Juba adventures and insites

It’s funny to watch Animal Planet’s “wild in Africa” from the middle of it all. The television hasn’t been turned off since I arrived at this house. It can be a bit much, honestly. Working hours are 8 am to 7 pm, 6 days a week. We all live and work and eat and play at the same place, day in, day out. This seems standard for international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and those who work for them in Juba. It’s prohibitively expensive to run an office and staff otherwise– a tented camp costs upwards of $200 USD nightly – and both transportation and communication are difficult to come by. There is no legal driving edge (evidently) and 12 to 14 year old drivers accordingly make my favorite mode of travel, by boda-boda, riskier. To call a private-hire, the equivalent of a NY livery-car-service in the bush, is an outrageously over-priced option: a 10 minute drive to a party at the UNMIS compound this weekend would have cost me $20 US each way. There are multiple phone-carriers, yet no two can contact each other. I'm using Jem-Tel for the week (before hitting the field where I'll be relegated to the realm of sat-phone only) - everyone whom I've told has inquired how exactly I was able to even get a sim-card; apparently sim cards come in waves and arrived when the tides were right.

My buddy Alex was here last week before moving to his field site for the summer and I’ve found his commentary quite poignant on the dynamics of this strange, strange place.

Leaving the compound is a bit like being punched in the face. The poverty is hard to take in and the contrasts of the city are chaotic. As the city is quickly being developed, there are a few very nice new buildings. One intends to be a business park, another is a bank. Yet most buildings seems to barely stand, or no longer are. People throw tents on cement foundations of buildings with no other remnants. Between the buildings there are small neighborhoods of huts that seem strangely out of place. They seem to belong in a rural areas with beautiful wild animals and not this sprawling confusion. The urbanization seems to surround the rural living styles and the cattle, rather than push it out. The nicest buildings seem to be those of the aid and development workers, or the businesses that cater to them. Hence, the insane prices on imported goodies and comfortable places to sleep.

Check out his blog when you have a chance.

Parsing the plethora of PDFs on this harddrive I found some relevant guidelines for managing stress and maintaining wellness as a humanitarian worker – thanks Dirk! It’s undeniable how important taking good care of one’s self is with this inherently stressful work, but it’s really challenging to prioritize self-preservation in the face of such emotionally intensive and distressing engagements. Kate and I have been doing daily aerobics and yoga sessions (much to the delight of the compound guards, I’m sure) and Sunday the boys included me in their approach for dealing – D’nile!



I went with a couple of the guys from the alliance to a cool place on the banks of the Nile river, where we drank some cold ones and enjoyed the awesomeness that is my new battery-powered ipod-speaker. It seems like we weren’t the first to discover this locale – a less fortunate visitor before left a more impressive mark with this sunken ship, whereas some locale people make good use of the river resource for bathing and a car-wash (please pardon the voyeurism here).

sunken ship and a fisherman under the mango tree:


bathing cars and bodies:



Finally, in keeping with the self-preservation M.O., a sunning lizard:


Back to work.

Juba Dooba

Smooth landing (thanks African Express) next to a handful of UN helicopters and I was in! The first few minutes were kind of surreal… I guess my conception of Sudan is a bit loaded. I dodged past customs after securing my immigration stamps and met Martin, an awesome StC driver.


About 500 greetings-from-new-colleagues later I finally got the scary security briefing from Maryanna, an American staff of Save-UK (who share a compound with us, Save-US, and Save-Sweden, who all collectively are representing the Save-Alliance here in South Sudan): Mid-May, Juba experienced a good bit of armed-banditry, specifically targeting NGO residential compounds. A 10:30 ‘city-wide’ curfew was imposed, security beefed up, and new protocols mandated, inclusive of daily AM security/movement briefings. Things have cooled down now evidently, though the wire today reported that the LRA has just attacked and killed approx. 14 SPLA officers further south of here – this following last week’s collapse of the peace talks and other murderous rampages. More on that here and here.

Juba is muddy and full of bugs. And full of arms and full of aid workers. It’s bloody hot here. About 35 degrees Celsius on days without rain.



That said, Juba doesn’t seem to be all-bad. I have far more friends here than I realized – Kate, a fellow Emory undergrad, Ken Cole Fellow, Carter Center intern, Columbia grad-student is also interning for Save-US on a School Health and Nutrition project in Mvolo (I swear, one day we will open our own NGO together...). Adding to the delight: I am supposed to link up with Teohna, a fellow SIPA student working at UNDP this summer, later tonight; old pal from Sarasota (who was working in UG last year as well) Noah, as well as my former boss at RFS, Anne, by the end of the week! Small world, really….

Proof - Kate and Maryanna:


People here, though a little more shy at first than my Lugbara countrymen in Uganda, are friendly once approached. I guess 21 years of gunpowder does that to a place. I witnessed some gruff attitude during a walk through town yesterday – two Kawaja girls with cameras are maybe not the most well received, especially by SPLA soldiers. I’ve been warned that my gear will be confiscated should I accidentally shoot any officials. I’ll stick to the cute relm for now:

Backlog: June 7

There were five flights leaving Nairobi for Juba within one hour of each other. Business, both of the humanitarian breed and of the opportunistic lucrative type, is booming in Juba, evidently. Pre-boarding took all of five minutes and the two hour wait before that in the international terminal was made tolerable by new friendships with a Lebanese water/sanitation engineer working for ACF and a S. Korean wat/san engineer headed to Rumbek with the Malaria consortium.

