De La Salle Brothers Blog » Br Bill Firman

Significant Impact

Br Bill Firman — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:12:39 +0000

Three weeks of the Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS) teacher training in-service programmes have now been completed in Malakal and Yambio and two weeks in each of Leer and Rumbek. SSS staff are training teachers in four out of the ten South Sudan States but are accepting residential students from all States. In one of the four States, Western Equatoria, SSS is also developing an agricultural programme (at Riimenze) which helps provide food for the 40 students in residence, and the 55 day students, in Yambio. In a fifth State, the SSS registered nurse training and mid-wifery programmes have resumed. In the capital, Juba, in Central Equatoria, a sixth State in which we are based, SSS pastoral programmes and our South Sudan central administration are located. Recently it was pleasing to meet an Australian delegation in Juba, led by Sudanese-born Australian, George Meat Pietch who is soon to be ordained as a married deacon in Australia. He was accompanied by Fr Tony Feeney, a Melbourne parish priest, and Br Michael Lynch, a Salesian, on their mission to set up a well-resourced Catholic school in Bentieu, the birthplace of George. I later met George again in Malakal when he visited his wife’s family. George, who is from the Nuer tribe, was not accompanied on this trip by his Shilluk wife, who remained in Australia to care for their six children. In recent months, we have welcomed several new members to our long-term resident team delivering teacher training: Sisters Carolyn Buhs and Sally Frommelt from the USA and Sr Margo Delaney from Ireland. We also have seven volunteers working with us in teacher training: Sr Yvonne Pothier from Canada, here for a second visit, this time for almost 12 months; Sr Antonine Meleady from Canada on her third visit, this time for almost six months; and five other volunteers for just over two months, Brothers David Zande and Geoff Kennewell from Australia, along with their lay compatriots, Terry Farrell, Henry Corcoran and Michael Watty. Two further volunteers are from the Volunteer Mission Movement in Ireland: Rob Beesley here to manage the agricultural project and Julie Orr assisting with financial administration and accountability. If the above seems like a lot of names, be aware that I have not mentioned the three permanent members of our Juba community, the three in Riimenze, three in Yambio, six in Malakal and seven in Wau. But I shall mention Fr John Barth, a Maryknoll priest from the USA, who is a very welcome recent addition to the team in Wau. A Kenyan Irish Christian Brother, Brother Julias Oluoch, is an addtional long-term staff member but resides in his congregational community in Yambio rather than an SSS community. Here in South Sudan, we currently total 22 ‘permanent’ staff and 9 volunteers on shorter placements. Two additional long-term religious are soon to join our Solidarity Teacher Training College (STTC) team: Sr Sandra Amado a Comboni Sister from Brazil and Br Joseph Alak from South Sudan. Sandra has been working in Juba for almost five years already and Br Joseph was raised in Juba before joining the De La Salle Christian Brothers when living in Cairo. Their familiarity with Sudanese culture will be of great assistance to our mission. My principal focus is teacher training. I am pleased to report that, with the great assistance of the volunteer extra tutors and three hired South Sudanese teachers, our STTC tutors are currently delivering in-service training to 290 teachers of whom 65 are women. Yes we would like to see a much higher percentage of women but given that there are only 400 female students in the final year of secondary education in the whole of South Sudan, the figures are understandable. A UNESCO report published in July 2011 stated: Today, a young girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than to reach grade 8. I know SSS is making a significant impact. So far we have only taken a few important steps down a long road but it is the right road. That is what matters. Br Bill

