Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
January 28, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Citizens from Sudan’s southern region, long caught in a power struggle with their country’s northern-controlled government, are looking with a mixture of hope and uncertainty to 2011 when they will vote in a referendum on whether or not the south will remain part of Sudan.
Referendum will be held simultaneously in Abyei on whether to become part of Southern Sudan or of northern Sudan.
Conflicts between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in various parts of Sudan have ensured that the country is home to the world’s largest number of internally displaced persons — six million at last count. This includes citizens from the south, Nuba region, eastern Sudan and Darfur.
Because of inexperience, corruption and the international media’s decision to focus on Darfur, Southern Sudan has been slow to build a viable infrastructure after its government was formed following 21 years of north-south civil warfare in 2005.
Southerners who have settled in the north — particularly in the capital city Khartoum — say they want unity for their country. But they also say that unity depends on whether the country’s government implements the decisions outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between it and the former rebel fighters, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), in 2005. One of the CPA’s provisions is the referendum, it also aims to develop democratic governance countrywide and share oil revenues.
“The peace agreement made everybody happy, especially in the south,” said Charles Wani Ladu, a journalist at the Khartoum Monitor newspaper based in the capital who left his home in south Sudan to study mass communication at Juba University. “It’s changed things for the better. It has changed people’s feelings. There was a lot of suffering in people’s minds. Now, with peace, there’s rest in their minds.”
“This gives a path for unity,” Ladu told IPS. “The southerners took up arms because of marginalisation. After the signing there must be rights to services and job opportunities. There should be equality in everything. A united Sudan can be attained. The authorities can do it.”
Focusing on the 2011 referendum, Ladu says, the “unity of Sudan or separation of the south depends on the implementation of the CPA on the ground”.
“There has been so much conflict in Juba,” Ladu says. “We were going to school while there was fighting between the [Sudanese] government and rebels [SPLM]. The rebels injured civilians while attacking the government. But now people are going to school peacefully,” he explained.
“For some it will be different to go back [to the south]. They’re used to services that they got in the north. There are no services, maybe a little, in the south. There’s not a lot of public transport. The roads are still few. It’s just beginning to be constructed,” Ladu said, stressing, “Others will go back and maybe they will support development.”
Sebit Ernest Apuktong, a third-year veterinary student at Bahr al-Ghazal University in Khartoum, was born shortly before the north-south bloodshed began. Apuktong is involved with the Sudanese Association for Youth Development and conducts workshops to encourage trust between youth from the south and north. Although Apuktong saw the southern region only during his childhood, he says he dreams of returning to “start youth groups”.
“I saw the south when I was in primary school. I travelled to Upper Nile State. I visited two towns. I stayed there for a few months. But my family decided to stay in Khartoum because there are better services and education here,” Apuktong told IPS, alluding to the lack of basic services in the south. The south has not seen which has not seen development since the days of British colonialism, he says.
“My father is a self-employed engineer working in the construction industry. But he’s not a member of any political party so it’s more difficult to find a job. My mother is a nurse. When my parents have no work in Khartoum they go back to the south to find work and me and my siblings stay in Khartoum,” he adds. Apuktong says that life in the north ensures that his “needs are filled”.
“Right now I am studying to develop myself. And the first area that should benefit from me is south Sudan,” says Apuktong.
“To stay in Khartoum is good for me. But if I stay here, what will I give the south? I want to see improvements in the south so I need to go there and make it good. I want to help make it better.” He says his friends who have travelled to the south tell him that there “are many resources but there are no services”.
“Things are starting to develop and education and health services are improving, but slowly. This makes life difficult. Many southerners stay in the north,” he adds. “They have jobs. Their children are at schools here. The north is better. It’s very safe. There are too many problems between tribes in the south. In some places, people carry guns during the day. The only problem in the north is that you cannot say anything against the government.”
Apuktong says it is difficult to tell which would be best — unity or independence from the north for the south — because “we don’t know what either would be like”. “Too many people have died and too much money has been spent on fighting,” he says.
At Angie’s Beauty Salon in Khartoum, two young hairstylists talk about their hopes for Sudan. Susie Taban says she left Juba for Khartoum in 1991. She hasn’t been back to the south but says she has heard that the “situation has changed”.
“Peace between north and south is good for Sudan. Before the peace agreement, I preferred separation, but after peace was signed it looks like unity is okay,” says Taban.
