New Year. New Country?

Happy New Year, friends, family and strangers!  A double high-five for another successful trip around the sun!

Anyway, settle in, this is a long post.  

The South Sudan referendum is a mere four days away and I would be remiss if I did not address it here.  I've spent the last six weeks living in Sudan and learning, observing and absorbing as much as I can about the culture, people and political circumstances.  At the end of the day I'm still an American foreigner with my own limited knowledge and biases but here are some thoughts on the current situation.    

Sudan sunrise

Sudan is a former British colony and the current border between the North and South was drawn by the British in 1956; unfortunately this has been a major source of conflict because most of the oil resources that have been discovered fall south of the border.  Of course, oil is not the only culprit, and religious and tribal differences have been accomplices in fueling civil war for most of the 20^th century. 

The North is predominantly Muslim while the people of the South mostly hold animist or tribal beliefs, although there is a large Christian minority.  The tribal beliefs of the South are common, even among people who claim to be Christians.  (Tangent:  I’ll never forget the first sermon I heard in Sudan where the theme was, essentially, “Don’t go to witch doctors!”)  


Because of the history of civil war and the vast differences between the North and South, the people of South Sudan are expected to vote overwhelmingly for separation.  However, for any outcome to be considered legitimate at least 60% of the registered voters must make it to polling stations to vote.  The majority of people here are illiterate, so they will cast their vote using hand signals: a raised hand for separation, hands clasped together for unity. 

Harvesters school children

Many reports from the West that I’ve read and watched (NY Times, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, etc.) postulate that post-referendum civil war is inevitable, however, news out of Africa and Sudan does not assert the same theory. 

A brief aside.  Thank you, George Clooney for your advocacy on behalf of Sudan’s referendum; I applaud you for using your celebrity to bring awareness to this event.  However, do you have to be such an alarmist?  Naming your NBC documentary, “Winds of War” certainly doesn’t quell the fears or expectations that people have about the outcome of the referendum.  Also, perhaps you could suggest to Ann Curry that she not ask such leading questions in her interviews:  example A:  “Do you think this war can be stopped?”  and example B: “Do you believe this war in the South could mean not just atrocities… but even possibly genocide?”

President Omar Al-Bashir, who is the current president of Sudan (Salva Kiir is the Vice President of Sudan and President of the South), recently visited Juba (the capital of the South) and made hopeful statements.  He remarked, not for the first time, "'The preferred choice for us is unity but in the end we will respect the choice of the southern citizens,' Al-Bashir said in a speech to southern officials in Juba.  'One would be sad that Sudan has split but also pleased because we witnessed peace,' he added."  

An Egyptian government official recently said that Al-Bashir's regime is the worst in Sudan's history, and he is currently charged by the ICC (International Criminal Court) for committing war crimes in Darfur, so his remarks don’t offer much confidence.    

The most prevalent, and surprising, sentiment that I've discerned is a pervasive sense of peace among the people where I'm living.  I've had lengthy conversations with local pastors, teachers, and security guards and when I ask what they think will happen with the referendum they say, "there will be a New Sudan!"  My second question is always, "do you think there will be peace?" and their response is, "yes, there will be peace here.  We do not need to worry."  And perhaps I am blindly naive, but I believe them.  These are people who have fresh memories of war and who know the current comforts of peace and they yearn for it to remain for themselves and for their children.

South Sudan as an autonomous nation has enormous potential and the ramifications of the peaceful birth of a new nation would be extensive.  A nation built on peace would enable security for millions of people who have been plagued by decades of war.  A nation built on democracy and freedom would create stability for people of all tribes and religions and would help promote peace with neighboring countries.  And of course, peace and stability would provide for new infrastructure to allow for new roads, schools, businesses, and hospitals for an under-educated and hurting populace.  South Sudan is an incredibly fertile place where three or more harvests per year are common and this country has the potential to be self-sustaining and to feed millions of starving people in Africa.

Harvesters gardens

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”  

I love this passage because Paul shows no preference for a specific power structure, political party, or political system.  And so it is my hope and prayer for all the people of Sudan, and specifically the South, that they may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 

In an email I received from my Dad today he wrote, “history and personal experience in the region tell me peaceful solutions are not the norm.  Guess we can hope and pray for a paradigm shift in social problem solving in this case.” 

May it be so.  May South Sudan be an exception to the norm and the vanguard of change throughout Africa.

the faces of Sudan's future