The story of Sudan is a complicated story, so it’s no wonder many are unsure what exactly is happening in Africa’s largest country. It has been an embittered battle fought on many fronts composed of many different tribes, languages, and religions, and lasting for decades. Since 1955, two civil wars have been fought between the north and south. The second ended after 22 years of bloodshed with a peace agreement in 2005, granting Southern Sudan autonomy for six years. On January 9th of 2011, a new chapter will be pressed with ink-stained fingers.

Most of us, when hearing of Sudan, instantly think of the conflict in Darfur, a region that lies in western Sudan. In 2004, then-President George W. Bush labeled the atrocities committed against the people of Darfur by the Janjaweed militia as genocide. This past July, Sudan’s current president Omar al-Bashir was charged with three counts of genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Darfur has gained much press, but a big part of the struggle in Sudan lies in the tensions between north and south. The referendum taking place on January 9, 2011 will allow Southern Sudanese to vote on the future of forming their own democracy. There is much excitement over the vote, and the South is largely predicted to choose secession and divide the northeastern African country. The questions are many – whether Bashir’s government will allow the referendum to take place and on time (part of the 2005 peace agreement), if the voting will be marred by voting fraud, and where profits will go from the oil-rich Abyei border state. Salva Kiir, president of Southern Sudan and vice president of Sudan, states that the referendum’s timing is important as there is “a risk of a return to war in case of delay or denial of this exercise, and it would be on a very massive scale.” ^[1]

Sudan’s history has been complex and long. Islamic conquerors and black Africans met with a clash in the seventh century and fighting continued for more than a millennium. In the 1800s, the Ottomans annually raided Southern Sudan from the north and captured countless thousands for the slave trade, breaking the region’s stability and economy.

Following the defeat of Sudan’s rulers, an agreement was reached in 1899 that saw Sudan then governed by the British and Egyptian governments. The country, being as large as it is, was divided distinctly into two halves. The north was predominately Arab and Muslim, while the south predominately black Africans of traditional and Christian beliefs. In 1922, the government limited movement between north and south in an effort to control the tensions.

But in 1947, the British government organized a conference in order to combine northern and southern Sudan into one political entity. A British governor in Southern Sudan at the time determined that if Sudan were to ever really become self-governing, “it must not be divided up into small weak units.” ^[2] The British at the time saw the North as more “developed,” and though the North was contrasting culturally, they felt the South would be better off in the end with the North. In 1956, Sudan was granted independence through a joint agreement between the British and Egyptian governments. However, a year earlier in 1955, the first Sudanese war had already started between North and South Sudan.

We have a tendency to see stories as simple rights and wrongs. Even the short history written here of Sudan is a simplistic one. It is not solely Muslim vs. Christian (20% of Southern Sudanese claim Christianity, and 10% Muslim). The conflict goes beyond race and religion (though aspects of this are important to observe here) – it is a story woven of different people groups and their ability to survive and live decent lives. The Southern Sudanese people I spoke to while traveling to Sudan and Uganda in 2006 and 2010 are tired of war. They want peace with their Northern neighbor. Though Bashir is wanted by the ICC, they do not feel that all the people of the North are like him. Mary Tombe, a Southern Sudanese nurse says,

There are many cynics who say Sudan is a married couple in angry divorce, so they are frightened of the violent fights…. But we see Sudan as a mother giving birth to twins – once the labour pains are over, the two children can grow up as friends. ^[3]

^{{ View a slideshow from my 2006 trip to Uganda and Sudan }}

[1] Southern Sudan Independence Referendum Delay May Reignite War, President Says
[2] Juba Conference 1947 record by the Equatoria Governor (PDF, page 1)
[3] Will independence vote bring war or peace to south Sudan?