My empty, 2-hour flight with a significantly lower than anticipated maximum cruising altitude, let my anxieties fester as I realized that I have no pages left in my passport and still have three countries (Sudan, Ethiopia, UAE) that I am meant to enter this summer.

Once moving out of the great Kenyan rift valley and over the rolling greenlands of southern Sudan my elation soared, however, as it was just so beautiful to see this huge country, seemingly placid, yet so complex and multifaceted, only a mile below me.

Over African skies:


a village from the Air:

go go go

The disco lobby of the Jacaranda Hotel is rocking – Michael Jackson and some Mortal Combat theme-song remix have me – and no-one else - bobbing my head over the somewhat tacky leopard print/bamboo carpet. I’m killing time before heading into the office to use a decent wireless connection one last time before leaving for Juba tomorrow morning. The Save the Children-USA (henceforth StC) – South Sudan country office (SSCO), based in Nairobi, is about to officially close and relocate their CO headquarters to Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Years of war and insecurity meant a base here in Nairobi for all of the US office's operations in South Sudan, though things are changing. Accordingly, the only people here now are finance officers – some lovely and kind folk, but folk that know relatively little about my upcoming work and locality. I did have the chance to meet with the StC-US regional education advisor who was able to tell me that I’ll be the only female at the Pagak office and likely the only Kawaja (white person in the Nuer language) in the region, before dumping about 30 project documents on my flash drive. Once I know what it is that I’ll be doing, I’ll be sure to get back to you, dear internet fan club.

Yesterday I received my hard-to come-by travel pass/visa to enter Sudan. This afternoon I’ll make a last minute stop to Uchumi to grab ‘snacks,’ a watergun, and some gum-boots for Teohna, before getting dinner with my former-CARE-UG intern/fellow NY grad-student/current-summer-intern-in-Kenya friend, Jocelyn, and before flying on a local flight to Sudan TOMORROW. Holy moly. Peace-out running water, tarmac, regular electricity, and modern medicine!

backlog: June 5 - Arrivals

I forgot how splendid passion juice is. As the name should explain, passion fruit can incite unrestrained splendor for the mouth. My breakfast at the Jacaranda hotel was likewise lovely, though this entry would be incomplete without warning: avoid pili-pili omelets, if your henceforth-hot tongue isn’t ready for passion!

The first night in Nairobi was awash with exhaustion. I awoke for a few hours between my 3 pm arrival to Jomo Kenyatta and work commitments the next day (today) to the long lost buzz of ‘squitos in a netless room for an awkward, overly revealing instant-message or two. Apologies to those who deserve them!

Josephat picked me at 9 am sharp from the hotel today, something I found rather amusing given my ‘Africa-time’ frame of reference. Something must be wrong with me in that I feel so instantly comfortable here. The old-man-Africa smell, once so pungently revolting, is now an almost friendly reminder that I have arrived on the greenest continent. Yesterday’s (and, in general, New York’s) despondency and irritation are almost nominal. Is this progress? My fears were so different with this journey than with the last – before arriving in Uganda I was afraid of such little things and took inordinate precautions – I remember the details of my driver and first SIM card purchase; the potholes on the road from Entebbe and my first spotting of the gnarly maribou stork. Today my fears seem practical. What type of antiseptic must I add to the bathing water? Will my field work entail travel over murram roads that are land-mine ridden? Does the lack of remaining pages in my passport mean trouble from Ethiopian authorities considering the market is on ‘their side’? More on these concerns after leaving luxuriant Nairobi.

My forgetfulness did not end there. How could I have forgotten the differences between being white in Kenya and being white in Uganda? Knowing that Uhuru and the path to independence between the two neighboring former British colonies were radically different, the differences in the air are still striking. The sense of independence as well as collective positioning in terms of national capacity to resist and/or create change – most recently showcased in the post-election crisis here – should have reminded me, but it was really the combined effect of my visit to an expatriate’s posh house in a mixed neighborhood of black and white Kenyans, with the lack of instant racialized attention that being white here generates (compared to being white in Uganda) that smacked me.

The applicable standard of East African hospitality remains ubiquitous – no where have I felt more catered for than in this part of the world (maybe in ATL, once or twice =D ) – but it’s strikingly interesting to be present in the face of the (at least topically) integrated lives that blacks and whites have here.

Likewise fascinating were today’s headlines: Kenyans are crazy for Obama. While I am beyond elated to read of his securing of the democratic nomination, my new colleagues are even more incredibly excited by the news of a Kenyan reaching the White House. Without sounding too snarky or arrogant, it’s almost amusing to witness the sense of connection to Barrack Obama that people feel here – in comparison to the American public’s demonstrated conception of Obama’s ‘Africaness.’ That said, hip hip hooray! November is getting brighter everyday and should Barrack win the election I expect to see not just great things emerge domestically (in the US) – the abridged version of his nomination speech brought tears to my eyes (is this hope?!?) – but also imagine a wave of empowerment washing across all of Africa.

backlog: June 3 - Jetsetter

Dubai International airport is far from the embodiment of Emiraties than I had pictured: never have I seen greater diversity, strange tolerance under the auspices of conservatism, nor such an obnoxiously long terminal. That said, I am already very much looking forward to my return stop-over here in August.

Speaking of conservatism, it was awesome seeing sexy Persian ladies wearing mini-skirts and heels slip into full hijab upon the pre-landing announcement in the air. Less amusing was my co-passenger on this flight, a nothing-but-nice, American navy-reserves member returning to Djibouti for an eight month assignment that finds the Navy engaged in the building of a maritime academy off the coast from Mombasa. He is stationed in Djibouti contributing to the US development of schools, hospitals, and general development infrastructure in the strange, francophone, African country – a project that he couldn’t thoroughly explain to me beyond something to the effect of “we’ve seen that making enemies doesn’t work, so we’re approaching this trying to make friends.” When this work fell under the jurisdiction of the US Military as opposed to USAID I have no idea. Maybe it’s the year at SIPA, but I was shocked to hear that there is no integration of civil society, international NGOs, or other development practitioners into this work. Must learn more about this strange booty-engagement.

More fascinating was my three-hour conversation with a Turkish co-passenger. Six years of teaching Turkish language at a private academy in Kenya and big eyes gave this guy a great sense of the world – we spoke primarily about US foreign policy and the failures of global governance, and who really runs Washington. I am returning to the land of the religious. How could I forget so quickly what a minority I am? In my rejection of organized religion, and in professing my belief in the possible existence of a personal God but denial of knowing such a God myself, I did not offend my Muslim neighbor, but I know that few East Africans, nor a good percentage of the Wazungu in the field, will be so quick to let me escape without trying to help me accept revelation…

My arguments for science, human rights, and the testimony of reason will never trump the believers, at least not this summer in South Sudan. Fine; I’ll seek not to end global addiction to faith and shuffle it under the table with their arguments that Jews secretly run the world. Fine. I’ll bite my tongue as I did so often in Uganda when asked if I was born again. I don’t have the passion to argue it today. On that note, I just learned my boss at the field-site on the Ethiopian border is a Reverend, with dreadlocks – Jah heard?

backlog: June 3 - goodbyes

JFK airport is a perfect mirror of the city: chaotically busy with the righteous indignation of people from well over 190 countries tearing through turnstyles, with security officers paying too little attention when a real threat surfaces, all while awfully isolating in its bleakness. This is not to say that this morning has been all bad. Final goodbyes and sayonara text messages, last minute packing, the end of wireless, and cookies for breakfast (why doesn’t the international terminal have at least a bagel?!) have made my last few hours in NY reasonably un-noteworthy.

I feel more drained by the pre-departure departures. I could have used more support. I am nervous and scared. Sudan feels like an impenetrable, unstoppable clusterfuck of bad news and it’s hard to believe that I’m actually en route.

Two sappy romantic comedies about foolish early twenty somethings in NYC have left me feeling a little bit empty on this flight. I’m surrounded by many other world-wanderers, including one that even goes to school with me and will be in Sudan later this summer, but I can’t shake my feelings of isolation.

I know that once I make it to Sudan that the decision will feel right and I will feel ok about what it is that I am embarking upon. At present, I just feel blank. Thanks xanax.

pulled from my final group assignment for Aldo Civico's Conflict Resolution course, fall 2007

Situating Conflict

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is divided between a Muslim-Arab northern population and a Christian and Anamist/Sub-Saharan African southern population. Conflict in southern Sudan began with the First Sudanese Civil War in 1955, one year before Sudan gained independence from Britain, with conflict between the north and the south lasting for 17 years. The war was brought to a close by the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement of 1972, which provided regional autonomy for Southern Sudan and an eleven year cease fire. This agreement was punctuated with violence, providing only a temporary peace in a battle over resources, power, ethnic diversity, the role of religion in the state, and self-determination [1]. A growing number of weapons entered Sudan at this time, which paralleled the development of the national Sudanese armed forces and an increasing Islamicization within the Khartoum Government. Violence resurfaced in 1983, marking the collapse of the Addis Ababa Agreement and the start of the Second Sudanese Civil War, a continuation of the protracted conflict concerning the equitable access to natural resources (oil in particular), the right to self-determination, and religious choice. This war's human suffering, in the form of starvation, deprivation of education and healthcare, and the inaccessibility of humanitarian aid, lasted for 21 years, resulting in over two million deaths, four million persons displaced, and over 600,000 refugees pushed across international borders. This space will explore the failed attempts at bringing a lasting peace to south Sudan, the confluence of events leading to the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005, and the impact of this conflict in context of Sudan today.

Primary Actors: Then and Now

Many actors influenced the conflict and resolution of conflict within Southern Sudan. This conflict has been characterized by an asymmetry of power between the Government of Sudan, based in Khartoum, (GoS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) within the South.

The governing political party of Sudan is the National Congress Party (NCP, المؤتمر الوطني), which has its roots in the National Islamic Front [2] and is headed by President Omar al Bashir, a military leader and dictator who assumed office in June 1989. The NCP is now one of the main partners in the power-sharing agreement between the north and south.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the SPLM is the political wing created by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Known collectively as Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), the rebel group was led by Dr. John Garang, and fought in opposition to the military rule and Islamic dominance of the country, until 1989 when the movement joined the primary opposition group within Sudan, the National Democratic Alliance. The SPLM was characterized by a strong conviction for a democratic, secular Sudan.

Reconciliation of the conflict in south Sudan was directly linked to the actions of key international, regional, and institutional stakeholders pressuring for sustainable peace [3] The most significant roles were played by:

• Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD): Established as a regional/intergovernmental vehicle for regional security and political dialogue, through which leaders of Eastern African countries were able to tackle other political and socioeconomic issues in a regional context
• The United States and the US Special Envoy to Sudan headed by former Sen. John Danforth
• UK, Norway, Italy: the parties involved by IGAD
• Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda: IGAD envoys and country ambassadors who formed alliance/team
• Mediator General Lazaro Sumbeiywo: served as Kenya’s Special Envoy to the IGAD-led Sudanese peace process (1997-98) and then as mediator (2001-05)
• The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS): Established under UN Security Council Resolution 1590 of March 24, 2005, was established to support the implementation of the CPA and perform humanitarian assistance functions.

The newly establish Government of South Sudan is a semi-autonomous polity governing the ten states of south Sudan during the six year interim from the signing of the CPA until 2011. First established by Dr. Garang via agreement under the CPA, the leadership is now under President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar . The GoSS joined the Government of National Unity (GONU), as part of the CPA power-sharing agreement, which is composed of the NCP, SPLM, and other parties under the national presidency of Omar al-Bashir, with representation of both the southern and northern political factions in the form of dual vice-presidencies (First Vice President: Salva Kiir, Second Vice President: Ali Osman Taha).

Making Moves: Cycles of Violence and Agreements

Intractability
The conflict between the north and south of Sudan demonstrates characteristics of intractability, as explored by mediation experts by Jacob Bercovitch and Peter Coleman [4], [5]

• Sudan has been divided by asymmetries of power which has created a long standing sense of historical grievance held by southern Sudanese. The SPLM/A identified these core grievances as political marginalization; a centralized, minority-dominated and non-democratic government; the nationalization of customary land and its leasing to a few, mostly external investors; discrimination and racism; a lack of religious and cultural freedom; an agenda of Islamization and Arabization including the imposition of shari'a law and an education system designed to promote this agenda; and underdevelopment and inequality. Whereas the powerholding GoS/NCP identified the lack of development and greed of the SPLM as the causes of war. [6]
• These grievances exacerbated the length of the conflict, while raising the commitment among insurgents, perpetuating Africa's longest running conflict. The duration and pervasiveness of conflict has fostered greater division between warring parties.
• Said divisions, and the associated intractability of this conflict, are at the same time the result of intangible issues such as identity, sovereignty, and values and beliefs, which differ greatly between the Muslim/Arab government of Khartoum, and the Christian and Animist sub-Saharan Africans of the south
• These value differences naturally inform the relationships between all parties of conflict. Both the interactions between the north and the south, as well as the internal interactions within south Sudan are marked by hostility. Factionalism, marked by polarized relationships between the Dinka majority and different parties within the rebel movement, exacerbated conflict: internal divisions intensified fighting in the south, hampering potential peace [7]
• The conflict has been plagued with resistance to third party interventions, despite repeated and concerted attempts, which has continued marking the conflict as intractable for 20+ years. The use of traditional resolution processes and management efforts (diplomacy, negotiation, mediation, use of threats/force on either side) repeatedly failed to bring a lasting solution to the conflict, further demonstrating intractability. Some of these failures are looked at below.

Rippening Stalemate - Failed Negotiations on the Way to Peace

• Koka Dam talks/declaration (Ethiopia, 1986) - Peace negotiations between the Government and the SPLA which agreed to abolish Islamic Law, however, refusal of key major parties to participate undermined the achievements of Koka Dam [8]
• Sudan Peace Initiative (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1988) - The Democratic Unionist Party drafted a cease-fire agreement with the SPLM, however it was not implemented due to opposition from the National Islamic Front
• Addis Ababa talks (Ethiopia and Kenya, 1989) - Talks between the SPLM and the Khartoum Government, joined by former US President Jimmy Carter, achieved nothing. Subsequently, the National Salvation Government, under al-Bashir, sought to establish peace, agreed that Shari'a law would not apply to non-Muslims, however, issue of self-determination was not addressed and saw factionalism within the south undermining this effort [9]
• Abuja talks (Nigeria, 1992-93): Peace talks in the Nigerian capital were weakened by factionalisms, and the GoS vied for majority rule and imposition of Shari’ah law. Southerners rejected this, pressing for a secular democratic system and the right of the south to a referendum on self-determination. Khartoum rejected secularism and the proposed referendum, accordingly the talks rapidly collapsed.
• Peace talks on the Sudan conflict (IGAD 1993-95) As Sudan's violence increased and relationships with neighboring states deteriorated, the Heads of State of the (then) Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) convened as the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and undertook consultations with regional governments stakeholders to support a new peace process; Khartoum proposed that IGAD take up the peace process and IGAD established the Standing Committee on Peace in Sudan. Peace negotiations in Nairobi were launched and IGAD presented the Declaration of Principles, with a number of provisions relating to human rights, unity of Sudan, a secular/democratic system, and equitable resource sharing, before the talks collapsed [10]. In 1995 the GoS focused on reaching an internal peace agreement with the factions of the southern rebellion (South Sudan Independence Movement of Riek Machar) while aiming to defeat the SPLM/A militarily. At the same time the SPLM/A built relations with the NDA, to further pressure the government and gain acceptance from other parties. Erstwhile, IGAD focused on gaining western material and political support, ultimately creating the IGAD Partners’ Forum (IPF); IGAD sought to present this peace process as the sole option for the international community and supported the military assistance of the SPLA by member states (Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda).
• Khartoum Peace Agreement (April 1997) Following increasing internal violence, piecemeal peace-brokering with certain southern parties, the military engagement of regional powers, and a growing regional isolation, that GoS returned to negotiations with rebels. Yet regional pressures decreased and the IGAD peace initiative failed to produce serious changes. Hostilities remained and little progress was seen.
• External Initiatives (1999 - 2001) Multiple other peace efforts came forth continuing the path toward ripeness with the demonstration of concerned interest and recognition of potential opportunities"
• June 2001 - Nairobi Peace Talks, attended by President al-Bashir and rebel leader John Garang, failed.
• July 2001 - Libyan/Egyptian Initiative included a national reconciliation conference and reforms
• September 2001 - Following September 11th, the US took more serious interest and engagement in Sudan. President Bush appointed Special Peace Envoy (Senator John Danforth), who invigorated processes with Kenya and IGAD to leverage action and dialogue. IGAD gained further support from UK, Norway, and Italy at this time, and the US extended unilateral sanctions against Sudan for another year

