A Southerner in North Sudan

By Karen Ringuette

November 7, 2010 — Two months before a referendum on self determination in south Sudan threatens to split the country in two, a million or more southerners living in north Sudan are wondering what their fate will be. One southern man who has made his life in Khartoum tells of his concerns and of the waiting.

Modi was born in Juba, the capital of south Sudan, where his father comes from. His a Muslim and belongs to the Bari tribe, one of several that make up the largest tribe in the Juba area. His mother comes from Uganda, several hours south of the border. In this part of Sudan mixed parentage is common and people move back and forth between the two countries without any problem.

In 1992 Modi was working and living in Juba with his small family when the war intensified. By that time Uganda had become inaccessible and southerners from all over were congregating in the city. Life had become particularly crowded and difficult there, and with the bombings the airport was besieged by people wanting to board one of the three daily Khartoum-bound humanitarian flights. Most passengers were women, children and the elderly, in addition to relatives of Sudanese army personnel. It was then that Modi sent his wife and two children to safety in the north.

Only in 1997 was Modi able to join them and begin the difficult task of making his life in the north. He was obliged to take any job to survive, so he carried bricks at construction sites and did casual labour in factories. Eventually he got a decent job and the family settled in well here where most of his children have been born and raised.

In the south, he said, it was only after the 2005 peace agreement, when the SPLA came out of the bush, that people started moving freely again.

Thinking back to five years ago, he said: “People were relieved when the peace agreement was signed. Since then, many of us have only just started to enjoy our lives and peace. But it seems suddenly the referendum is upon us and we have to ask ourselves: What is our fate as southerners in the north? How will the referendum be carried out? And if the country separates, how will it be? If there was no referendum we would not be thinking of going south.”

He said there had not been an information campaign for southerners living in the north and a lot of them did not know what was going on. As for those who were trying to stay informed, many questions remained unanswered.

“If there is separation,” Modi said, “Can I remain in the north and under what citizenship? What will the conditions be for those southerners who want to acquire northern citizenship? Imagine, today I am a southern Sudanese and tomorrow I am a northerner. But if I don’t return to the south now, southerners might look at me as someone who did not stand with them during the struggle. And if I return later to the south, will I be eligible for citizenship? It is a complicated situation already, but for some of us it is especially difficult, as we will have to turn our lives upside down once again.”

With regard to the politics back home, Modi said: “If we talk of the south, there are different political parties and these parties need to come together as a united force, but until now they have not. It would have been best if they had sat down and come up with one agenda, then if we voted for separation we would know where we stand.”

As for Abyei, the disputed, oil-rich area at the centre of the contentious and never-ending border demarcation process, Modi says, “If they don’t reach an agreement for Abyei, and there is war, it is the common man who will pay the price, no politician will die there.”

He continued: “If given the freedom to express his desire the common person will vote for peace, but it is the politicians in Sudan who are dictating what will happen. The Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) dominates the south as much as the National Congress Party (NCP) dominates the north.”

And while differences in Sudan are often portrayed as marked by an Arab-Muslim dominated north and a largely Christian south, Modi says: “The issue is purely about power sharing and wealth sharing. What is taking place has nothing to do with religion, religion is a cover up issue.”

He continued, “People are divided – you either vote for separation or you vote for unity. Today, as southerners in the north our main concern is if the outcome of the referendum is unity, then there will probably be a reaction in the south and they might attack northerners there. And if northerners are attacked in the south there will be revenge attacks in the north.” The reverse scenario could play out if the vote is for separation.

Modi said: “While I am not part of these problems, how do I defend myself in the street? I cannot say I am not part of this or that. So, I will send my family to Juba because that is probably the safest place for them, and in a worst-case scenario there may not be any flights south. Meanwhile I will continue to work here, and wait.

The way I see it, people have fought for twenty years but the peace agreement is only five years old, so, it is premature for southerners to claim we want to separate, especially given the time frame and all the complexities.

But now we are left with only two months, and politicians on both sides have not convinced the public that they have taken enough steps to ensure this process takes place as best as possible. Now, the most important thing is for the parties to resolve the Abyei issue and ensure the smooth running of the referendum. They need to sit down and come up with an agreement.

Whatever the outcome of the referendum it should be peaceful. We are all like brothers, we were born into one family, and even when we move to different houses – at the end of the day we are still brothers.