Global General

Birth pangs of new nation

By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-26 07:07

In the latest of his special reports from Sudan, Zhang Haizhou takes a look at the big challenges south Sudan faces as it prepares to become the world's newest nation on July 9

Reporter Garang John, 24, walked into his workplace, Southern Sudan TV (SSTV), the only TV station in the region, on an afternoon in late March. When John entered the studio, he pointed to the logo "Southern Sudan TV" on the desk. "It will be changed! Sure!" John said. "Southern still means part of something. It'll be South Sudan TV." On July 9, the region is going to split from Sudan and formally declare independence as the "Republic of South Sudan". What John did in the TV studio was just one example of an entire population that is preparing for independence.

Top: Children smile in front of the camera in Juba, southern Sudan, on March 22. Above: Men check a notice board for job opportunities outside the information ministry in Juba on March 21. [Photos by Cui Meng/China Daily]

It's easy to change the name of a TV station, but it is much harder to create a new country.

With less than three months to go, south Sudan faces tremendous challenges after more than 50 years of civil wars with the central government in Khartoum.

Khartoum and Juba signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in early 2005 to end the civil war.

Six years on, as a new country, south Sudan will basically be starting from scratch.

Statistics from the UN Deputy Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Southern Sudan Lise Grande show how tough these challenges are.

The region has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, with one-in-seven women dying in childbirth or pregnancy.

A fifteen-year-old girl has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than graduating from school, as more than 90 percent of southern Sudanese women are illiterate.

But, said Grande, the "major plague" afflicting the people of south Sudan is food insecurity, which, according to her, is the top issue the south Sudan government should address.

The UN World Food Program fed 4 million people, almost half of the total population, in 2010, she said.

"This year the UN is going to be feeding 1.4 million people. Even in a good year, 20 percent of people in the south suffer from food insecurity," Grande added.

But even though so many suffer from hunger, some people are still able to live well.

Nearby the Nile, groups of people, young and old, locals and foreigners were sitting in the Da Vinci Lodge, the city's best restaurant, having dinner and enjoying live music.

Outside, Hummers, Toyota Prados and V8s filled the parking lot.

At the Da Vinci Lodge, a two-course meal for four would cost almost $150.

Spending $150 on a dinner is something that Bakheit Fursha could probably never even imagine.

The 60-year-old, who recently retired from a government job, now gets a monthly pension of $35.

That is pretty much the entire source of income for his family of five, including his unemployed wife and 21-year-old son, and two daughters.