Never Forget What God Has Done in South Sudan

The following article appeared on The Living Church website and was reposted with permission.

With turmoil and revolution raging across the Middle East and North Africa, the recent triumph of peaceful democracy in South Sudan’s January 2011 Referendum on Secession has been all but forgotten. It was in South Sudan’s vote for independence from Sudan that a true democracy, Africa’s 54th nation, was born. The worldwide Church, and particularly the people of South Sudan themselves, should never forget what God has done for South Sudan. Nor should the rest of Sudan’s marginalized and oppressed peoples be forgotten.

Many doubted that people who have been devastated by decades of genocidal war waged against them by their own government could carry out such an election. There was also good reason to believe that the Sudanese government would interfere with the referendum, which was the culmination of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. And there were fears that tribal conflict, vote-rigging, and other problems could plague the vote.

But the referendum, bathed in prayer by South Sudan’s Christians and their friends around the world, was conducted with peace, integrity, and dignity. Although ten Southern Sudanese traveling from northern Sudan to vote were murdered by northern Arab Misseriya tribesmen, there were no such incidences within the South. When the votes were tallied in February 2011, 98.83 percent of voters chose independence. And surprisingly, considering its past history of violating and failing to implement peace agreements, Khartoum accepted the results of the vote without dispute.

The new Republic of South Sudan still has a long road ahead. The Southern Sudanese are deeply concerned about the disputed north/south border areas, not part of the referendum although their history is entwined with that of South Sudan. The destiny of the oil-rich region of Abyei, the homeland of the Ngok Dinka, has not yet been decided. Although two separate, disinterested panels of judges (including the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague) found Abyei to belong to South Sudan and not the north, the Sudanese government has rejected the rulings.

The international community has tolerated Khartoum’s violation of the CPA, in which the retime agreed to abide by the judgment on Abyei. And Khartoum has incited the Misseriya, who use Abyei as grazing land for their herds, to attack their hosts, the Dinka. In an early March 2011 attack on Abyei, militias armed by the Sudanese government killed more than 100 people and burned 300 buildings. Satellite images released on April 7 by the Satellite Sentinel Project, an initiative of actor and activist George Clooney to provide an early warning system and deter war between North and South Sudan, show a major escalation of helicopter gunships and tanks within striking distance of Abyei.

The other disputed areas, the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and the Blue Nile region, are to hold elections and “popular consultations” in 2011. According to the CPA, the popular consultation will offer the option of some autonomy from Khartoum to both of these areas, which comprise the Episcopal Church of Sudan’s Diocese of Kadugli and Diocese of Wad Medani. Citizens fear fraud and vote-rigging that could affect both elections and the popular consultation. For instance, in South Kordofan, Khartoum has nominated an indicted war criminal, Ahmed Haroun, to run against the well-loved SPLM gubernatorial candidate, Commander Abdel Aziz Adam el Hilu.

In addition to concerns about neighboring regions, the people of South Sudan know that building up their country will be quite a task. Education, infrastructure, good governance, and agricultural development are key. There are tremendous business and investment opportunities, but there are also enormous obstacles that must be overcome. And the churches in South Sudan — the only functioning element of civil society during the war — need to be equipped for a continuing influence on civil society. Many South Sudanese fear that Khartoum and its partners in the Arab world will attempt to buy the influence and power over South Sudan that they could not gain during the war. Churches must be strengthened to continue warning against the seduction of silver and gold.

The three main peace talk events that led to the CPA were actually reflected in the names of the places where they were held. The signing of the first protocol in July 2002 brought about a ceasefire that seemed like a miracle. It took place at Machakos, Kenya, a formerly arid, unproductive area that had been the subject of so successful an agricultural experiment that it was known as the “Machakos Miracle.” The final protocols were agreed to after a long, hard struggle that almost ended the peace talks. They were signed at Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, the British misspelling of the Masai word Nai’posha, which means “rough water.” And the January 9, 2005, signing of the CPA took place at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium. Nyayo means “footsteps.” For South Sudan these footsteps were toward freedom and peace.

Like Samuel, who sought to construct a permanent reminder to the people of Israel of God’s goodness, mercy, forgiveness, and deliverance, the Church in South Sudan will be the Ebenezer (“Stone of Help”) that reminds the people: “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”