Southern Sudan: unity or separation - oil-rich or human rights-rich?

As the Southern Sudanese now vote for separation or unity from northern Sudan, this is not for the first time in the lives. They once, even at a young age, had to make the decision whether to flee (separate from their families) or to be united which often meant remaining in Southern Sudan during the conflict.

As the world focused on the lost boys of Sudan – those that walked for days and months and for many miles to reach freedom – not knowing what their future would hold – there was less, much less, focus on the families that remained.

Families remaining during the war faced incredible hardship and constant tension, never knowing when conflict might return. Food was scarce, conditions were below standard, schools were closed (or those that were open were often too far to attend), and health equipment and medicines were in scarce supply. In remote areas, whole villages were razed to the ground and had to be re-built, even in a temporary way. When I travelled to remote areas, I saw families sheltered under trees with just tarpaulins to keep off the sun. They had few possessions and food.

As lost boys and the Diaspora return to Southern Sudan to vote and live, the families that remained will house, accommodate and support their brothers in this time of peace, hope and aspirations for the future of their nation. Some spoke to me that sometimes they feel bitterness at the Diaspora who fled but were provided with more opportunities than the families that stayed – many of those that fled, especially if they travelled to countries such as Canada and America, received education and a new life. I witnessed tensions (from 2005 and 2009) between individuals that fled and those that didn’t – those that had opportunities and those that didn’t.

In the euphoria of the potential for a new country, many of the tensions (between individuals, tribes, and with the north) will be forgotten as freedom is in sight. But once voting is closed, and if a new country becomes a reality, will the government be able to support the expectations of all citizens – social services, infrastructure, democracy, peace and security, trade and economic growth? Will the potential oil-rich government be able to distribute the wealth to improve literacy and education, health and living conditions so that all citizens in the new country become services-rich and human rights-rich?

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog