Showing posts with label South Sudan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Sudan. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

South Sudan: New Nation, Old Trouble

There's trouble in South Sudan: a bit more than what's usual for our world.
  1. "Mediated Political Talks," "Ethnic Divisions," and People
  2. South Sudan: Statements
  3. Hope and Decisions

Trouble in South Sudan

As far as I know, what's happening in South Sudan hasn't been called a war: not officially. Folks are systematically killing each other though, so it's not "peace," either.

What apparently set off this month's conflict was disagreement over who should have won the recent election. That was just the trigger, though. I gather that at least two ethnic groups in South Sudan have been at odds for a long time. That's not unusual, which doesn't make it right.

Maybe it's obvious, but war is not a good thing. People get killed, things get broken. Avoiding war is a good idea. So is working for peace, although it's okay to keep someone else from killing you, and that's almost another topic. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2302-23017)

South Sudan's troubles aren't the sort of thing I enjoy thinking about on Christmas Day. On the other hand, one of my Lord's titles is Prince of Peace - and we've got a mandate to make this a better world. (Catechism, 1928-1942)

I'm not personally involved with anyone in South Sudan, but know about some folks who are:
I think folks in South Sudan need to work out their own way of accepting each other. Meanwhile, many folks there have very serious, immediate needs. That's something we can help with, which is why I included those Caritas International links. No pressure, of course.

I plan to be back Friday morning, discussing an entirely different sort of news.

1. "Mediated Political Talks," "Ethnic Divisions," and People


(From AP, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
"South Sudan crisis: Increased efforts to end bloodshed"
BBC News (December 25, 2013)

"International efforts are intensifying to end the bloodshed in South Sudan, where thousands of people are believed to have died in the past 10 days.

"The UN Security Council is almost doubling the number of peacekeepers to 12,500 in the world's newest state.

"US Secretary of State John Kerry urged both President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar to end hostilities and begin mediated political talks.

"The fighting has exposed ethnic divisions in South Sudan.

"Mr Kiir is an ethnic Dinka, while Mr Machar represents the Nuer tribe.

"The violence erupted on 15 December when Mr Kiir accused Mr Machar, who was vice-president until his sacking in July, of plotting a coup.

"Mr Machar denies trying to seize power...."
I think "mediated political talks" are a good idea. I'm also quite sure that political ambition is just part of South Sudan's troubles.

Phrases like "ethnic divisions" may be cliches, but it's a fact human beings aren't all alike. I like it that way, and think diversity is a good idea. That's real diversity, not the 'my way or the highway' version.

Not everybody sees the world that way.

It's easy, in a way, for me to be tolerant. Nobody's trying to kill me because I'm the 'wrong sort.' I probably had kinfolks on both sides of the Lindisfarne incident, but that was a dozen centuries back now, and not quite another topic.

2. South Sudan: Statements


(From FoxNews.com, used w/o permission.)
"UN official says 'absolutely no doubt' thousands dead in South Sudan"
FoxNews.com (December 25, 2013)

"The United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan said Tuesday that he had "absolutely no doubt" that thousands of people had been killed in violence that threatens to tear the world's newest country apart a little more than two years after it won independence.

"Toby Lanzer made the remarks quoted by Sky News after U.N. investigators discovered two mass grave in the rebel-held city Bentiu in the oil-rich Unity state. Human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told the Associated Press that one grave contained 14 bodies and a site nearby contained 20 bodies. Originally the U.N. said 75 bodies had been seen but later corrected that statement to 34 bodies seen and 75 people missing and feared dead.

"In New York, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to beef up its peacekeeping force in South Sudan. It condemned targeted violence against civilians and ethnic communities and called for 'an immediate cessation of hostilities and the immediate opening of a dialogue.'..."
A spokesperson getting statistics wrong in an early statement doesn't surprise me. What's going on in South Sudan isn't a nicely organized ball game, with referees keeping score.

Under the circumstances, I think it's remarkable that the count was correct, and all that needed correcting was to change "dead" to "missing and feared dead."

About the U.N. Security Council's vote, I think it's a good idea. What some diplomats say, thousands of miles away from South Sudan, probably won't make much difference. Still, what they said makes sense: and might encourage enough folks who do make a difference that talking is better than killing.

I'm not a great fan of the United Nations, by the way. But that outfit is the closest thing we've got to Tennyson's 'Parliament of man ... Federation of the world."

Eventually, I hope we will have an "international authority with the necessary competence and power" to stop wars. (Catechism, 2308)

Right now, the United Nations is what we have to work with. For the moment, it will have to do. (June 16, 2011)

3. Hope and Decisions

"South Sudan conflict 'spreading around the country' "
BBC News video (December 24, 2013)

"New evidence is emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of fighting in South Sudan.

"The violence follows a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his Nuer ex-deputy Riek Machar.

