Welcome South Sudan
The new nation of South Sudan was born today, with a reading of their declaration of independence:
"We, the democratically elected representatives of the people, based on the will of the people of South Sudan, and as confirmed by the outcome of the referendum of self-determination, hereby declare South Sudan to be an independent and sovereign nation."
War weary but ready to improve. Very exciting.
There seems great promise here. "Justice Liberty and Prosperity" is their motto. It's a Christian nation, having for many years been a place of great interest to the Holy See. Culturally, they may have more in common with the US than other African nations.
Their biggest resource, which holds as much promise as it does peril, is oil. Lots of oil.
It would appear to be very much in America's interest to support a Democracy populated with Christians and rich with oil, right in the heart of Africa.
I bet it's a great day for George Clooney today (some guys just seem to win at everything, don't they?).
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Jan '11
Re: Welcome South Sudan
Tommy,
Please excuse my ignorance but, what does Mr. Clooney have to do with this?
Re: Welcome South Sudan
MLH: Tommy,
Please excuse my ignorance but, what does Mr. Clooney have to do with this? · Jul 9 at 1:04pm
The plight of Sudan, particularly Darfur, has been a genuine concern for Clooney and he has done a lot of activism there.
I know he can be a liberal loon on American politics, but I think he did some good work there. I've seen him in several interviews being pretty fair to President Bush, who according to Clooney, paid more attention to the plight of Africa than any other President.
Here are some links to Clooney and Sudan.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&pq=george%20clooney%20sudan&xhr=t&q=george+clooney+sudan&cp=17&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=george+clooney+su&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c488823cce0a6f39&biw=1067&bih=466
Apr '11
Re: Welcome South Sudan
Sorry, I don't quite get your meaning when you say Southern Sudan has more in common with the U.S. than other African nations. The Southern Sudanese - the Dinka, the Nuer, the Fur - are predominantly nomadic herdsmen or subsistence farmers. Oil in South Sudan and Uganda is a recent discovery but more valuable than that is the fertile soil of Equatoria Province and the water resources of the White Nile. Having lived in Kenya and worked in Sudan I would suggest that Kenya is by far the more congenial to Americans and Europeans. Kenya, also with a large Christian population, has the added advantage of being an island of relative stability in a rather turbulent East African sea.
Dec '10
Re: Welcome South Sudan
Hmmm. Christian, pro-liberty, I am waiting for Obama to appoint the worst possible ambassador, say, Penny Pritzger, in 3, 2, 1....
Dec '10
Re: Welcome South Sudan
Sorry to be so negative, this really is very good news. Maybe.
Aug '10
Re: Welcome South Sudan
I think the very death of Africa is in people who don't live there professing to be "very excited" about anything that happens there. Maybe it is good that no one actually stuck there feels any such thing. (Gross generalization, but I am stickin' with it. Call me crazy.) And the phrase more in common with the US than...there's a REACH.
Nov '10
Re: Welcome South Sudan
Well, my church owes its existence to Christianity in Africa. I'll remember the Sudanese in my prayers tonight.
My father, who is a 91-year-old southerner with all the racial baggage that implies, has been deeply moved by seeing how much the African Anglicans have done for Americans in recent years. He talks about the quarters that the old ladies of his town used to stick in the mission box when he was a child, and what amazing fruit they have borne.