I hope that by tomorrow evening, after the new South Sudanese national anthem has been played for the first time and the cheer squads and bands have disbanded, ordinary South Sudanese will be treated in all material respects like any other citizen.
I believe that you will be free.
From the state, fear, hardship, religious persecution, and interference with his spoken and written word.
However, in both the long and short term, will South Sudan fully fulfill its role in the international community and emerge as a model sovereign state with a transparent administrative capacity that takes full responsibility for the welfare of its people?
Please, I’m not at all confident.
During the transition period, a huge opportunity was missed to address a very important issue if not consciously avoided, so this was considered a “taboo” and was swept under the carpet for the time being, preventing the raising of the independence flag.
Some of these are historical and cultural, others are internal power struggles between tribes and politicians, fears of national security, international mineral and land grabbers and untrustworthy companies.
Some are tied to overwhelming and uncontrollable conflicts of interest on the part of corporations.
neighbors.
Tribalism obstacles are indeed one of the South volcanic that erupt unpredictably from time to time bringing devastation and terror and was there since elephants roamed the marshes, pointing specifically to the Dainka versus Nuier supremacy claims, to say the least this has been instituted now, as personal intrasigence, tribal at heart, firmly now embedded in the new to be born Country politics, where calls for arms and guns pointing as away to resolve even trivial issues are part of Southern Sudanese worriers tribalism customs is today adopting what comes methods beside stay low for now but stay put, and continued diversions of blames to any other than the core historical and cultural issues was and still the norms, as we witnessed just in the past few years during this transitional period these fights claimed the lives and displaced victims more than on any period in the last odds years, and its only a matter of when the defeated party is to regroup and start all over again.
Also sadly there is widely wrong assumption especially by outsider’s observers, that South Sudan is a one bordered continent and its people by now know each other. The fact is some parts of the South know little if nothing at all about other parts of their new country other than as a different kingdoms and clans territories where they avoid to venture over let alone integrate and learn how to live with, some are due to the harsh terrain of the area and the logistical limiting movement during certain seasons where contact in the past before the war, is mostly during the dry grassing period crossing over their tribal boarders, for most of them these areas is their state boarders for others who inhabited the water marches in the past they see the dried-up or logged expanding land borders are their rightful inherited lands, although some may say during the last drought years and the war displacement period, internally in the South or abroad, brought many tribes together at some points, also then organised armed faction open recruiting drive integrated most of the South different tribes younger’s and this will contribute as today to the awareness to see the South as a one country and help in integration in the long term. . but the land ownership and internal boarders issues are a major headachy, its basically now New South Sudan is small big old Sudan!
Another issue that nationally and international discussed threat to the new born South is the threat from the North again this bluntly exaggerated fears and trickled down to boarders issues and oils, the real fear if to be from the North is the expulsion of all Southerner to the South boarders or where sooner or later they will start to return, this a very large number of people and tribes too who use to move forth and back normally or economically or those who fled during the war, some did not take part in the war, others in fears of tribal or faction disputes all now have to go back and face the old live, here again lands dispute, politics and so on are awaiting worse if they resolve to solve it by the old methods.
The oil issue between North-South in regards to sharing, pipeline, and so on, also was an intentionally internationally exaggerated fear that to become the new South Sudan first national security issue, where all think “not Southerners” apart of the SPLM/A politicians who have personal interest on this! the option is to direct the oil transportation across its southern boarder countries namely Kenya and Uganda ,I think those who addressing this issue, to put it bluntly here again, do not have a zot of knowledge about the Southern Sudanese, a part of its geographical spot and are all black and christians! Or just another business opportunity!, The fact is South Sudan will have to trust its national security with its North old enemy more than a wish washy long term envisaged as will always be stable relationship with either Kenya or Uganda, where another historical, tribal and boarder’s over looked time ticking bomb are there.
Another Taboo of all Taboo’s a part of the six thousands educated and 150000 trained solders ready for another job from the eight millions estimated population where here the rest of them the only job they know or will do is herding their not for commercials cattle’s, and through history no government in the past managed to shift them or entice them to participate in other economic sector i.e. agriculture, and now the oil industry too, fair to say they know nothing about agriculture and so on, and see naturally herding is part of their culture and way of live ,but they do resist fiercely to change, here will eventually pop the questions who will do the urgently needed development work where the small educated numbers see it as their right to manage it but not to labour for it, even in the past short transitional period they relied on huge foreign labour while the whole country are jobless needless to say all poorly living and in need but careless about who will do the work for them, and not willing to do it, this may sound odds, but again in the past they are not dependable on income from the new oil sector but their known work and living in hunting and herding, the majority now are not, but nothing they can do here and the only milking cow “the oil industry” or the other just sprung hospitality businesses have to depend and rely on trained foreign labour and its income is naturally going to go abroad, but not unless they chose to be just a consumers, again locally in towns some are resenting this and creating flash disputes directed towards these new foreign companies and its government, on the other hand there is no economic sector that the government could create to accommodate all, if they managed to convince them to take part, for the short term, of course it found the answer for now is the Army !but what is the task there in short term feature if such argument is needed?.Bearing in mind the new country now spending most of its only income buying arms?
Finley ones have say it’s a great job and well-done to those countries who guarded the CPA, the last hurdle will tell if we to have “Romancing The Stone” ending.
Hatim El madani
The difficulties awaiting the new South Sudan
