So I’m living in the world’s newest country….that’s pretty cool. This past weekend, on Saturday, South Sudan officially became the world’s newest country, the 193rd nation recognized by the UN. After 50 years of civil war, many years of colonialism, and a history of oppression, which spans hundreds of years and pre-dates the colonials, South Sudan finally has its own nation. It was an honor for me on Saturday to participate in the festivities and the joy of a people, most of who were born into a country at war. Many people have labored for years in Sudan to bring basic services and education to the people. I only began learning about the country last year and have been following the countries activities for the past 15 months. Despite this fact, I was able to sit, in Juba, in the heart of it all and hear speeches from world leaders and dignitaries on one of the most historic days of 2011. Amazing.
On Friday night, the beginning of it all, my roommate’s mother, visiting from the UK, made a wonderful celebratory dinner for several guests. I thoroughly enjoyed the food, however I mostly enjoyed the Lambrusco….wine, unspoiled by the heat, is an INCREDIBLE luxury.
After dinner, our company piled into a pickup and drove around the city, taking pictures and shouting our congratulations to the people in the streets. The town was manic the entire night. Everyone was out, rejoicing and yelling and honking horns and lighting sparklers and singing. The South Sudanese have an unprecedented affinity for Americans. This is due to the fact that George Bush and Colin Powell helped to broker the peace deal, the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, between North and South, in 2005. So, because of my white skin, the locals were more than happy to receive my congratulations. I sat with my $600 Canon on the tailgate of the truck, while guys in the street took bottles full of water (some clean and some yellow…yes), pouring them on me. “USA! USA! This is blessing! This is blessing!” they shouted, in reference to the support our country had shown them. (Thankfully my Canon emerged from the night, unscathed).
The next morning came early after a full night. I arrived as a part of the Episcopal Church entourage, bishops and company. The archbishop of Sudan, leading his rather large flock, walked us through security and up the steps to the VIP seating. I sat next to government ministers and delegates from around the world at the top of the stands, in the shade. Literally, best seat in the house. Notable attendees included UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, Robert Mugabe, Jacob Zuma, Colin Powell, Omar al-Bashir, Hassan al-Turabi, South Sudanese officials, of course Riek Machar and Salva Kirr, and many others.
The event was incredible and surreal in many ways. It seemed so humble and yet so definitive. So small yet so significant. So disorganized yet so meaningful. It was the biggest event ever to have occurred in South Sudan. I think the sheer number of people was overwhelming to the planners. Not only that, but the diversity of the people and their level of importance on an international scale was overwhelming. China sent a representative to deliver a speech during the ceremony. The delegate did not speak English, and therefore had a translator relaying his speech. At the sound of Mandarin, the audience began to laugh. I asked the men next to me why people were laughing. He said, “This is a new language to us!” Amazing. An entire audience of grown people about to begin a country laughing at the strange sounds of Mandarin.
Then of course, there was the overall poignancy and underlying tension in the presence of Bashir. The oppressor and mass murderer of Southerners stood up to give a speech about brotherly relations. In the audience in the distance there were banners, which read, “Stop genocide in Darfur and Nuba Mountains.”
Throughout the ceremony, soldiers and civilians alike fainted from the heat and dehydration. Thankfully the Red Cross was running the “hydration campaign” and was ready with stretchers and hydration salts. You could see a little white-uniformed army, running around the crowds below, carrying large numbers of people to a tent behind the stands for water.
I couldn’t help feeling like I was at a giant football game, except with speeches and guns. The subject was infinitely more significant but the participants and the crowd seemed similar. I was left in a daze as to how I should react or behave to all the things surrounding me. It was an over stimulation, physically and emotionally. Their chant raged on “We will never, never, never, never, never…Never, never, never, never sur-ren-der, sur-ren-der!”
God Bless South Sudan…
