Children in Leer

A few days ago, our Juba neighbour, Sister Pushpa, celebrated the anniversary of her 20 years in Africa, considerably longer than my ten months!

Africa is such a culturally diverse continent. When Ghana was the only African country left in the World Cup, I did find Sudanese were barracking for Ghana, ‘the African team’. There is a general consciousness of being ‘African’ although some 54 independent sovereign states make up ‘Africa’. 

Nonetheless, the tribe of origin often impacts more on style of life than any national identity. Some say the colonial powers divided up Africa into arbitrary countries. ‘Arbitrary’ it truly was as tribes such as the Azande nation, an ethnic group of more than one million people, found themselves divided into parts of three countries. Further, many of the more than 10,000 independent, African, tribal nations were forced into uneasy coalitions with traditional enemies. These ‘coalitions’ may be single countries nominally but conflicts continue, unfortunately exacerbated by modern weaponry. 

A Wikipedia entry, printed below, sums up the African situation, in the post-Colonial period since the mid 1950s, much better than I can:

‘Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, most of which still have the borders drawn during the era of European colonialism. Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis, and many have instead cycled through a series of coups, producing military dictatorships.

A number of Africa’s post-colonial political leaders were military generals who were poorly educated and ignorant on matters of governance. Great instability, however, was mainly the result of marginalization of ethnic groups, and graft under these leaders. For political gain, many leaders fanned ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.’  

It is ironic that Southern Sudan, one of the areas with the lowest living standards, is now attracting large numbers of other African people as immigrant workers. There is a shortage of skilled tradespeople in Southern Sudan. The United Nations, and the Non-Government Organizations who come here to help the Sudanese, bring in lots of money. There is also the share of oil revenue handed over by the North. One Ugandan electrician told me recently there is not enough work in Uganda and consequently the pay rates there are too low. So he comes to Sudan to work where the pay is much better and his services are in demand. There is evident development in parts of Southern Sudan, such as in the capital, Juba, where I am at present. Much money changes hands but I surmise that a lot of it is flowing out to other African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda who supply the major part of the goods and services here.

Independence and economic aid are not panaceas: they may help start a nation but they won’t deliver prosperity unless the nation is built, not on personal aggrandizement by a few, but on genuine concern for the welfare of all. The real question is can we in Southern Sudan learn the lessons from the failures in other parts of Africa and, instead, respect others, treating them justly and fairly. What is really needed is a strong determination for justice and peace.  

Br Bill