“We need to think of our future and not be stuck in the past”
On July 9 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest country. After decades of war, the break from Sudan was celebrated across the country. From tiny villages to the new capital Juba, expectations were high.
Four years on, the country remains mired in a brutal conflict that has displaced more than two million of its people more than 7 million South Sudanese food insecure.
Three CARE staff describe their expectations at Independence, and their hopes for their country’s future now.
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My name is Mary Andrew Ladu. On Independence Day in 2011, I was at home. I was six months pregnant with my daughter Amito and it was too hot to join the crowds celebrating out in the streets of Juba, but I was just as excited and just as happy.
I didn’t always live in Juba. Although we had a university here in the south, the war for independence made it difficult to stay in one’s studies so like many South Sudanese, I went to Khartoum to complete my degree. Even though I was sponsored for my five years there, life was difficult. It was hard to live so far away from family and friends.
My degree is in Food and Nutrition. After I graduated, I joined CARE as a Nutrition Coordinator, and I have been with CARE ever since working in South Darfur, and in the Internally Displaced Person Camps around Khartoum.
When the vote for Independence finally came, I knew it was time for me to return to Juba. I arrived back on January 13, 2011, and knew I was finally home, that I was safe and no longer the second class citizen I felt I had been in the north.
Independence was almost too much to believe: we had our own country at last. There would be no more suffering, and good things were coming. We had our own leader, one of us who understood all the pain and suffering it took to get us free.
The future looked bright for us then. I thought there would be no discrimination because we are all the same and services would be rendered equally to all.
I was wrong.
All those thoughts of a better life, better health services, better education for our children have gone now. The future of this country is once again dark. We are fighting our own selves, killing each other. Where will all this fighting, all this death, all this destruction lead us?
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My name is Chol Majok. On Independence Day in 2011, I was in Panyagor in Jonglei state where I worked as a Health Officer with CARE. The celebrations were huge – dancing, speeches - it was one of the most exciting days of my life.
I thought then that all South Sudan would be free, I thought that we would have a better life. I had been a child soldier. I grew up during the war, and I didn’t want my children to grow up the way I had to. We had our own country now, the promise of a better future – no more insecurity.
Now there are no hopes, the future is so bleak. People are dying – from war, disease, hunger. I didn’t think this could happen again. I fear we are no longer a nation, that tribalism and ethnicity are all that matter. Our roads are all broken, our livestock is dying, it’s harder to feed our families.
This is not the South Sudan we had at Independence. We need to think of our future and not be stuck in the past. We need to know our rights and act on them, we need leaders who will take us forward. We are looking now at the international community because our leaders will not find peace.
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My name is Alex Mogga. Independence Day in 2011 found me at my village in Eastern Equatoria state. Like every other South Sudanese, I was so happy – we danced, we drunk and made merry.
I had been involved in raising community awareness to make sure the referendum in which we voted to separate from Sudan was not marred by the violence of the long civil war that preceded it. So I was especially proud that day, proud that our vote and our final steps towards Independence had at last been peaceful.
I voted for Independence with high hopes for this country. At last we would be free, and there would be better opportunities for us in education and health. Most of all, we were looking forward to peace.
Now, the future looks bleak, so few of my hopes have been realized. This fighting shows no sign of stopping. Too many schools have closed, their teachers and pupils fleeing from fighting and forced recruitment, and health services remain nothing but a dream for too many.
South Sudan, this beautiful country with so much fertile land, is importing food to feed its people, yet who of us can pay these high prices?
When we voted for independence, we stood as a united people with a common goal but now we do nothing but fight each other. This is not what we voted for.
But it’s not too late. A solution can be found. My hope on this Independence Day is for our leaders to sit and resolve their differences, and build a lasting peace for South Sudan.