“We’re all Sudanese citizens. We can solve our problems together. We had a lot of problems in the past. The northerners mistreated us here in Khartoum. It was difficult to find a house or a job. Most of our people lived in camps and to get a good job was difficult. I was young but I saw how my parents suffered,” she says.
Peace has also brought a sense of freedom, Taban explained, “we can talk freely about anything without being humiliated. In the past we could not discuss anything. We could be taken to prison.”
Taban’s colleague, Esther David, is a college student who helps out at Angie’s on a part-time basis. She was born in Uganda but grew up in Khartoum. “I know that peace is good for Sudan. In the past, we had no chance to visit our relatives in the south, because of insecurity,” she said. “I don’t usually go to the south but I visited my family in Juba when we had holidays. I want one Sudan. It’s all the same and we are all the same. There’s no need for differences.”
(IPS)
Deng Thiak Adut
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
Dear Mr Writer:
regardless of what you seen from those interviewee, there is 99.99% chances of unity in Sudan. Especially, the fact you touched on the issue of transportation, general welfare, such as hospital, and so on. The fact that It is printed in the heart of many southerners who have been failed by Moslims in in the past. The fact that, Education and the distributions of wealth, although much came from the South, Southerners barely received enough.
I seen this as the major set back, and I hope this will pinpoint to you my position as a Southerner will separation in mind:
Law reflects the cultural values associated with the ‘bench mark’ group on the basis of may justify these consequences: injustice in term of formal, and substantive equality by suggesting the ‘natural order of things-where the natural order is determined by and for the dominant group”. The Southerners perspective on formal equality ensures the same treatment for everyone. While in substantive equality seeks to achieve the same or similar outcomes by recognising that some groups have special needs, and or have suffered a prior history of discrimination or continue to, suffered societal disadvantage, which produces inequality for them in contemporary society. The former accommodate the long neglects of the South Sudan and the latter prescribes the Darfour suffering. The ends result is to achieve the same similar outcomes for everyone rather mere giving the same treatment, special needs prior to disadvantage, and or societal inequality must be taken to into account in deciding how to provide for different groups to ensure that they achieve equality with others. Thus equality may require sometimes the same treatment, and at other times different treatment, in order to achieve equal outcome.
In my opinion, ‘substantive equality’ is convincingly way of compensating the suffered prior discrimination, which is not a subject to contemporary society. The government tend to ignore other community by shifting away resource needs to build equality and not subdivided community in terms of past inequality. Arguably the history of mistreatment of Southern Sudanese people is recognizable by International Law. There was never equality in term of education, race, sex, and occupation. The idea of equality is far-fetch by Northerners. This makes unity less attractive. I do recognize that inequality can still exist since law-making power will be based in “Koranic ideologies”. It is the way that Islamic represent their particular view of the world as the correct and only one that doom to separation. I do argued that not only Southerners suffered inequality themselves but many Non-Arabic been subjected to discrimination in different institutions.
I suggest that the role of jurisprudence and inequality in allocating someone else Oil could be perceived to “disunity”. The perception of the equality by the Sudanese African in my view may be an equal with other Sudanese in theory but equal and separates in the eyes of the law that had allocated theirs land away in Abyi and Bentui.
The idea of equality and justice is that justice and law is not the same thing. There will be limit to our understanding of the legality of law, some point (in history or simply in a legal analysis) will be reached where we will not be able to say that a proposition or norm is legal, non-legal or illegal”.
In my view, there is no hope for unity if power sharing, political transparency, accountability, separation of powers is not an option for the regime.
Substantive equality from the Southern Sudanese perspective, in term of health, education, welfare, distribution of wealth and justice are very significant areas of disadvantage to be addressed and achieve in terms of outcomes. To my mind, equality is a perception, which does not deliver the expected justice and fair outcome. I do believe that it is very hard to measure equality in terms of outcome in (Comprehensive Peace Agreement) “CPA”.
I suggest that, there are different ways of achieving just outcome for (Comprehensive Peace Agreement) “CPA”, in additions are, formal education, religion, the media, trade union, culture and sporting association and social mores. To my mind, the idea of “Unity’ defend on the existence of “institutionalization” and “tradition” which can be traced back to the history, perhaps, to their rational way of reasoning such as the root caused of injustice.
John Amule de Lokolong
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
For sure NCP use our resources to import weapons and intend to destroy the people of Goss.for those who act like blind and deaf intending to go over a bridge good lets see after,unless you are interest to adpot shria law in SS.