Rippening Stalemate - SPLA Soldiers

Ripeness: Parties, Mediation, Protocols
Zartman explores how conflicts reach a point of ripeness, which is "why, and therefore when, parties to a conflict are susceptible to their own or others' efforts to turn the conflict toward resolution through negotiation [11]. The theory asserts that circumstances like Sudan's, where the asymmetry of power between the north and south eliminates the possibility of attaining a equitable stalemate, repeated failures to attain peace positioned Sudan on a conflict plateau: “a flat and unending terrain without relief.” The surfacing and presence of international pressures for peace, made significant by threats of military interventions and sanctions, represented “the precipice,” that Zartman situates as the perceptual event and momentum for reaching a peaceful negotiation [12]. When both parties are able to perceive the deadlock and the impossibility of a military resolve to the conflict, a ripe moment for resolution emerged. [13]

This moment of ripeness was felt in 2002, when factionalism within the south significantly decreased through the colluding of the SPLM/A, the Sudan People’s Defence Force, and the forces of Sudan National Alliance [SNA] to campaign collectively against the northern government. The greater capacity of the southern rebel movement forced the north to recognize their inability to find a military solution to this conflict and set the stage for the July 2002 signing of the Machokos Protocol. The presence of strong mediation and pressures by IGAD led to the broad framework of principles of governance and procedures for a transitional process, calling for (1) the rewriting of Sudan’s constitution so that Shari’a law would not apply to non-Muslims, and (2) a referendum to be held in six years' time providing for the independence and right to self-determination of South Sudan. At this time the Government and the SPLA also agreed to adopt a temporary ceasefire for duration of negotiations.

While peace seemed promising in the south, violence soared in the western part of the country within the state of Darfur, as rebels in the region claimed neglect by Khartoum for the area. The transitional military and security agreements signed by the GoS and the SPLM/A, during Sepember 2003 in Naivasha, provided a status and arrangement for the integration of the two forces, which led to the signing of a bi-lateral Power Sharing agreement in 2004 and the creation of a new Government of National Unity and a separate Government of Southern Sudan.

Land contest and disputes remained over the three resource-rich areas of Abyei, the Nuba Mountains and the South Blue Nile, but were countered by the 2004 signing of the accord on the sharing of wealth, specifically the division of oil and non-oil resource wealth. Likewise, the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict and The Resolution of Conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States were both signed by the Gos and the SPLM in order to guarantee specialized representation and administrative status of these disputed territories. By the end of 2004, the GoS and SPLA pledged before the United Nations Security Council to end the war by December 31 at which point the final two chapters of a peace accord were signed. With the support of international donors and witnesses, south Sudan set on a path to rebuild itself physically and politically, welcoming the reconciliation deal with the National Democratic Alliance that established a power-sharing administration, followed by the establishment of the autonomous government in the south. [14]

Possibilities for Comprehensive Peace
The landmark signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement occurred on January 9th, 2005, marking the end of the Second Sudanese Civil war between a the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army. The cornerstones of this agreement, sometimes known as the Naivasha Accords, focused on building democratic governance through political autonomy for southern Sudan during the six year transitional period before a referendum on independence to be held in 2011, and the equal sharing of oil revenues between the north and the south.

A Review of the Protocols: agreements culminating in January 20005

• The Protocol of Machakos: Signed in Machakos, Kenya, on 20 July 2002. Agreement on broad principles of government and governance– peace process extends over six years, will end with referendum to allow S Sudanese to choose between independence or remaining in Sudan; until referendum, the south is autonomous region within Sudan, six month pre-interim phase
• The Protocol on security arrangements during the interim period: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 25 September 2003
• The Protocol on wealth-sharing: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 7 January 2004 – state resources generated in the South (taxes, oil revenues) will be divided equally between two parties
• The Protocol on Power-sharing: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
• The Protocol on the resolution of conflict in southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile States: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
• The Protocol on the resolution of conflict in Abyei: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
• Permanent Ceasefire and Security Arrangements Implementation Modalities During the Pre-Interim and Interim Periods: Signed in Naivasha on 31 December 2004

A significant outcome of the signing of the CPA was the establishment of the new Government of National Unity, which united Sudan through a legal and administrative power-sharing structure, giving representation of the south within the NCP and representation of the north within the new Government of Southern Sudan.