We can make a difference

Br Bill Firman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:44:48 +0000

Enormous resources have been poured into South Sudan since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in January, 2005. What signs of genuine progress are there among the ordinary people as a result of this? Is there any evidence that there is more opportunity emerging for the people generally? Some things are very noticeable: more school buildings, more vehicles, more variety of goods, even with the current shortages. But severance from the north has come at a cost. One sister wrote recently: ’I like Malakal but I liked the old Malakal more’.. .. . when there was town power most nights, diesel fuel was relatively cheap, fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs were there in the market and gas was available. There is no doubt, I believe, that new supply routes will be opened up and that readjustment will occur. I asked a class recently, ‘Was the war worth it?’ There were plenty of responses giving reasons why it was, even from those who lost family members during the war. Among this class of young men and women between the ages of 19 and 30, only 12 out of 32 still enjoyed having their fathers alive. The mothers of 26 of this class were still living but in most of their families some siblings had also died. The war was directly responsible for the death of many people but indirectly for many more who died from starvation, poor health care and harsh living conditions. Yet the major gain has been continuing peace and a pervading sense of the people now controlling their own destiny. During this past week I spent a few days with Sr Pat Murray IVBM, Executive Director, of SSS, visiting the Loreto Secondary School for Girls established just outside of Rumbek in South Sudan. We were most impressed by the standard of English used by the girls and their confidence and poise – young women now looking to the future. The girls spoke openly about how hard it was for them to live with each other when they first arrived at school, coming from different tribal groups with differing customs; but now, as the first graduating group, they feel confident, assured and ambitious. The three Irish Loreto Sisters leading the staff have developed a well set-up school, by Sudanese standards, but still with many development needs. The Loreto girls are looking at a very different future now that quality schooling is available to them. Among them is an Australian Sudanese girl who has left the rest of her family in Sydney and returned to Sudan to finish her education with the ambition of helping her people. She is not sure when she will next be able to visit her family. She found South Sudan very hard at first but has now re-established herself in the culture of her birth. What I particularly noticed was that these girls were like girls anywhere, chatting and laughing, conscious of appearance, posing for photographs with flowers – and friends. Many of these, girls who were raised in bush tukuls, now enjoy familiarity with an emerging world of new possibilities. The girls wander in and out of the Sisters’ convent very confidently. They are treated respectfully as valued persons and friends, not just students in a school. I am told it was far from easy, especially at first, with some difficult confrontations leading to some ‘winnowing’ of the first crop of students but what has endured is a very friendly and expanding group of students working hard to benefit from the opportunity offered them. So I have no doubt committed people make a huge difference. Now that I am teaching in our Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau, I am observing something similar to what is happening at Loreto. Give young people a chance, and guidance, and reap the rewards. Quality can only bloom if opportunity is provided. Br Bill