Toposa Boy southerner
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
If you love so much to remain slave than you know what to do
If you love to be free forever with out any war in the future you also know what to do
Toposa Boy southerner
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
I never want to see the picture of dictator and evil men so call john garang again every time I see this devil I feel like southerners will go for unity than that’s the end they will be in slave forever
Madhang Loth
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
Dear brothers and sisters,
Never dream that we are going to unite with the so called fullish and idiotic arabs. Time has come for us to enjoy the fruit of our beautiful South Sudan. Arabs have robbed our natural resources of South Sudan since 1870s. Just go through the political history of Sudan and see whether there was a single black given the post of presidency. The blacks were used as tools by the Khartoumers while arabs folded their hands watching what the southerners are doing. Come to South Sudan and tour the region, you will learn that there were no gravel roads leave alone tarmac roads. I have seen some of our fellow South Sudanese are so confused that they are talking of unity during referendum like those of Taban who have mix feelings about referendum. In the first place , Taban was quoted saying that the situation in Khartoum is not favourable because one can not talk against the government of Khartoum. I think Taban may be very tired as his name Taban refer. How can one cultivate and when his/ her crops are riped, somebody else come to reap.
We don’t want arabs to harvest in our own farms. Please those of Taban, come here to South Sudan where there are human rights.
I am 1000 percent sure that we are going for seperation and not unity.
I have learned that some of our fellow South Sudanese called arabs their brothers. How can you called someone who have killed your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and destroyed all your property and left you with nothing and still called him/her a friend. You have been enslaved by arabs and you are still calling him/her a friend. This is being irrational and full of stupidity.
Please take my advise seriouly and never drag us behind.
By Madhang Loth
martin simon wani
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
I don’t know where to start.Is this title is not too big for the opinions of two or three young Southern Sudanese in Khartoum? Why dont we not wait for 2011 and determine the choice of Southern Sudanese.We should not confuse oursleves with misleading statments.
Urbano Tito Tipo
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
Dear Brothers who have responded to this article. Let us look critically as to why the writer wrote the article in the light of what is happening on ground. Since the signing of CPA in 2005, nothing have moved forward in terms of developing in the south. The world have known the south in terms of poverty, corruption and power struggle within SPLM leadership. For returnees who happened to have come to the south are now regretting. They never got any assistance from GOSS. Most are thinking of going back. Our biggest test will be on 18/4/2008 if census will take place or not. If it happens then for sure referendum will happen. Also let us view this article in the light of current political development in the country and the past and present SPLM/NCP relation after the crises. We all know SPLM political philisophy is based on two concepts i.e. an independent south and a united Sudan. The politicians used the word “making unity attractive”. For sure those IDPs and refugees are now reluctant to come because of lack of basic services. The present SPLM leadership is taken over by those infavor of united Sudan i.e. Abdel Aziz Hiliu, Yasir Arman, Mansour Khalid, Malik Agar and their fellow southerners. The recent debate was on confederation to de-rail CPA. It has become a fact that will have to put up with. One is not getting suprise if we find ourselves in the situation of uncertainty. Abyei issue will remain a thorn in the flash. But whose flash will it be? Adding to confusion, some writers have been mentioning that Abyie is an oil rich village/town! Whose oil will it be. Brothers, we at home are in a big shit. Enjoy your stay in diaspora.
Samson Liberty
Southern Sudanese have hope for unity by 2011
The famous Nigerian writter Chinua Achebe once defined unity as a state of sharing hope and identitical ideology as common.He further mentioned that such questions can verify unity:Unity for what? and to do what?.These definite questions may lead to a construction of two series of margins as ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES of Unity.The advantages derives positive perspective while the latter ignites its serious effect as a result of it. Unity in its sense is determine by social interaction between two or more people.The Pakistani and the Bangladeshi almost have everything in common,but yet they decided to keep and observe their destinctive boundary as an entity.Again what will be the impact of being in unity or separation? again the unity that the southerners are talking about in 2008,shall it be out of nationalistic spirit or material possession and gain?.Many Sudanese believe that the North is gradually developing with a greater resources from the South.It could be due to some seasonal factors that let Sudanese divide in opinions,personality issues other than commonality is one aspect of premature decisions in life.Many Sudanese especially southerners have different views talking about this unity,people started putting thoughts that the ever unity for Sudan should be that the head of state have to come either from the South,North,West or East.To some thoughts equal and balanced North and South development favours unity but others thinks it to be the opposite.Therefore unity depends on social co-existance,humanity,confession and balancing superriority with inferiority.