And back again.

akon and akon 2 have been travelling{and ignoring the blog}.
Speaking for myself things have been a tad depressing lately.
Economy in free fall and the exchange rate soaring to terrifying heights.Attempted{and failed} coups, the central bank and minister of finance defying common sense and a population that is struggling to make ends meet.
Will soon post a decent entry.

downward spiral to political repression?

I am worried about the (political) progression of South Sudan- especially in the last few months.  Often I –jokingly- state that we are not a democracy- and it is true that it takes quite a long time for any country led by its liberation movement to adapt democratic ideals. So on paper, yes we are a democracy but  on the ground?

But I am worried because it feels like things are slowly getting more repressive –if that makes sense. 

·      First there are the human rights reports

o   Denouncing the soldiers involved in disarmament in Jonglei – accusations of beatings and torture of citizens in certain counties of Jonglei

o   Reports on unlawful detention and imprisonment and the prison conditions- we keep our cattle in better conditions than we keep most of our prisoners, basically.

o   The death penalty- 2 men were hanged in Juba prison in august. With a very weak judicial system, very few lawyers- most of whom are unaffordable, two distinct systems of law, customary and statutory- which are sometimes contradictory- its hard to say if these men received anything close to a fair trial

·      There are the arbitrary arrests by the police. It’s very easy to get someone arrested in South Sudan. E.g. you could spend a night in prison if you are head of an organization and you dismiss someone working in your organization. Does not matter if they deserved to lose their job, or if the case is still in the court system but has not been resolved. Does not also matter what the law states. (this happened last week to someone I know). i am not sure you are supposed to arrest an individual in a case that involves company policy- unless they broke the law. i am also not sure if prison is a justifiable response to this kind of civil suit.

o   If there is a (criminal or civil) case against you that the police are investigating- they put you in jail until the case is resolved. There is no system to go to court to ascertain guilt or innocence prior or soon after this detainment. There is no ‘innocent until proven guilty’. You simply go to jail and then wait. So.. for example if I accuse someone of theft- the police will arrest him, put him in jail and then ‘investigate’. Only if the accuser comes and states that the case is resolved will the person be released- in most cases. So the family usually has to follow up with the accuser... And lets not even talk about issues of customary law…

2 members of the South Sudan Civil Society Alliance were kidnapped and tortured earlier this year (July and Oct). One was released after the president instructed the security forces to find out where he was being held (makes you wonder if they were not the ones holding him in the first place.) And the other was found dumped- severely beaten but still alive- at a juba graveyard. Both had received threats and had been accused of working against the interest of the new nation. (And obviously, whenever one criticizes government- one is often accused of not having been in the bush fighting, therefore having no right to make any demands).

Then came the expulsion of the UN Human Rights Commissioner in November. I haven’t heard any official explanation given for this – but maybe I just don’t follow the news.

Then yesterday comes news of the murder of an journalist who was critical of  South Sudanese leadership- Isaiah Abraham.  Apparently he too had been warned and threatened several times against criticizing the government. 

http://www.cpj.org/2012/12/south-sudan-should-investigate-columnists-murder.php

All this makes one wonder if this is not a downward trend into state-sanctioned repression and to a lack of rule of law. Seemingly there is no freedom of expression- or rather it only exists when you are not critical of whatever is happening in the political sphere.

Does not portend well

security in juba

There was a demonstration this morning by the Ethiopian community- an Ethiopian was recently killed – don’t know the details.

And they were protesting insecurity in Juba.

About 2 months ago I was in Nairobi in a cab and somehow we started talking about Juba- and the cab driver (assumes I am Kenyan) starts to go on and on about how south Sudanese are xenophobic because he knows of 3 kenyans that have been killed/targetted in Juba.

I’ve also heard Ugandans talk a lot about this- our people are killing their people

One might begin to think that it really is that we are targeting foreigners.

What I find interesting is that we are all aware that that

-       South Sudan is a post-conflict country- meaning that guns are everywhere.

