by Jok Madut Jok courtesy The Niles
JUBA – Despite the euphoria that followed South Sudan’s independence, few citizens would have thought that secession alone would halt the long history of suffering and ensure prosperity, stability and security, as Jok Madut Jok comments.
(CC) Khalid Albaih | www.flickr.com/photos/khalidalbaih/
Many South Sudanese did not see secession as the ultimate solution to the north and the south’s intractable military and political clashes that date back 192 years. Despite the prevailing sense of freedom, expectation and hope for a better life, people were aware of a variety of historical facts likely to hamper independence.
South Sudan at the search for its Soul: Jok Madut Jok at TEDxJuba.
(© 2012 TEDx)
For example, 25 years of the last phase of war between north and south left the new republic one of the world’s most war-torn countries since World War II. It has what the United Nations describes as “scary statistics”, such as high rates of maternal and infant mortality, low literacy rates and dilapidated infrastructure.
People are also well aware of a disconnect: The government and urban populations viewed the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as marking the end of the war, while ordinary rural folk witnessed other layers of conflict that were not addressed by the CPA, such as ethnic clashes, militias left over from the north-south war and other sources of insecurity.
There was also scepticism about the ability of the government to be just and equitable in governance and responsibly manage resources. Additionally, there is a general sense that Sudan may have split into two, but the rump state, the Republic of Sudan, has not really left the new state of South Sudan alone, as indicated by the behaviour of Khartoum’s government in terms of border security, economic war, oil disputes, and aggression against South Sudanese in the north. It is as if Khartoum thought that an independent South would continue to be treated like Continue reading →
