Rererendum vote: what a start, what a passion!

By Isaiah Abraham

January 11, 2010 — I have never seen such a resolve, determination and unity of Southerners in my life. I will not forget this day, as I watch carefully the move by our people for freedom. I didn’t know the issue of Khartoum/Arab is a pain in the chest of every Southerner. I thought I would be the first to cast my vote so as to attend Church services, but I was wronged. At 3:45 am, I found already an old man, and another middle age one leaning their back to the wall, waiting facing the queue forward direction. I chatted with them a little bit, and then think through for few months. For a bout five minutes, three people came, and then five, and after 45 minutes at exactly, 4:30 am, we shape ourselves and for an organized queue. Someone entertain us with songs about everything struggle.

In about seven the line was so long that the Primary School at Malakiya was swamped with human being shouldering each other in a queue; some with huge smile and others with subdue mood due to great price paid for the price (freedom). The message was unequivocally clear: succession. No one could tell whether the sun was hot or whether the queue was long enough that they felt a need to abandon the process all together. No appetite, fatigue or thirst but that of voting. Someone came up with water and soda to distribute, but his efforts couldn’t cover a large queue of 200 meters.

So when I saw brother Massimino Alam Tiyaha somewhere with tears over his cheeks, my tears felt too, due to huge relief within our hearts because forever, the chains of oppressions are gone. . Personally, like many of us, I started with my bare hands in the seventies, by throwing stones (demonstration), then to the bush using a machine gun, and now with a voting card, what would my heart say about my dear people with whom we cherish similar cause but are with us today,? Of course mixture of sadness and joy! Oh God, may you stop anyone in Khartoum from interfering with the outcome. We have spoken loud and clear for the last four days, a decision that will be live in our memories for ages!

The momentum of unity we have shown against Khartoum therefore for the past few days, my people Southerners, should not be lost. People started to show unique solidarity not witnessed before. Celebrations have already started earlier across the land as the people of Southern Sudan knew ahead to where their thumps inked. The ball therefore is with the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) and its Bureau in Juba under Justice Chan Reech Madut to play by the book. We know the two bodies operate under tough political environment, but so far they have done great job to guide the process; our people will not forget their tireless endeavor to make the referendum a success. The good lawyers Mr. Madut) and Khalil Ibrahim are proud people by now. But the big portion goes to the two principals, Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir and the General Salva Kiir Mayardit. Without their courage, there would never have been referendum today. No one had any courage this time last year to believe that the South and North are to divorce peacefully.

The consequences of the referendum process of course will take few more months to be effected, but with the voting almost behind us, with preliminary announcement on 21 January, and then February 14, 2011 for the final announcement, there is no turning back. What remains however, a lame excuse use by Khartoum and others, is how the South would handle itself as an entity. My answer is that this is a different thing altogether from why people went for referendum. The matter at hand isn’t governance but freedom and political independence. Governance is a subset of the political arrangement and not a big deal to our people. Someone somewhere shouldn’t link the two or try to blackmail our people. Who says our people don’t know where they are going or what they will do once they are independence? The problem for the South has always been about its political future. Our leaders will prove anyone wrong in few years to come! The noise about South not ready to govern itself shall be a paste tense in few years to come.

The National Congress Party (NCP) hardliners and other Arabs chauvinists are advise to leave our people alone. Shiekh Taib Al Mustafa of the Justice and Peace Forum Party, and Chairperson of the Antibah Newspaper, I believe, is the only honest hardliners I have ever met. He must be happy now that the South is going. Others aren’t satisfied with the damage Khartoum has done to our people and ready to do more, even psychologically. Please ‘brothers’ Arabs this isn’t the end of the world for you. If the intention was to disrupt the voting, then take it that our people have done it already fairly. The Referendum exercise is over, let’s be good neighbors. Long live Azania Republic!

Isaiah Abraham, lives in Juba; he is reachable at [email protected]