A nation is born in Africa.
South Sudan, with its capital city, Juba, nestled on the Nile River, took its place July 9 as the 193rd sovereign state, after seceding from the larger state of Sudan. President Salva Kiir, a former guerilla fighter in the long war between north and south and who is distinguishable by his trademark black Stetson, took over responsibility for 9 million South Sudanese from Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes and remains deeply unpopular among South Sudanese.
Southern Sudan has always been ethnically and cultural distinct from the north of the country. Unlike the predominately Arab north, where Islam predominates, the black South Sudanese primarily follow either traditional African religions or Christianity. Kiir is a devout Catholic.
Kiir succinctly described the choice facing southern Sudanese at the time of the independence referendum in January as between being a second-class citizen in someone else's country or being a free person in your own country. The vote was in favor of secession was clear and beyond question. Five decades of oppression and civil war were to be ended.
Unfortunately, the future of districts along the new border, such as South Kordofan and Abeyi, remains unclear. Violence continues in these areas, as Sudanese military forces attempt to maintain control and forestall further dissent and disunity. Underlying these boundary disputes, and the future relations between these neighboring countries, is the presence of oil deposits in South Sudan and unresolved questions of how much of the national debt of the formerly united Sudan will be apportioned to South Sudan.
Independence, in and of itself, will not guarantee a better life for the South Sudanese. The new flag, new anthem, and new currency with not make old problems disappear. Just as shortsighted and ineffective decision making formerly originated from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the new government in Juba risks making its own mistakes in the coming years. For example, militia still remain active in South Sudan, and one of the primary task of the new government will be to integrate these soldiers into peaceful life as civilians.
Many will even question whether the continent of Africa really needs a 55th country.
South Sudan is highly dependent on agriculture, and is one of the least-developed countries in the world. Reports are circulating that foreign investors have purchased almost one-tenth of the country, as part of an effort to gain control of the most fertile tracts of land. Food security, and the profits to be earned by securing it, are driving similar stake-buildings in other countries. But with a literacy level at 15 percent and one of the highest child-mortality rates, South Sudan is particularly vulnerable.
Westerners have become accustomed to regular reports of widespread famine in Africa, and many of the difficulties facing South Sudan are equally shared by its neighbors. For example, experts are again forecasting a severe drought this summer in both the Horn of Africa, including Somalia and Ethiopia, and the typically fertile countries of East Africa, such as Kenya and Uganda.
Hunger is currently driving exhausted and desperate families across these regions on long migrations to find food and water. At the end of their travels are often rapidly-assembled refugee camps, which can lack many of the essential necessities, such as tents and medicines. Images of starving children have once again reappeared in the international media. In itself, a drought doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a famine. Typically something more is required. In Africa, this has traditionally meant conflict. Where there has been domestic instability or civil war in a country, droughts have often metamorphosed into famines leading to large-scale death and suffering.
In a perverse truism, aid groups active in Africa can find it much easier to raise money for humanitarian aid once a crisis has broken out, rather than beforehand, when the focus could be on prevention rather than reaction. The slow-moving onset of widespread hunger is apparently not as compelling as images of cities destroyed by earthquakes or tsunamis.
What is needed in Africa, as is the case so much of life, is a focus on causes rather than symptoms.
Sometimes this means thinking the unthinkable. In the case of the recurring cycle of African famine, this could include rethinking the potentials of genetically modified food, as the Kenyan government did this month. Unfortunately, most African leaders remain enthralled by European-based environmental advocates, denying their citizens the potential benefits of substantially increased yields, at a time when African farmers must significantly increase their productivity.
Tragically, Africa remains stubbornly outside the developments in agriculture that have allowed so many countries, including China and India, to achieve food security, and assisted them in the development of their economies. Further, Africa also lacks the regional cooperation and integration that could help more efficiently share the significant resources that each country possesses.
As we rightfully celebrate the birth of South Sudan, we should also encourage the South Sudanese and their government, by both words and actions, to address the challenges they face directly and forthrightly. They owe it to themselves and their descendents. And we owe it to them and the rest of Africa.