Companions on the Journey

Br Bill Firman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:01:38 +0000

Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS) is a deliberately chosen name. After a recent visit to South Sudan, SSS Board member, Brother Jorge Gallardo, who has been involved in the project from the beginning, wrote: Just after the signing of the CPA, the Bishops Conference of Southern Sudan appealed to the leaders of Religious Institutes in Rome for help. The Union of male Superiors General (USG) and its female counterpart, the UISG, together, responded by taking the courageous decision of creating a new model of mission for religious life. Different Religious Congregations would commit financial aid and/or personnel in order to provide teacher education, health training and support programs to assist the South Sudanese people in their quest for peace, unity and reconciliation. The project was given the name of Solidarity with South Sudan (SSS). There is a clear stress on the preposition “with”, underlying the commitment of its members to accompany the people of South Sudan, empowering and supporting them as they rebuild their lives, their communities, and their societal structures. When Sr Ninet in Malakal, one of the pioneers of SSS who arrived here in 2008, attended a recent meeting in Malakal, the Minister of Education described SSS as ‘best partner’ because of ‘the continuity and consistency’ SSS brings to its work, offering experienced teachers who stay on with the people rather than doing short tours of duty. SSS brings a further ‘S’, stability, to its work in South Sudan. One South Sudan government official remarked that SSS is the only organisation in all of South Sudan who will be taking teachers into the final year of the in-service curriculum in 2012. Various persons have remarked that they have noticed our SSS personnel have stayed through times of civil disturbance and not fled the country. We have come to be recognised as companions on the journey, not just foreign drop-ins delivering a service. The Sudan Catholic Bishops have been meeting, during the past ten days, at the Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau. This facility, belonging to the Bishops, has been redeveloped by SSS and is administered and staffed by SSS, a special gift for the benefit of all the people of South Sudan. Sr Kathrine O’Flynn FCJ, Board chairperson of SSS, along with Sr Pat Murray IBVM, the Executive Director of SSS, travelled from Rome, and attended part of the Bishops’ meeting while Fr Callistus Joseph CMF our SSS Director of Projects and Fr Manny Ginete CM, a new member of our pastoral team, were also present for most of the meeting. Nurse training has continued during this time. Meanwhile at Malakal and Yambio, in our teacher training facilities, 84 teachers, or intending teachers, have been receiving intensive English tuition. The extraordinary stability and strength – maybe we could be called ‘Solidarity bringing Stability and Strength’ – generated by the combined efforts of male and female religious assisted by some lay partners, justifies our claim to be a key companion organisation on the journey of the people of South Sudan to build a strong, Christian country. SSS has nineteen religious Sisters, two priests, three Brothers, one lay man and a lay woman living and working in South Sudan in teacher training, nurse and mid-wife training, pastoral initiatives and agricultural projects. Brother Jorge summarises our diversity in these terms: In South Sudan itself there are 26 missionaries: religious and lay volunteers, male and female, from 14 different countries and belonging to 18 different religious congregations living together in 5 mixed communities. SSS is achieving remarkable unity in diversity: the focus is on what unites not what divides. Uncertainly and doubt have been replaced by stability and strength. I believe this ‘new model for mission’ is indeed generating new marrow in old bones. Br Bill

Simple but Strong

Br Bill Firman — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:45:37 +0000

There was no priest available for mass last Sunday morning. So the communion service was led by the parish catechists. Gabriel, the senior catechist, preached the homily. He is known to be a man of strong faith and simple devotion to the Church he has served, for many years, including the years of war. The parish now has an active parish priest and a deacon – to be ordained in December – but they were absent from Riimenze this day at other mass centres of this large parish. So once again Gabriel led his people in prayer and worship with a full church as usual. Gabriel is esteemed as a decent, uncomplicated, honest man who deserves the respect he is shown as community catechist. Priests may come and go but he is always here with reassuring fidelity. Here it is evident that the Church is the people of God. The Church building may be decrepit with windows missing, roughly finished and with hard, backless benches but the people unite in unquestioning faith. I find myself wondering how different it is from many first world countries where people have found all kinds of reasons to abandon their places among the people of God. Lasting marriages are built on simple fidelity in spite of personal failings. So too the people of God have many failings but why do so many no longer simply forgive and forget and continue to be strong in their belief? In this society one can rediscover the simple joys of living because so little can be taken for granted. I find myself rejoicing at simple things – at the sound of thunder or the flash of lightning, on hearing falling rain or knowing mangoes or papaya, or tomatoes are in season. Such is the efficiency of first world production and distribution, very little food is strictly seasonal in modern supermarkets. If one is prepared to pay, it is possible to buy almost anything, anytime. But when one only gets fruit and vegetables when they ripen in the local gardens, life brings its own rhythm of simple joys. When I manage to buy carrots in the local market, I return home with a sense of exultant achievement! We have no town power. So I rejoice when the generator starts easily. We are gratified when we can buy diesel or petrol, as we can now, but could not two weeks ago. I am gladdened when a re-filled gas bottle is returned from Juba so we don’t have to cook over charcoal. It is a triumph when one can buy potatoes and eggs. A cauliflower is a gift from heaven and even cabbage is a special treat. But are we suffering? No I think we enjoy the cycles of availability and the variety of seasonal living. I don’t have to invent a life of artificial satisfactions. Life itself creates a rhythm and brings satisfaction in simple ways, through simple events. A possible outcome if we have all the things we want all the time is that we forget to celebrate simple gifts and look for something else to celebrate. And maybe another outcome is that some lose sight of the value of simple faith and develop an outlook that is too critical or cynical. Why did God make me? It is so easy to substitute other things, before the ‘knowing, loving and serving of God’, when everything is available all the time. Sometimes one has to be without to appreciate what we take for granted.

