Juba, South Sudan,
July 07, 2021 – A frustrated woman in Aweil East County has reportedly been arrested and briefly detained by the police after threatening to burn the academic certificates of her husband who has been unemployed for seven years.
The woman identified as Achol Ariath (31) expressed her frustration over her husband’s state of joblessness despite possessing all the qualifications needed for employment.
Mr. Lang Gai Deng (42), Ariath’s husband, is said to have graduated from Yei Health Science Training Institute in 2009 but finding a job has a lot different process.
According to a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, Mr. Gai worked for an international Non-Governmental Organization Mercy Corps from 2010 to 2014.
Not his fault
Gai said having no job was not his wish adding that the job market has become more competitive than before with many people obtaining higher academic qualifications.
“My joblessness is not my fault. This is due to the unavailability of opportunities in [the] country. There are many people with master’s degrees doing nothing. So I am not alone,” Gai was quoted by a local media outlet to have said.
However, the wife could understand her husband’s position and thought that burning the certificate could be a better resort.
But Gai fled the scene with the hard-earned documents to a nearby police station to ensure their safety.
“My wife then threatened to burn my certificate, considering them useless,” the husband was quoted by Eye Radio to have said.
The police arrested Achol and briefly detained her before releasing her shortly. The couple is parenting four children.
The unemployment rate in South Sudan has climbed since the conflict broke out in 2013. According to data from Macrotrends, the unemployment rate has been rising by 12.24% since 2019.