"The BBC's Africa analyst James Copnall reports."
BBC News is either taking the usual precautions about not jumping to conclusions, or the "alleged" part of "alleged ethnic killings" has to do with motive: not whether or not folks are turning up dead.

Either way, they're dead. I hope enough folks in South Sudan decide that staying alive and making their country work is more important than killing the 'other' people. My ancestors eventually made that decision: so it's not a forlorn hope.

Related posts:
Background:
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Friday, January 6, 2012

South Sudan, the Táin Bó Cúalnge, and Working for a Better World

South Sudan is in the news again. Some Lou Nuer attacked folks around Pibor; after folks who had fled Pibore killed some Lou Nurer. The situation reminds me of what my ancestors were doing, a thousand years ago or so: Njal's Saga, the Táin Bó Cúalnge, and all that.

One of the immediate issues in South Sudan is that the new nation's government has thousands of folks who desperately need food, shelter, and medical attention. South Sudan's government is asking for help:1
"...The clashes around the town of Pibor are a result of cattle raids that have spiralled out of control.

"On Thursday South Sudan declared a disaster in Jonglei state...."

"...Several UN agencies are taking part in the aid effort, which will focus on food distribution, providing water and sanitation, and treating the injured, Ms Byrs said...."
(BBC News)
English-language news on both sides of the Atlantic, what I've seen, focus on the United Nation's efforts to help 2,000 of the 50,000 folks immediately involved. Happily, South Sudan doesn't have to rely exclusively on the United Nations.

Working in South Sudan, Before there was a South Sudan

I've mentioned Catholic Relief Services, CRS, before. They've been in Sudan, including the Darfur area, for years:

The United Nations, Congress, and Me

I don't 'trust' the United Nations, in the sense that I assume every decision they make is right. Using that definition, I don't 'trust' Congress, either. But, and I think this is an important point: right now the United Nations, the American Congress, and Nintendo are what we have to work with. "Nintendo?!" I'll get back to that.

Eventually we may have an "international authority with the necessary competence and power"2 to keep national leaders in line; and give citizens legal, peaceful, means to deal with tyrants and nitwits. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2308) Until we have something like Tennyson's parliament of man, we're stuck with we've got.

We're also expected to work with what we've got, and I've been over that before:

The United Nations, the American Congress, and Nintendo?!

No, I do not believe that Nintendo, the Walt Disney Company, and the Illuminati, are controlling people's behavior with radio waves from invisible helicopters. Intriguing as the notion is, for a storyteller.

I included Nintendo in that list, because I don't think that an "international authority with the necessary competence and power" needs to be a government. For example, the Hanseatic League brought a measure of order to people from Novgorod to London from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Then Europe got nation-states. Today, about a half-millennia later, maybe the European Union will work out: and that's another topic.

Using the same definition of "trust" that I used earlier, I don't "trust" Nintendo, the Walt Disney Company, or Bharti Airtel. I think corporate leaders can make mistakes. As America's big three automakers demonstrated a few years ago.

But maybe that "international authority with the necessary competence and power" will be more like the Hanseatic League, and less like the sort of folks who gave us the Hundred Years' War, Reconstruction and the Treaty of Versailles.

Related posts:
In the news:Background:
  • "South Sudan"
    CIA World FactBook (last updated November 10, 2011)
  • "Sudan"
    Catholic Relief Services
1 From today's news:
"South Sudan's Jonglei clashes: UN begins aid effort"
BBC News (January 6, 2012)

"The UN has launched a 'massive emergency operation' to help those affected by ethnic clashes in South Sudan's Jonglei state.

"Food distribution has begun for 2,000 people, UN spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told the BBC.

"The operation aims to help 50,000 people who have fled recent clashes between rival ethnic groups, she said.

"The clashes around the town of Pibor are a result of cattle raids that have spiralled out of control.

"On Thursday South Sudan declared a disaster in Jonglei state.

"Some 6,000 ethnic Lou Nuer fighters attacked the area around Pibor in recent days, outnumbering South Sudan's army and UN forces.

"This is the latest round in a cycle of violence which has lasted several months - in one incident last year some 600 Lou Nuer were killed by attackers from the Murle community, the group which fled from Pibor...."
"South Sudan appeals for humanitarian aid amid fighting"
CNN (January 6, 2012)

"South Sudan appealed for international aid for a remote region that has been under attack by roaming fighters, as thousands of residents fled into the bush to avoid the violence.

"The government declared Jonglei state a 'humanitarian disaster area' and called on international aid agencies to help provide urgently needed assistance.

"It is not yet clear how many people have been killed or injured in the violence.

"The United Nations said Thursday it was mounting a 'massive emergency support programme' to help those displaced by fighting...."

"...Ethnic tensions in Jonglei state have flared as tribes fight over grazing lands and water rights, leading to cattle raids and abduction of women and children.