Conditions for Successful Signing of the Accords
As previously examined, this conflict reached a point of ripeness before the possibility of resolution surfaced. In particular, the role of third parties to achieving the signing of the CPA is undeniable; the international community’s pressure on Khartoum facilitated the sense that the NCP had no alternative options and forced recognition of the impossibility of a military defeat of the southern rebels. At the same time, the details of this third party’s intervention are significant: IGAD had established both regional and international legitimacy, the focus of their declared principals was specific to the demands of the SPLM (self-determination and secularism) , and they held a long term perspective on the conflict with realistic plans for enacting peace [15]. Finally, the personalities involved and relationships that developed between the stakeholders must be considered significant, as General Lazaro Sumbeiywo’s conviction to finding a peaceful resolution helped build the political will of stakeholders [16]


A Conflicted Greater Sudan
Problems with Peace and Challenges for the Future
While the CPA was achieved at a moment of ripeness and optimism, the Accords have faced serious challenges of implementation, and peace, as outlined by the CPA, has not fully materialized for greater Sudan. The primary challenges are the:

• Bi-lateral nature of the agreement: the structure of the peace accords looks strictly at the conflicts of Sudan through a north-south lens, which serves to marginalize other political, military, and civil society actors within the country. [17]
• Failed Implementation: the NCP has faltered with implementing the accords agreed to with the signing of the CPA. The untimely death of SPLM president Garang was met with regressive behaviors and action by the NCP who have continuously failed to honor the agreement. This is demonstrated through delayed elections, violations of the ceasefire agreement, delayed border demarcations, refusal to implement the protocol on Abyei, and the refusal to withdraw military forces from the oilfields. [18]
• Disintegration and temporary peace: The SPLM and Government of South Sudan withdrew from the Government of National Unity in early October 2007, claiming that the NCP has undermined the implementation of the CPA and that the international community’s focus on the conflict in Darfur has limited the required attention to the implementation of the CPA [19] [20]

It is becoming clear that the CPA is in crisis and without renewed international engagement the agreement could collapse resulting in return to war!

Conflict Across the Country
Ultimately, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is not yet stable, and the continued unrest in the south has been met with a continuation of the crisis in Darfur [21]. The hope for successful implementation of the CPA has not materialized, but is deeply connected to the current circumstances within greater Sudan, which remains plagued with violence, division, and continued insecurity.

• Violence Inspired [22] The SPLA's successes in articulating their demands through violence influenced the mobilization of other actors across Sudan; violence soared in Darfur as the Peace Talks in Naivasha gained stamina. At the same time, the NCP continues to manipulate the international community by focusing attentions on one conflict to diminish external pressures on the other.
• Divided Sudan: North, South, East, West: It is significant to note how deeply connected the conflicts in the south and the west are with each other: years of marginalization by the central government have resulted in similar experiences of massive violence, yet a unified mobilization has not developed as the NCP in Khartoum has consistently pitted the two parts of the country against each other [23]. This is significant when looking at the many advocates of the CPA as a model for peace-building in the western part of the country. Prior to the most recent collapse, the CPA was heralded as a framework for resolution of conflict in Darfur, because the CPA was established a power-sharing model for the entire country, yet the CPA has not succeeded in unifying the parties sharing grievances against the central government. [24] As explored above, the CPA has perpetuated political and economic marginalization of minority groups, thus furthering the divide within the country at large.
• Continued Insecurity: Insecurity for South Sudan means insecurity for all of Sudan: the conflicts affecting Sudan are all interconnected and the peace agreements should not be viewed in isolation [25]. Violence, mistrust, and factionalism in the south only exacerbates tensions within the west, and violence in the west severely limits the feasibility of a United Sudan, upon the referendum scheduled for 2011.

If you're interested in the rest of the presentation/document let me know and I'll email you access.

