Today is a day for celebration, but there are challenges ahead for this fledgling state, writes CAELAINN HOGAN
THE OFFICIAL declaration of the independence of South Sudan today will perhaps be the greatest historical moment of Kiden Kenyi’s life.
A haboba, or elder of the Lakoya tribe, Kenyi is no stranger to great events. She was alive when Sudan was declared independent from Anglo-Egyptian rule, and she sings old peace songs from 1972 – the end of the first civil war in Sudan.
Kenyi lived through the second civil war, the longest in Africa. She was here when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed on July 9th, 2005, beginning the six-year transition period that comes to fruition today. Kenyi still has her ballot card from the referendum in January this year, when 98.83 per cent voted for independence from the North.
“On Saturday I will put on my beads and I will dance,” she says.
“My feet are not strong enough to bring me to the mausoleum, but I will dance in the house.”
To the new generation, Kenyi advises: “Let them study, stay healthy and live in peace.”
Each family is celebrating in their own way. Paska Keji has bought sapling plants and flowers, which she will plant in her garden today.
The entire city of Juba, capital of the new nation, has been under construction in preparation for the independence day events.
The first street lights in Juba have been erected, with solar panels to power them. The main fountain has been lit up with pink and green lights. Juba football stadium has been under construction in preparation for the first international match to be played in the new republic: South Sudan vs Kenya.
Government banners line the streets with independence day slogans, and the billboard of a local beer company reads: “Cheers to a new nation”.
On Thursday all land borders and roads to Juba were closed for security measures, and the airport is only open to official guests.
Convoys of new vehicles, not yet registered, can be seen on the streets, brought in for the foreign dignitaries and VIPs. The area where the official declaration will take place has been cordoned off by security forces for days as preparations take place. People are stocking up on food and water, with a public holiday declared from today until Monday.
For more than a month, 75 women from the Women’s Association, sporting bright green “Keep Juba Clean and Green” T-shirts, have devoted themselves to planting the flower beds decorating the main roundabouts and roads. Sapling trees have also been planted to line the roads.
Many other women work at the mammoth task of sweeping clean the roads. Jennifer Bujang, chairwoman of the association, says she hopes this effort will prove to the government women’s commitment to the new nation and that they will have greater opportunities in an independent future. “Women need to be empowered; we can work any job if we get the training,” she says.
Seven-year-old Adwai Atem has never seen fireworks and will have been one of many to experience them for the first time during the display last night. Bells were rung across the country at midnight yesterday to mark the beginning of the celebrations, which promise to continue for many days.
The official ceremony today will take place at the mausoleum of John Garang, the iconic first president of South Sudan and leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement.
A statue of Garang by local artists David Morbe and Deng Ajuong will be unveiled during the ceremony. International dignitaries expected to speak include UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon and representatives from China, the EU and the US.
Every evening in the Nyakuron cultural centre in Juba, schoolchildren who are participating in the independence day parade have been practising their marches. The Ateck Kilwak Orphans Cultural Group, meanwhile, have been practising the traditional dances of the Acholi tribe, which they will perform at the ceremony.
Janet (13), a student at the Dr John Garang International School, knows the new national anthem by heart. She will sing it with the choir at today’s ceremony.
School founder and widow of Garang Rebecca de Maboir says education “is the key to a better life” and was the vision of her husband. “My husband was a child once, and he became leader of this country. I was a child once, and now I am the mother of this people.”
She says there is great need for education at this time, “especially for our girls”.
There are many challenges facing the new nation, especially the unresolved North-South border conflict over the oil-producing region of Abyei.
Ken McCarthy, the country director for Goal Ireland, says stabilising security must be the main focus to ensure progress and success. With NGOs providing 80 per cent of direct services, the government has a long way to go, facing huge logistical problems in a country of this size.
Goal has operated in South Sudan since 1993 and provides essential primary healthcare and emergency response services.
“To see it now after a successful, peaceful referendum is good,” says McCarthy. “There were a lot of cynical voices that said this would never happen.”
Resolving the insecurity is, as he says, “a big if”. Still, the people retain an indefatigable sense of hope.
“You see the fortitude of the people here, they’ve got such high expectations for independence,” says McCarthy. “For everything they’ve endured, they certainly deserve some good luck.”
Caelainn Hogan is a freelance writer and recent graduate from Trinity College Dublin