"Government officials have urged the two ethnic groups to return women and children abducted in the spate of violence.

"More forces will be deployed and a committee established to push for reconciliation between the two groups, according to government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin...."
2 Cited September 11, 2011:
"All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.

However, 'as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.'106"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2308)
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

South Sudan: Darfur, a New Country, and Hope

Given what's been happening in northeastern Africa, I'd better start with a sort of backgrounder. Not about Africa: about the Catholic Church.
  • Is it okay for Catholics to care about social justice?
    • Yes (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1928-1942)
  • Does the Church think religious freedom is important?
  • Is refusing to help in a genocide okay?
    • Yes (Catechism, 2313)
  • Is helping the poor a good idea?
Now, about Africa: last month, Sudan was one country: run by 'civilized' folks who lived in the north; with folks who were ethnically and religiously different from the rulers, mostly in the south.

'The Natives are Dying' - This Time Someone Acted

Not too many years back, folks in southern Sudan, particularly Darfur, were dying in wholesale quantities. Partly because they couldn't get food. Eventually, folks outside Sudan noticed that the 'natives' were dying, and took a hard look at what the 'civilized' folks were really up to. (Another War-on-Terror Blog July 14, 2008)

I think the 'civilized' folks trying to protect their children from a blasphemous - I am not making this up - teddy bear1 had something to do with this change in attitude.

Then there was the time that the 'civilized' rulers' rounded up 13 women: and charged them with wearing trousers. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (September 7, 2009)) The teddy bear and trousers situations aren't anywhere near as lethal as what was being done to folks down south in Sudan - but I think they illustrate what sort of attitude the country's 'civilized' rulers had.

The Religious Angle

I think one reason it took so long for folks outside Africa to notice how bad things were in Sudan is that just over half of the folks living there were Africans - "black," as we say. They weren't, for the most part, wealthy - and weren't part of the 39% of Sudan's population who were ethnically Arab.

About 70% of the total population in Sudan were Muslims - the 5% who were Christians lived mostly in Khartoum, or in the south. (Another War-on-Terror Blog April 23, 2008))

The blacks down south, including quite a few of Sudan's Christians, 'just happened' to be finding it very difficult to get food.

That's where the charges of genocide came in.

Does this 'prove' that Islam is icky, and all the usual 'towelhead' diatribe?

Hardly. I've corresponded with Muslims who were quite willing to live in a world where not everybody believed and lived exactly the way they did.

I think that the Muslim crazies we read about in the news may be about as representative of their faith as the Ku Klux Klan is of Christianity.

I've discussed living in a big world before:

South Sudan Celebrates Independence: Now the Work Begins

Excerpts from recent news:
"African clergy advise quick action on South Sudan's challenges"
Katherine Veik, CNA (Catholic News Agency) (July 11, 2011)

"African clergy say the Republic of South Sudan, which gained independence on July 9, must take steps to resolve an increasingly violent conflict in the troubled border region of South Kordofan.

" 'If the Government of South Sudan does not sit down to address the issues raised by the militia groups, it could become a nightmare with no stability for the South,' said Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum in a recent interview with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need...."
"South Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony"
Will Ross, BBC News Africa (July 9, 2011))

"Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have watched the raising of the new country's flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba.

"Salva Kiir signed the constitution and took his oath of office in front of the jubilant crowds, becoming president of the world's newest nation.

"Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and UN chief Ban Ki-moon were among dignitaries watching the events.

"Sudan earlier became the first state to officially recognise its new neighbour.

"The world's newest nation was born at midnight local South Sudanese time (2100 GMT), the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.

"The south's independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died...."
Looks like Sudan's president Bashir beat that genocide rap. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (April 26, 2010, July 14, 2008) Maybe that's 'not fair.' I don't know. I think that it's a good idea for all of us to deal with what we've done here and now, rather than get sorted out later - and that's another topic. (August 8, 2010)

Back to Africa's newest nation:
"Catholics working for peaceful birth of South Sudan"
Katherine Veik, CNA (Catholic News Agency) (July 8, 2011)

"Local and international Catholic organizations are working to ensure a peaceful transition to independence for South Sudan on July 9, after two decades or struggle that killed or displaced over six million people.

"South Sudan's people will be 'free to build a society the way they want to according to their own vision,' said Bishop John H. Ricard, a representative for the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, speaking to CNA from the southern capital Juba on July 8...."
I'm with the American Bishop, and Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum: my hope and prayer is that folks in South Sudan build their country "according to their own vision." And have the good sense to "sit down to address the issues raised by the militia groups."

South Sudan has a lot of work to do. It won't be easy: but I think it can be worth the effort.

Related posts:
In the news:
Background:
  • "South Sudan"
    CIA World Factbook (page last updated July 11, 2011)
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.