Here the people appreciate any kind of food and clean water when it is available. Life revolves around kids, and more kids, and kids nursing other kids. So it seems. But there is a simple joy in all of this. The only toys one sees here are bike wheels rolled along with a stick. The no-name clothing is often not much more than rags. Yes, there is too much illness flowing from lack of good hygiene but generally there is simple happiness and strength to be found in the fidelity of the people. No society is perfect. This one certainly needs more facilities and services; but to have too little is not necessarily a worse state than to have too much and to want even more.

Br Bill

Rain on the Roof

Br Bill Firman — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:43:25 +0000

It is only the relatively modern houses in South Sudan which have galvanised iron or zinc-aluminium roofs. Most people still live in the traditional grass-roof tukuls. Tiled or slate roofs may exist somewhere but I don’t recall seeing them although I have seen roofs that are made from concrete. Those who live in tukuls with grass roofs never hear the drumming sound of rain on a metal roof. I am told one hears many other sounds – the movements of geckos or rats, the rustle of leaves, the dripping of rain into puddles, the unwelcome buzzing of mosquitoes. I think there is something comforting about the sound of rain on the roof when one is snuggled up warmly, sheltered from the wild moods of nature. Flashes of lightning followed by rolls of thunder are not threatening when one is securely inside. Most well made tukuls don’t leak but I wonder whether the sounds of a storm, inside a tukul, are comforting or threatening. Occasionally, I have heard gunfire at night. Locked in our house I have felt fine. How would I feel in a tukul? How would lightning and thunder make me feel in a tukul? I don’t really know. Maybe if I were dark-skinned the night would bring a special sense of security. One could simply disappear into the blackness. I know in this society in the day-time my whiteness stands out. Being different in appearance from everyone else can seem to be a problem but it has been brought to my attention that it is more often the other African peoples – most commonly Kenyans, Ugandans, Congolese, Ethiopians – who are more likely to be hassled than we white ‘kawadjas’. Acceptance and security are always issues wherever there are mixed races of people coming together. I see myself as giving my life to help the people here but maybe the local people see me as a ‘have’ while they are ‘have nots”. Children, as always, give honest reactions. I delight in shaking hands with the small, and not so small, children. One gets the impression that they think it a special event to shake a white hand. Maybe it will affect their own hands! But while I reflect and muse on what makes one secure, accepted, wanted, I know there is one frustration above all blocking acceptance – language. I am sure that to be fully accepted one must be able to talk to the local people in their own language. The early missionaries managed to do it. So have the three sisters I now live with in Riimenze. I stand there as the dumb mute while they greet and meet and laugh and enjoy. So learn the language could be the answer. Yet I am faced with the fact that my older brain cells do not absorb and recall as well as they once may have. It is really not a problem, however, to anyone but myself. The sisters engage the people very well. I cook and they go out to care for the people! The statistics reveal the need. In this part of South Sudan the under five mortality rate is 192 per thousand : almost one child in five dies before the age of five. In contrast, the under five mortality rate in Italy is only 4 per thousand. Recently, on a cool, wet night, a grand-mother appeared at our door to express great concern about her pregant grand-daughter. So Sisters Joana and Josphine headed out into the night to assess the situation and minister what aid they could. Assisting pregnant teenagers is not on my list of qualifications! The best I could do was to offer the use of my good lantern torch. They returned with the news that the girl would be fine. The local people were reassured – and so was I that to be ready to heal the sick is indeed a beatitude, a wonderful gift. So what am I doing here? It all comes back to ‘rain on the roof’, what it is that gives us security. No-one of us possesses all the gifts but together we are stronger. And this is the interesting paradox about ‘Solidarity with South Sudan’. Most of the participating religious congregations could not have envisaged being here on their own. But here we are, women and men together, from different lands and orders, finding strength and security to deliver vital assistance together to the people of this land. We shall walk with them until they can walk alone – and we shall walk together sharing the different gifts that each of us brings. Br Bill