Sources:
[1] SPLMtoday.com: The Official Website for the Sudan People Liberation Movement, "Civil War: Historical Background", [page 1 of 4], (2007), http://splmtoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=30 (accessed November 15).
[2] "Military: Sudan Political Groups", (27-04-2005), http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/sudan-political-groups.htm (accessed November 15).
[3] Conciliation Resources, "The mediator’s perspective: an interview with General Lazaro Sumbeiywo", (2006), http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sudan/mediators-perspective.php (accessed December 4).
[4] Jacob Bercovitch, "Characteristics Of Intractable Conflicts," Beyond Intractability, Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, (Boulder: Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, 2003), http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Characteristics_IC/ (accessed December 4).
[5] Peter Coleman, "Intractable Conflict," in Morton Deutsch and Peter Coleman, The Handbook of Conflict (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2000), 429-431.
[6] Jason Matus, Conciliation Resources,“The three areas: a template for regional agreements,” 2006, http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sudan/three-areas.php (accessed November 15).
[7] SPLMtoday.com: The Official Website for the Sudan People Liberation Movement, "Civil War: Historical Background", [page 3 of 4], (2007) http://splmtoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=30&limit=1&limitstart=2 (accessed November 15).
[8] GlobalSecrity.org, “Military: Sudan Second Civil War,” April 27, 2005, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/sudan-civil-war2.htm (accessed November 15)
[9] Mohamed el-Mukhtar Hussein, Conciliation Resources, “Negotiating peace: the road to Naivasha,” 2006, http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sudan/negotiating-naivasha.php (accessed November 15).
[10] Ibid. [The Machokos Breakthrough]
[11] William Zartman, “Ripeness: The Hurting Stalemate and Beyond”, in Paul C. Stern and Daniel Druckman, Eds, International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War, (Committee on International Conflict Resolution, National Research Council, 2000), 228.
[12] Ibid., 228, 229.
[13] William Zartman, “Dynamics and Constraints in Negotiations in Internal Conflicts”, in Zartman, William (ed), Elusive Peace: Negotiating an End to Civil Wars, (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1995), 18.
[14] Conciliation Resources, “A summary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sudan/cpa-summary.php (accessed November 15).
[15] Conciliation Resources, “Reflecting on the IGAD peace process: An interview with Nicholas (Fink) Haysom," 2006, http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sudan/igad-process.php (accessed November 15).
[16] - Conciliation Resources – Mediators Perspective
[17] CrisisGroup.org, "Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement: The Long Road Ahead," Africa Report N°106, March 31, 2006 http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4055 (accessed November 15).
[18] CrisisGroup.org, “The Khartoum-SPLM Agreement: Sudan's Uncertain Peace - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS,” Africa Report N°96, July 25, 2005, http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3582 (accessed November 15).
[19] “Sudan rivals agree to heal rift,” BBC News Africa, December 5, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7129001.stm (accessed December 6).
[20] Isaac Vuni, “South Sudan parliament backs SPLM withdrawal from central government,” Sudan Tribune, October 25, 2007,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article24413 (accessed November 10).
[21] Roger Winter and John Prendergast, “An All-Sudan Solution: Linking Darfur and the South,” ENOUGH Strategy Paper #9, November 2007: 3-6.
[22] “Q&A: Peace in Sudan,” BBC News Africa, July 8, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3211002.stm (accessed November 15).
[23] Mark Doyle, “Sudan’s interlocking wars,” BBC News Africa, May 10, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4759325.stm (accessed November 15).
[24] Stephanie Hanson, Council on Foreign Relations, “Darfur’s Peace Process,” June 18, 2007, http://www.cfr.org/publication/13611/#6 (accessed November 15).
[25] International Rescue Committee, “Aid Agencies Warn Sudan Peace Process May Stall without Greater International Attention,” January 8, 2007, http://www.theirc.org/news/aid-agencies-warn-sudan-peace.html (accessed November 15).

back to the bush

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mass update

well, I've been pretty bad about posting this past month, but i figure it is better to spend time enjoying my life then spending time writing about it, right? that said, my last two weeks in Arua were great -- i loved working with NRC despite the really intense areas of work and desperation I've been looking at. had the chance to make some new good friends at the last minute, and build stronger relationships with those who, by the end of my five months there, i could call old friends. in so much that i had not one, but three official going away events. a friday night at oasis, with all the proper NGOs in town being represented, a dinner party at Per-Olaf and Jelena's, and a proper farewell at 'The Indian'. It was great that Phil was present to meet all these folk and have a slight glimpse at where I've been living working this year...the next point to mention is that PHIL IS IN UGANDA! yay! it was a bittersweet departure from arua, but his presence and our travel plans certainly made it more palatable.

More details/photos/memories/feelings will have to come when i'm not at an internet cafe in mbarara.

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Again, at an internet cafe in Mbarara, after darting to reach a Western Union by 12:30 on a Saturday, I can write with a bit of ease. Bank calamity has been partially absolved. Not worth posting details - hakuna matata, right? I'm sure Phil is sick of me telling him things along this vain, but hey, "This is Africa" (please pardon my use of the worst quote ever). But hey! This IS Africa!! Tuesday we reached Murchison Falls, where we stayed at a lovely hotel (with bad bad bad operating procedures and horribly annoying missionaries that were singing far too frequently...) on the south bank of the Nile River. A few game drives yielded spottings of buffalo, uganda kob, birds a plenty, antelop, bush buck, etc. The highlight of the visit was the River Boat launch, where crocodiles smiled widely, and lounging Hippos burped frequently as we cruised up towards the base of the tremendous falls. Actually, that wasn't the highlight -- the visit to the top of the falls was! absolutely incredible. photos will have to explain further.

From Murchison we headed southwest, via Hoima, to Queen Elizabeth National Park - the park harbouring the greatest diversity in the country. We stayed at Jacana Lodge - a gorgeous gem with a fullboard price that nearly rivaled my salary for the past five months. Yesterday we started with a game drive at 6:30 AM - spotting multiple prides of lions, elephants, kob, etc - before chimp trekking at the Kyambura gorge, and then heading with a packed lunch to the Kazinga Channel for a river cruise and ending the day with a drive through the crater lake salt mining fields. All fantastic, with little much I can say -- you know how I do. Photos are a must. Until greater bandwidth exists, i'll keep you waiting!

