INFO: Sudan—One Step or Two Step | Al Jazeera Blogs

By Fatma Naib in on December 31st, 2010.

 

As Sudan readies for the new year, it will not be the only thing the largest African country of more than 40 million people will be celebrating over the next few days.

January 1 marks the official independence day of Sudan when the nation first raised its official flag in 1956.

But the celebrations this year are being approached with mixed feelings.

Sudan is preparing for a referendum vote, a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a 22-year civil war, which left two million people dead and many others displaced.

The results of the vote could see the country split in two, which many believe is a likely outcome, leading to the creation of the world's newest country.

Upon my arrival in Khartoum, I not only noticed the numerous posters welcoming the new year, but also many about the importance of a unified Sudan, and the colourful flags displayed in most places.

One government poster read: "Our strength is in our unity."

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But as Jalaa, the daughter of Sudan's first president Ismail al-Azhari who came to power after the end of the British-Egyptian condominium, says: "This is just a little bit too late."

She says the government had five years to make unity an attractive option for south Sudan, but they only started to work hard on unity in the last year and it's just too late.

Jalaa also believes that the January 9 vote could see south Sudan secede, something very emotional for her because she feels that the united Sudan her father led is now crumbling.

Al-Azhari led the Sudan to complete independence in 1956, and his daughter says: "He would be very sad if he was alive today to see Sudan split."

Jalaa, who followed in her father's footsteps in politics, is filled with sadness but is also hopeful about the future.

"I hope that even if our brothers and sisters in the south decide to secede that one day we will be united again," she says.

Teejay and Shadir, two young Sudanese students from Khartoum, feel that it is strange that Sudan is changing. 

At Ahfad University, where they study, they say they have seen changes in everyday life and have noticed that some of their friends have already decided to move back to the South.

"It feels strange in our university now. It's not as diverse and fun now. We understand why they choose to split, but we want everyone in the South to know that they are always welcome back," they say.

"No matter what happens, we will always be one nation".

However, there are also those who feel rejected by the South. As Weam from Khartoum says: "If they don't want us, then we don't want them. Good luck to them!"

Some newspapers, noticeably the separatist newspaper Al Intibaha, have been calling for the North and South to separate because they believe that the South only brought trouble to Sudan and the North is better off without it.

Despite the mixed emotions about what is to come in the new year, what I sensed from the people in Khartoum is that this is a sad and uncertain time for some in the North but many remain hopeful about the future and the dream of a strong, united Sudan.

The coming days will show if this is indeed Sudan's last united independence day.

via blogs.aljazeera.net

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By Ranjit Bhaskar in on December 30th, 2010.

Photo by Ranjit Bhaskar
There is not much drama as the Kenya Airways Embraer jet prepares to land in Juba after an hour and a half flight from Nairobi.

Considering its status as the latest frontier town for a hoard of NGO employees, get-rich-quick businessmen and journalists, one almost expected something out of the ordinary. Like, for instance, the corkscrew landing manoeuvre adopted by pilots while landing in Baghdad when the city was still a place visited only by the aforementioned folk.

Instead, all you get to see is the pleasant site of the White Nile. You notice more trees on the western side of the river after the hardscrabble landscape of eastern Africa through much of the journey.

For reasons unknown or primordial, the very sight of plentiful water and greenery comes as a sign of hope. Of a place much better than what you heard and read about.

As the plane taxied its way to the terminal building after landing on a very basic runway, plenty of UN planes heave into view. The lone fire-fighting truck also has UN markings.

Not much surprise there.

The reality of the place hits you at passport control, or what passes for one. It is a desk manned by two clerks who check either your Sudanese visa pasted in your passport or the impressive-looking entry permit with hologram issued by the Government of South Sudan [GOSS]. The GOSS permit issued by the “embassy” in Nairobi was an indicator how far southern Sudan has distanced itself from the north even before the January 9 referendum to decide the secession or unity question. Posters extolling the virtues of separation were pasted all over the place.

The work-in-progress nature of the place meant that the immigration clerks were not bothered to check the World Health Organisation issued Yellow Fever vaccination cards that our team had agonised about before coming. And passengers entered their details themselves in a register. You could write whatever you pleased.

The next desk was customs inspection. You opened your baggage and after a cursory check, the bored-looking woman marked them “ok” with chalk. Our checked-in baggage arrived by then and was unloaded straight from the trolley. The urge to take pictures of the place was curbed by the uniformed police present.

And if you ever wondered where old airport trolleys from the developed world end up once discarded, you have the answer now. Trolleys with old BAA and Heathrow markings await you inside Juba airport. Outside, a swarm of white SUVs with the markings of every possible global NGO await.  

Our next hurdle was much bigger than anticipated. Our nearly 300 kg of camera equipment had to be taken into an office in the town for inspection. A policeman came along to make sure we did not play truant.

The ride into town soon turned bumpy and dusty after we quickly ran out of tarmac.

The likely capital of a likely new country is a shantytown like any other in Africa. With very few buildings, most of the hotels, aid compounds and even some government offices are housed in prefabricated units and shipping containers.

“Go with an open mind to Juba,” our resident Sudan expert in Doha advised.

But it is hard to prevent doubts quickly forming from what we have seen so far. Is the former garrison town ready for the task of administering a Texas-sized region of some 8 million people? The challenges that await it and the country it would govern are indeed immense.