Education in South Sudan

Br Bill Firman — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:19:04 +0000

I have come to realise that a recurring question jumps into my mind almost every time I see little urchins happily running around the muddy streets of Malakal. They often wave gaily to me and occasionally call out ‘kawadja’ (white man) with big smiles on their faces. Do they think the whole world is like this? ‘Ignorance is bliss’ an aphorism says. Do these children realise they are disadvantaged by not going to school? Do they hope for something better or are they satisfied because this is all they know? Most never see TV, videos or even photographs, of other places. Yet surely in this modern world, this ‘global village’, lack of basic health care is not acceptable. Nor is it enough to know only the tribal language, if the people are ever to venture outside of their region of birth. People have very limited options indeed if they do not posses the ability to communicate in a widely spoken international language. Here in South Sudan the most common languages are Arabic or English; in some parts of Africa it is French rather than English. For South Sudan, the government has proclaimed that language will be English. In Malakal, Sr Margaret Sheehan began teaching English to women from the parish in the evenings. Now that she is on home leave to Ireland, the parish priest, Fr Stephen, has taken over the classes which are consistently well attended. Learning English is an important step in building this new nation, as it faces the challenge of creating opportunity through better education, especially for girls. Here are some of the stark statistics as presented in a document published by UNESCO this year, just before South Sudan became independent: one child out of every nine dies before its fifth birthday, since the CPA was signed in 2005, , enrolments in primary schools have doubled from 0.7 million (2005) to 1.4 million (2009), but this still represents only 46% of children who should be attending school, South Sudan ranks second lowest out of 123 countries on net enrolment rates for primary education, and last out of 134 countries for secondary education, only 38% of adults are literate, women represent 65% of South Sudan’s total population yet 92% of those who are not literate, only 37% of those enrolled in school at primary level are girls. This drops to 27% in secondary school, only 12% of teachers are women: 88% are men, 40% of children aged 13, and 50% of children aged 18, are not currently enrolled or have never attended school, only 13% of teachers are qualified and about 40% have completed primary education, only 57% of classrooms are permanent buildings. Maybe ignorance is short term bliss for some street urchins but I have also spoken with some good students in Sudanese schools who are very proud of their increasing knowledge and level of academic achievement. Education is the mechanism for upward mobility and the possibility of a better lifestyle. Sound education brings more awareness of good personal hygiene, avoidance of diseases and the skills for building a more productive society. But it is true, nonetheless, that education can open the door to values and attitudes that are far from Christian and which have the potential to undermine the present strong expression of the Christian faith in South Sudan. Those of us working in education in this new country believe in what we are doing; but we also know we must strive to preserve the attitude of genuine caring for, and sharing with, others rather than succumb to the self-interest evident among some in more opulent societies. Br Bill

The Cat and the Snake

Br Bill Firman — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:55:17 +0000