Proceeding to Lake Bunyonyi now, Rwanda (GORILLAS!!!) on Monday, down to Kigali, and back to Kampala by Friday. A quick tour for Phil through K'la's hotspots before he leaves for Dubai on Sunday, and I head to Nairobi...

hope your trails are as fruitfull as mine! XOXO.

World Refugee Day, June 20 backlog

World Refugee Day was a hoot. I'm delighted to say that I'm finally being paid, AS A CONSULTANT(!), to make art with refugee kids, and it came completely by surprise! When work with CARE collapsed I found my networking skills to be in top form as I was quickly offered a short contract with Norwegian Refugee Council to help look at their current legal cases and see what issues were regularly emerging, in order to stream line their engagement.

As it would turn out a severe budget cut for this operating year meant looking at the caseload and trying to find ways of attracting more donor funding, i.e. figuring out what can really pull at the heartstrings of government wallets, i.e. child protection. Given my background, the upcoming World Refugee Day (really a day that is meant to bring to the attention of the west/global north the plight of the displaced, and NOT a celebration of refugees themselves...), and the appeal that child-focused projects have to donors, I was asked to coordinate NRC's activities for the seventh annual World Refugee Day. This involved my participation as the NRC representative to the UNHCR committee organizing the various aspects of the WRD events as well as the orchestration of the specific work of NRC for the big day.

This year UNHCR had no official theme for the day, nor did the country of Uganda, yet somehow both had unofficial themes, the former being 'Repatriation' (as refugees at individual settlements across West Nile are all in the process of voluntary repatriation to south Sudan), and the latter - which was later determined to be completly NOT even an unofficial theme, but an art exhibit in Kampala at the time - 'The World Through the Eyes of the Refugee Child'. These two themes - to me - shouted 'Let the kids talk about their feelings through pictures!' and not 'Lets have another long, dry speech that fulfills classic Ugandan protocol of special events.' Thankful NRC heard the same thing!

After mobilizing appropriate resources (tempera paints, white kitenge, bananas, school teachers, etc) an action plan was in place - one primary school class and one secondary school class would participate in a collaborative project that helped them look at their own feelings about returning to Sudan and also thinking about how to share this information (as individuals and as part of a group) with other people.

Serge, Tove, Jonas and I created a masterpiece of a banner the night before I headed to Imvepi settlement with a Landcruiser full of NRC legal and information officers, bottled water, art supplies, and recording equiptment. About three hours behind schedule we began the art classes - as a facilitator I guided the NRC counselors/officers as art teachers for the day to help the students ease into the idea of being communicative artists. We started with self portraits, looking at what you can tell someone else about yourself by putting your emotions onto paper, before dividing into groups, one covering the topic of home and the other, the topic of repatriation.

Hard at Work:

Day of drawing:

Some of the results were expected; women with Jerrycans, mango trees, flags, school houses. Others were startling: landminds detonating, UNHCR convoys catching on fire, people murdering with pangas, empty fields that used to have villages and have been left in ruins. The students began so quitely but poured so much extreme emotion into their creations --

We wrapped up the session by working together to finish the banner/mural that was started the day before, to represent the students' ability to work together to create something of shared value, that demonstrates a collective voice of refugee children. At the same time some students gave short monologues about their feelings on returning home to Sudan, a place where some of the students had never actually been.

Group painting:


New friends:



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A few more photos ...

Old Sudanese Scarification:


New Sudan license plate:


Parking Lot:

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Wednesdays actitivities were enjoyable but never ending. With a total of about 15 speeches, I have to say the NRC presentation took the cake (maybe after the Ding Ding dancers from Madi-Okolo...).

The day started with a football match, first between refugee youth teams, and then between refugee adults and a team composed of different UNHCR implementing partners (including NRC, DED, RTP). The partners lost (someone argued for political reasons, but i must comment that DAMN those Sudanese are serious about football).

Implementing partners football team:


Football:



Watching the Match:

Some prayers, welcome songs, and introductions later the first dramatic presentation was great, despite that I couldn't really follow what the Congolese drama group was really talking about....

Congolese Drama:



Audience:

Around three o'clock the youth from the NRC project began their presenation -- six individuals described their picture, what they felt about the theme, and what the image meant to them. The other students from the group carried the poster of images and showcased the work to the broad audience, before parading the group banner.

Images on Display

Students presenting on WRD:

Drawing of repatriation //Kennedy smiling brothers greeting each other

Full banner with kids:

Overall I think the activity was really rewarding, both helping the students' think more thoroughly about what they can do to tell the world how they feel, and in terms of helping them accept that it is ok to have a wide range of feelings and responses to the different experiences they must face. Plus, it was fun.

As I said, the only perfermance that may have outshown us were these cultural dances from visitors from Madi-Okolo. Check it out for yourself:

Ding ding dancers

Acholi dancers from Madi Okolo:

I've been so fortunate to have had the opportunities with NRC; it was a real surpise blessing/life making lemondade/silver lining of the CARE work falling through. Reading through case files, helping look for child-protection issues, field work, etc, has offered a (albeit slight) solid look at refugee work in the field...quite interesting to say the least!