An Independent South

An Independent South Sudan

The result was already known. From looking at the figures posted at voting centres, to reading the reports meticulously compiled by the wire agencies as they phoned around each state, gathering the latest counts, to the sentiment of people on the street. South Sudan would vote for its independence.

But today, the preliminary results of voting in South Sudan (and northern & overseas voting counted for little in the grand scheme of things) were announced.

The figures were of little interest—virtually 100% voted for secession—but the celebrations and decorum were.

The John Garang Mausoleum was filled with people, dignitaries and journalists. As Riek Machar and Salva Kiir made their speeches, the security was struggling to hold back the (slightly premature) celebrations of the crowd gathered.

Justice Chan announced the results, state-by-state, and then school children recited a song about South Sudan following Kiir’s rambling speech in Arabic, Dinka and occasional phrases in English.

But then the party began. The crowds rose from their seats. The beads rattled as traditional dance groups bounced on the dry earth. A festival-like crush formed around local hip-hop artists. And men fell as their shields were beat by traditional clubs.

The people of South Sudan have spoken. And they await July 9th for their independence.

A new town in a new nation

A new town in a new nation

The tok-tok weaved its way through the pot-holes and sand-traps on the long, dusty road from Aweil to Apada.

Just a few months ago, this place was “nothing but trees and scrub-land” said one man. There is little evidence of the trees he spoke of, as ten-thousand people have arrived from northern Sudan and need homes; the trees form part of their rustic shelters.

Apada is one of the biggest returnee camps in South Sudan, land allocated to them by the government. But little awaits them, with no homes, no jobs, and little in the way of water and sanitation. Long queues stand outside NGO-organised water distribution points that have been established, but if this is to be one of South Sudan’s newest towns—and this is no temporary camp—then infrastructure needs to be developed.

Workers here say that the government is focused on the referendum, and so everything here—aside from the land—is provided by international humanitarian organisations. The most urgent need is shelter, but the NGOs are trying to provide vaccinations for children, hygiene promotion, food security and job opportunities. “We are looking for professionals” says a representative from the International Rescue Committee, hoping to source teachers and nurses from those arriving from the north. “Malaria is a big problem here, as it is not prevalent in the north.”

Over the next three months, the size of the “town” is expected to grow to over eighty thousand people, making it a major settlement in South Sudan.

Despite the difficulty that these returnees face, both from the arduous journey here, and the situation that faces them on arrival, many are upbeat. “I am really happy to be back in my original place” says Yel Yel Anei, who has lived in the north since 1993. During his journey back to the south, his convoy was attacked by armed militia in South Kordofan, extorting money from those traveling if they were found with “illicit” items. “My father was stopped because he had an American dollar bill” says Yel, who had to pay 150 Sudanese pounds (over $50) to release him.

Nyibol Deng was less fortunate. Her convoy was attacked in South Kordofan, and militia demanded money from them. “We didn’t have anything, so they started beating us” she says, sitting on a stool with a suspected broken leg from the attack. “I have lived in Khartoum all my life and never seen my ancestral land.”

She is now back in that land, and will begin the long process of constructing not just her new life, but the town in which she will live it.

Saving Sudan’s “Lost Mothers”

South Sudan has one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the world, and within the country, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state suffers the most, with one in seven mothers dying as a result of child birth.

In the state’s only hospital, a team from Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) is trying to improve practices so that mothers are not risking their lives whilst trying to grow their families.

The maternity ward is spartan, but with life-saving techniques—and drugs—MSF have reduced the mortality rate from 14% to 0.6%.

When staff at the hospital left us alone with two screaming mothers in labour, I hoped that today, I would not be delivering my first baby, as well as just witnessing my first birth.

Read more here in Jean-Marc’s piece on our trip.

(Inter)national Trade

Sudan’s crucial north-south trade under threat — traveling to Aweil to learn more about the thoughts of northern traders in the south, now that independence is imminent.

De-mining South Sudan

De-mining South Sudan

The past few decades have been dominated by a vicious civil war in South Sudan. Whilst there has been peace since 2005, the hangover from the war still looms.

On the outskirts of Juba, the rapidly expanding city which will soon become the capital of this new nation, those returning to the South after years of conflict are having to share their land with ordinance that caused them to flee.

The task of removing mines and unexploded bombs and artillery, that once rained down on this city, is left largely to NGOs from the international community.

I spent the day with the Mines Advisory Group, working on a piece for AFP. Jean-Marc’s text can be read here.