The Cat and the Snake

I have seen several small snakes near our Malakal house recently. I would guess there are also some big ones and they have seen me! Normally each would give the other a wide berth. Not so our cat. No-one knows the origin of this cat other than it turned up around our house and has formed a mutual bond with us. I was intrigued to witness its confrontation with a snake. Some photos are attached. My guess is that the cat won as it was okay later and there was a dead snake! The world of nature achieves a balance between avoidance behaviour and confrontation. Most of the time, natural enemies stay out of harm’s way by successfully avoiding predators; but occasionally there is confrontation. In South Sudan, it is common to see play confrontation as goats endeavour to head butt each other into submission. Unlike the cat and the snake, neither goat gets seriously hurt but the ritual is performed and both seem satisfied. Two equals can head butt harmlessly but confrontation between unequals can have a deadly outcome for the weaker. Perhaps it is similar with people. Politicians head butt lots of the time. I don’t really understand why. To me it puts them on a similar level to goats. Mostly it is between equals and maybe no real harm appears to be done. But I would vote for any member of parliament who rises above the sneering, verbal abuse and name-calling that is common in parliament – call it by the nice name of ritual confrontation – and who consistently acts with respect for the dignity of every other human being. As people, we need to think clearly about what we value and what causes us outrage. People can act with deliberate judgement, not just with animal instinct. I read an article recently in the Australian media that made a very sharp observation: There can be no better proof that people care more about brown cows than they do about brown people than the reaction to last week’s report on the massacre’s in Sri Lanka. Last month, a TV program broadcast distressing scenes of slaughter in an Indonesian abattoir. The outrage was immediate, with letters’ pages across the nation full of violent denunciations of the appalling way the beasts were treated…. On the same programme a few weeks later, viewers were shown naked and blindfolded men being shot in the head with assault rifles, the bodies of murdered rape victims, hospitals awash with the blood of civilians bombed in apparent safe havens and the bodies of men who had surrendered to the Sri Lankan Government after being offered amnesty, but then been murdered. The writer commented: It was one of the most horrific pieces of television I have ever seen. Yet, he observed: All week only one letter appeared in any Melbourne newspaper denouncing the slaughter and demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice. Maybe in our first world comfort we simply avoid thinking about the problems in faraway places like Sri Lanka – or South Sudan. The people of this country have seen too much war but it has helped them to form judgements about what is important and what it is they really want. The ordinary people of South Sudan don’t have much by way of possessions but they know what they value. They celebrate the gift of life with sharing, kindness and respect for one another. It is good to be kind to people and gentle with animals as well – although there may always be some we want to avoid. I unashamedly prefer a purr from our cat to a hiss from a snake and, mostly, we need more purring and less hissing from our leaders. But even Jesus showed outrage to the money lenders in the temple. There are times when we should be upset at what happens to others and there are times to confront rather than avoid. Human beings are gifted with judgement. Let us use it well.

Br Bill

Crusty Bread Rolls

Br Bill Firman — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:58:48 +0000

Life is good in South Sudan at present – and will probably remain so for the likes of me. Anyone who is receiving funds from other countries has a distinct advantage. When our first people came here, they were getting just over two Sudanese pounds to the dollar. For much of last year, the rate was 2.8 or 2.9. That is still close to the current bank rate but you can now get 3.5 from plenty of traders who buy their goods outside South Sudan and need dollars to pay for them. So that is okay for me. Give me a dollar and I receive a lot more of the local currency. But what about the South Sudanese who trade in Sudanese pounds, get paid in pounds and purchase in pounds? A tin of peas or beans used to cost five pounds. In the last few weeks the price has jumped to ten. One orange, the only fruit in the market today, cost 2 pounds. The price of onions has almost trebled. It must be tough for many South Sudanese. The price of diesel and gas has doubled – but that is not a problem at present as none is available to purchase! I am not sure if the major cause is rampant inflation or more an under-supply of goods. Well over half the shops in Malakal are closed at present. Many of the Arab traders have left town – which is a pity as this is a place where Muslim and Christian civilians co-exist very cooperatively. The Arab traders have always been very helpful and pleasant. No-one knows if they will return or not. The new country of South Sudan has said it will grant dual citizenship to anyone from the North who wants to stay here in the south. So far, Sudan has refused to be so accommodating. There is still a lot of negotiation to take place over such issues. Other key unresolved problems are the disputed border regions, Sudan national debt and the sharing of oil revenue. Most oil is extracted in the south and piped to the north for refining and shipped out through Port Sudan on the Red Sea. It will be years before South Sudan has its own refinery and, since it has no coast line, it will never have a port with an oil terminal. South Sudan is resource rich but surrounded! So it needs to build good relations with its neighbours – and seemingly has made a good beginning. Not all traders have left town and not all prices have skyrocketed. There is plenty of fresh beef available from the Arab butchers and frozen chickens seem to be plentiful. The price increase on these items has been very minimal. There have been no eggs available for the past week but I hear some are coming, sometime! The Ethiopian baker who opened up last year and brought joy to many lives with the large, substantial bread rolls that he produced, has closed shop and we are back to dusty, crusty rolls that have very little inside that one identifies as bread. What is startling are the number of substantial homes and other building under construction. Some of the well-positioned in South Sudan are obviously prospering. For others, inflated prices are a problem. Flour is getting dearer. So will the crusty rolls get even smaller? A ‘taxi ride’ in Malakal – a seat in a four person cab following a set route – used to cost one pound. Now it costs two. So there will be no obeisity here among the ‘ordinary’people. The ‘ordinary’ people will walk even more than usual and eat even more basic food South Sudan has been brought to this point far more peacefully and capably than many expected. I continue to be grateful for the crusty bread rolls that are still on the menu. Br Bill

