young man was Martin Luther King the Junior who was the leader of the civil rights Movement in the United States of America in the 1960s.
“We have to live together as brothers and sisters, or perish together like fools”, he quoted King.
He also mentioned the recent visit to Melbourne by the Sudanese Anglican Arch-Bishop Daniel Deng Bul, who he said was met by one of his Pastors and that His Eminence Bishop Deng learnt of the tragic incident and that he extended his heart-felt condolence to the community in Western Australia.
The Perth Anglican Bishop said he was looking into the possibility of placing a formal invitation on the table of Bishop Daniel Deng Bul and the Sudanese Anglican church in a near future, so that he can visit Perth.
The memorial service was covered by a local television news crew and after the prayer service in the church, the body, followed by the massive crowd in a convoy cars was taken to the cemetery where it was finally laid to rest.
It was a devastating moment for the family and the community at large.
Meanwhile, a local television channel aired news shortly afterwards that a 23- year -old man had been arrested and charged with the murder of the late Sudanese youth, Asamh Manyang.