The secession of south Sudan is all but guaranteed, but securing the vote for that outcome is the least of the challenges facing the southern Sudanese, writes Asmaa El-Husseini in Juba The citizens of south Sudan stood quietly and patiently in very long queues outside ballot stations to decide their common fate. It was a strange sight that may never leave my memory or that of the reporters and monitors who flocked to south Sudan's capital Juba. The people of the south went to voting stations early in the morning; some couldn't even wait until the morning of 9 January and spent the night in front of balloting stations. I approached one of them. He told me that he had spent the night with others outside the station to wait for his turn to vote. I asked him if he was tired of waiting all night, he responded: "We have been waiting for this day for 55 years, so one night's discomfort of waiting here does not compare to the anguish of our people while they waited and suffered for years as a result of consecutive wars, migration, exile, death, destruction and disease." I quizzed another young man called Robin: "How will you vote?" He responded in Sudanese dialect: "I won't hide my opinion; I will vote for partition of course, for the sake of freedom, dignity and justice for our people. Also, for the sake of building a state in which we do not feel we are second-class citizens. We have waited for this for a long time." Few voiced contrary opinions. Thus, it appears that partition is imminent, with calls for unity receding and its advocates backing down out of fear or shame after the term became equivalent to slavery, oppression, injustice, war, disease, poverty, contempt and loss of dignity. The campaign to mobilise public opinion in the south and motivate the people on this decisive moment in their history has been intense. Nearly all the leading figures in the south and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) urged the people to choose partition and not to betray millions of martyrs who died during a futile union with the north. These leaders reminded citizens that when they cast their vote, they are not just deciding their own fate but that of their offspring and coming generations in the south. They must decide if they want to be slaves or free citizens, they said. In a society where illiteracy is at least 80 per cent, many events were held by activists and political cadres in south political parties and the government to train citizens on how to express their right to self- determination. The message to the people was direct: they need to fold the ballot and use their thumb to mark the picture of a single hand, which stands for secession, and completely ignore the two hands clasping each other which symbolises unity. The motif of a single hand was prominently displayed in campaigning ahead of referendum day, and publicised by what became known as "Youth for Secession" who were officially sponsored and organised in groups in the south and other parts of Sudan to promote partition. They organised immense marches and demonstrations on the ninth of every month since, May 2010, until the decisive day of 9 January 2011 arrived. It was not an easy task for the government of the south and its apparatus to prepare for this day, which they wanted to be a landmark in their history. They exerted immense effort with the help of many international organisations to absorb migrants from the north, and refugees returning from neighbouring countries and others. Assimilating all these people will be a huge burden for the government in the coming period. The huge numbers returning from the north, in their hundreds and thousands, demonstrate the tragedy and humanitarian calamities experienced in the south, which has suffered the longest civil war on the African continent. The scenes that broke the hearts of most northerners were when these southern citizens, who lived and co-existed with them for long years, hastily gathered their possessions and belongings, jumped on trucks and headed south on a long and difficult journey. They flocked and stumbled southward via boat and land. These southerners had travelled north in phases since the civil war intensified in Sudan in 1983, and even before that, with the first part of the civil war starting 1955. Many of these southerners were born, bred and educated in Khartoum and other northern cities and know no other homeland. Many of them have good friends, neighbours and businesses there; they have mixed emotions about their countrymen in the north. Many of them did not want to return and leave the lives they knew in the north, and proof of this is that they did not leave during the five-year interim period since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. They own nothing in the south and many of them arrived after much hardship to their regions and villages, which were destroyed during the war. Here, they need to restart their lives from scratch and could be a real burden for the government of the south. What forced them to leave the north was primarily the desire of the south government for the referendum to take place in the south so that it is not tampered with in the north. Second, and more importantly, is that the poisoned atmosphere resulting from statements made by some leaders of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) that these southerners will have no rights in Khartoum after secession. They will have no right to work, reside, trade or even receive basic health services, according to Kamal Obeid, a leading figure in the NCP and Sudan's minister of information. Cecilia Joseph, deputy chairwoman of the south Sudan Press Syndicate, is a young Sudanese woman currently anchoring programmes on the state-owned South Government Television. Joseph returned to the south about one year ago, although she was born and grew up and lived in Khartoum before she left for Egypt in 2002. Her family is in the Diaspora; she and her sisters are in the south. Her mother is in the north refusing to leave, and her husband and children are in Egypt. Joseph's situation is similar to that of many. The message by the government and SPLM was clear for citizens of the south who were living in the north: to come and register in the south and vote there or stay at home in the north and not vote because they could not guarantee the integrity and freedom of balloting in Khartoum. Southerners complied with this call, leaving the leaders of the NCP with meagre numbers of registered votes in North Sudan. What compelled the leaders of the south was their lack of confidence in the NCP and the fact that Khartoum is working to make partition difficult by various means. The south accused