Free At Last

Br Bill Firman — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:10:38 +0000

The newest country on earth, South Sudan, is now formally in existence. The celebrations were joyful and orderly. No ‘What ifs?’ arose to spoil the occasion: no unforeseen incident occurred to mar the celebrations. Significantly, Sudan, our northern neighbour from whom the south seceded, became the first country formally to recognise South Sudan as an independent nation. It is hard to capture the spirit and excitement of such an occasion. Perhaps the banner shown in one photo taken in Juba, ‘Free at Last’, with the men carrying replicas of parts of the statue of liberty, sums up what independence mean to the South Sudanese people. Ninety-nine percent voted for independence and that has been delivered. Hopefully, the years of war are behind the people of this new nation but there are many challenges ahead. The Secretary General of the United nations, Ban Ki-moon, who was present in Juba for the independence celebrations summed up the reality in these words:

‘Nationhood has come at steep cost: a staggering number of lives lost and people displaced in a 21-year civil war that ended only in 2005. When the assembled presidents and prime ministers board their official planes to return home, the challenges that remain will be daunting indeed. On the day of its birth, South Sudan will rank near the bottom of all recognized human development indices. The statistics are truly humbling. It has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate. Estimates of illiteracy among the female population exceed 80 percent. More than half of its people must feed, clothe and shelter themselves on less than a dollar a day. Critical issues of poverty, insecurity and lack of infrastructure must all be addressed by a relatively new government with little experience and only embryonic institutions. I came to appreciate the sheer scale of these challenges, for myself, when I first visited South Sudan in 2007 – an area of 620,000 square kilometres with less than 100 kilometres of paved road.…At the same time, South Sudan has remarkable potential. With substantial oil reserves, huge amounts of arable land and the Nile flowing through its centre, South Sudan could grow into a prosperous, self-sustaining nation capable of providing security, services and employment for its population. Alone, South Sudan cannot meet these challenges nor realize its potential. Doing so will require partnership — a full (and on-going) engagement with the international community and, most especially, South Sudan’s neighbours. First and foremost, the new leaders of South Sudan should reach out to their counter-parts in Khartoum. Strong, peaceful relations with the North are essential…..Finally, South Sudan must reach out to its own people. It must find strength in diversity and build institutions that represent the full constellation of its broad geographic and ethnic communities. The basics of any modern, democratic state must be guaranteed: free expression, full political rights, inclusive institutions that extend benefits to citizens of rural areas as well as regions affected by conflict.

The main celebrations were held in the capital, Juba. A strong military presence was obvious but the mood was exultant. Sister Margaret Sheehan, shown in one of the photos, tells me that the celebratory mass of thanksgiving she attended the next day, lasted for three hours. I am attaching some photos taken in Juba by Anne Carthy, who is visiting South Sudan from our SSS Rome office, and some taken in Malakal by Sr Ninet – where there was less formality and more emphasis on tribal traditions. I never thought I would see peace come to Northern Ireland, the Cold War end nor the Berlin Wall come down. I know I never even thought much about Sudan until I came here. There has been much prayer, talk and action to reach South Sudan Independence Day but, as I was taught as a boy, ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of’. Peace in Sudan is a dream come true. The major campaign of praying for peace, which I believe helped carry us to this point, was instigated by one of the principal architects of Solidarity with South Sudan, Sr Cathy Arata, a diminutive figure but one blessed with the power of vision, prayer and determined effort. It is a privilege to be partof SSS accompanying the people of this new nation on their journey forward. Br Bill

The Countdown Has Begun

Br Bill Firman — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:22:15 +0000

July 9^th is Independence Day for Southern Sudan: a new nation is to be born. Southern Sudan, in normal times, is a somewhat unpredictable place to be. Even more so now. When one travels, one is often confronted with new procedures that are applied once and then mysteriously lapse after a very short period of time. Who decides to do what, when and to whom, is a challenge for me. I was grateful to find both my bags arrived with me in Juba, after an unscheduled extra day in Dubai and a change of airlines, blamed again on volcanic ash. There must be a lot of selective ash around as my airline wasn’t flying to Addis Ababa whilst others were! After collecting my bags in Juba and having them inspected at customs, I was challenged as I left the terminal: ‘Have you paid the baggage tax?’ I looked shocked and replied: ‘But I live here, I have a resident’s permit’. I was allowed through without paying. After a few days in Juba and a Solidarity with Southern Sudan (SSS) Management Team meeting, I travelled on Saturday 25^th to Yambio. Without any prior announcement, we discovered early on Saturday, just as I was leaving, that it had been declared some kind of ‘lock-down’ or ‘curfew’ day in Juba There was to be, we were told, a house-to-house search for weapons. Nonetheless, Sr Cathy drove me to the airport. Every 30 metres or so along the roads we travelled, there were armed soldiers stationed but we reached the airport unchallenged, only to find nobody was being allowed in. After about half an hour, other intending passengers and myself were finally admitted and I approached the UNHAS (United Nations Humanitarian Air Services) desk. ‘Sorry’, they said, ‘You are not down for the first flight but for the second one. The crew for the first flight are here as they live 200 metres from the airport but the second crew are unable to reach the airport.’ Molly, an American girl working for World Vision, and I, were told to wait to one side as it was possible some passengers may not turn up. Fortunately, that was the case and we were eventually rescheduled to the first ‘9:00am plane’ that eventually left at 10:00am! Fewer planes are flying. Fuel has more than doubled in price and is often hard to get. I arrived in Yambio an hour late where my fellow Australian, Brother Denis, met me. Unexpectedly, as it has never happened before, the three obvious kawadjas (whites) on board were told to go to the small, cramped airport office. Molly and a young man had all the details of their travel permit laboriously entered into a register, including how long they intended to stay in the State of Western Equatoria. They each paid ten Sudanese pounds for the privilege of entering the State. We were shown the official letter which said ‘foreigners’ had to pay. When it came to my turn, I said: ‘I have a resident’s permit. I live here’. I still had to pay; at least I was not asked how long I was going to stay! Fortunately, the so-called ‘Nationwide Curfew’, as some had described it in Juba, was not being applied in Yambio. After a very pleasant welcome-back lunch with our Yambio community, I set out on the relatively uneventful 30km journey to Riimenze. I did note there are now a further four speed humps to negotiated on the gravel highway which has significantly deteriorated during the two months I have been away. We don’t know what is going to happen as independence nears. All in Southern Sudan face an unknown future with some excitement, much hope and a little nervousness. We pray that ‘normal’ Sudanese life will be able to continue for the humble citizens while the ‘big men’ in Government decide our fate. New community gardens have been initiated by Sr Rosa –another step up. We continue to offer some support to the Congolese refugee children 15km away at Makpundu. Battling to survive with family and friends is the reality for many people in Sudan. We pray that those in power continue to let these people live in peace. Br Bill