the north of attempting to instigate instability, to prevent the plebiscite. Despite apprehension about what will come next, many southerners still harbour good feelings towards their brethren in the north. "I went to the north like many others in the south," stated Farouk Gatkoth, a leading figure in the southern United Democratic Salvation Front. "What made a difference for us, is that when we went northwards the people welcomed us, but not the government which pursued us in the north, day and night, for many reasons. This is the truth for the record and in all honesty; all the thanks in the world are not enough to express our gratitude to the simple people. I wish them all the best and hope that we will be able to help if, God forbid, if they are in trouble. I hope that our bonds with our brothers in the north are not severed; these are the good ties that we should develop now and until there is partition. This is the story to tell our children so they are aware of the trouble that happened and also the good things. Perhaps, one day, they will be able to unite Sudan once again." The leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) and former Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol agrees: "The north's importance to me is equivalent to its stature." These sentiments touch the majority of the people in the north, many of who are deeply saddened and upset about losing a cherished part of their homeland. Hadya Hassaballah, a renowned activist and a lecturer at Sudan's Ahfad University, called on all Sudanese women to dress in white, as is customary for women in Sudan in mourning, over the loss of south Sudan. "We have endured many unjust policies," Hassaballah said sorrowfully. "But we cannot go through the amputation of a precious part of our country without raising our voice in woe. What shall we tell our children about this catastrophe?" She continued: "Personally, I feel ashamed. That's why I thought of wearing white in mourning until this calamity is lifted from Sudan. I call on all the Sudanese women to join me in mourning to protest what is happening to our homeland and to demonstrate our unanimous sentiment of anguish and our commitment to great sacrifices to maintain the unity of Sudan. Perhaps our white gowns, despite their sorrow, will light the way for our country." Several other calls for mourning were expressed in North Sudan over the partition of the country. On Facebook, the Sudanese youth called on people to demonstrate their despair on the day partition is declared by hoisting a black flag with the map of Sudan on it, or wearing black as an expression of mourning. These sentiments of grief by Sudanese activists express the feelings of large sectors in North Sudan who -- despite the civil war -- grew up with the maxim "No north without south, no south without north," proposing co-existence among all Sudanese citizens regardless of their roots. They embrace unity, despite the massive media mobilisation on the part of those who promoting partition encouraged the north to shed what they consider the burden of the south. These advocates of separation have already started celebrating the severance of the south. Meanwhile, many in the south believe that the results of the referendum are already known. Most leaders in the south predicted that no less than 90 per cent would vote for secession. With such sureties of a large number in favour, Khartoum, regional capitals and the world are obliged to recognise the vote outcome as the expression of the will of the people of the south. But many believe things did not have to end in this way. Despite the legacy of injustice and marginalisation in the south, which resulted in a destructive war that killed millions, left many homeless, orphaned and dilapidated, the south could have easily become a fertile land for pan-Arabism and Islam, "if it wasn't for strict Islamisation and Arabisation policies," argued Sudanese thinker and UN Under Secretary-General Francis Deng. The results of the referendum, if secession is the outcome, will epitomise the failure of Sudan's national government since the exit of British colonial rule to draw up a national plan that incorporates Sudan's wide range of ethnic, religious, tribal, cultural, social and political diversity. Colonialists planted the seeds of division between north and south, blocking the southern region from the north and Arabs. The secession of the south also marks the failure of the regime of Omar Al-Bashir, which has ruled Sudan since the 1989 coup under a variety of names -- most recently the National Congress Party. It was unable to salvage the unity of the largest Arab and African state, despite many chances to do so. "We were forced and pushed into partition," declared Yen Matthew, official spokesman for the SPLM. "We never wanted this, but consecutive central governments and most recently the one led by Al-Bashir did nothing to maintain the unity of the country." The secession of the South is also a death sentence for the plan that was the brainchild of late SPLM leader John Garang known as the "New Sudan", which called for a united Sudan based on justice and equality. The plan receded after its creator died. Under current conditions, the separation of the south will not be a final event, or the end of self- determination struggles in Sudan. Today, the people of the south are preparing for a new state and proclaim they will be a peaceful nation on good terms with their neighbours, with joint interests with the north especially. But optimism could fail in the real world. First, there are the challenges of a nascent state -- which will begin almost from scratch -- to build and develop the southern region estimated at 700,000 square kilometres deprived of almost everything. There will also be an immense burden of security in guarding the border with the north, which is a troubling issue since it will be the longest border in Africa, stretching some 2,000 kilometres. There will also be borders with several African neighbour states to the south, and the problem of Uganda's Al-Rab Army and the southern border with Darfur. Meanwhile, there are a number of pending issues that have not yet been resolved with the north that the two sides have another six months to finalise before actual partition occurs. The new south Sudan will be under much regional and international pressure, and at the crosshairs of many regional and international interests. The entire situation in the south will be conditional on the type of relationship between the north and south after secession. Each side is now seeking a name, identity and place on a global map increasingly consisting of large unions and powerful blocs.