-       We do not have established institutions (we don’t even have a number for the police or the fire brigade). 

-       This town has grown exponentially- not just due to returnees but also foreigners coming to work and do business here.  Not all these people are of the savoury type – not excluding returnees but also including foreign workers.

-       Im sure add on the austerity measures and….

-        

Insecurity is to be expected.

And it doesn’t only affect foreigners. 

In fact I’d wager that the majority of the people dying as a consequence of the insecurity in Juba… ok lets speak in relative terms, not absolutes- the proportion of south Sudanese dying Juba as a consequence of the security situation is much higher than that of the foreigners, in Juba.

We all should be aware of the risks associated with working and living here, and (hopefully we) make an informed decision when we stay. I’ve lived here for 3 years…  I know that the level of aggressiveness here is higher than anywhere I have lived in, but I have never been hit or shot at- … threatened… yes. But that’s about it, insha’allah

We should be aware of our surroundings and who we associate with And yes, by all means have a demonstration against insecurity in Juba. But not that you are being targeted by the local community, instead that it is affecting everyone in Juba- local community included.

Lastly, this is the only East African country that allows any unskilled worker to come and set up business (Ugandans selling sugarcane on the streets, Ethiopians owning little shops- oh and big hotels etc.).  Everyone claims this leads to resentment, grumbles about ‘they are taking our jobs’ etc.  But this hasn’t resulted in targeted violence toward local business owners so… lets not cry wolf (yet)

I’ve decided to stop driving to work.

Seriously.

It’s giving me grey hairs and minor heart-attacks.

In addition to the badly driven motorcycles/ bodabodas – I really want them banned from the streets- there are also the random police stops.

Between my house and the office there are two spots with an excess number of traffic police sitting around, idle, or pretending to direct traffic (resulting in traffic jams, usually)

They tend to ignore all the motorcyclists openly breaking every traffic rule, they ignore any cars with government or NGO plates or the better-looking/ newer cars- but they always, always always look at my Rav4, look at me (there aren’t too many S. Sudanese women with shoulder length dreads) and then  pull me over-by blowing their whistle- without fail.  

And then address me as a ‘wewe’ _which means they think I'm either Ugandan (ugh) or Kenyan.

 More often than not, for no valid reason.  

Instead, they ask for frivolous things like, ‘why don’t you have a fire extinguisher in your car?’

And then they proceed to ‘fine you’.

I have a traffic ticket that clearly says I should have paid 30SSP but the traffic cop was like, 40SSP- apparently the extra 10 was for her writing on the ticket, wtf). I got this on a day I was stopped 3 TIMES.

A friend of mine drives with the traffic act in her car, so that when they ask for such things, she pulls it out and starts asking them where in the traffic act does it state such a violation. She assures me that extinguishers are NOT mentioned. Personally if i did that i think they'd just haul me to the traffic police station.

Finally I just started ignoring the cops. I’d see them blow the whistle and motion for me to stop and I’d just continue on my merry way.

I’ve had to change routes to the office twice because of this – for fear that I will meet the same cops.

I'm now afraid that I’ll be thrown in jail for this, one of these days – they don't need a to do this.  

I ignore the cops because they are on their feet and i'm driving (and i figure, what are they gonna do, run after me?)

but.... apparently they sometimes will get on a motorcycle and give chase….

So I finally told the office…I just can't handle it. Bodaboda (motorcycle riders) and now the cops? 

Oh and I have to talk about the convoys/motorcades as well. Juba is really small but so far we have convoys for the president, the vice-president, the speaker of parliament, the governor, and godknowswho else. These drive at breakneck speed- why do they have to drive so fast??? they are driving less than 10-20 miles- usually no warning except you hear the siren and have to immediately pull over. I think all this is recipe for disaster. I've actually witnessed a really bad accident with one of these motorcades already

So.... another headache, for real

The return of the morose anonymous

I've been trying to keep this blog light{er}.

Since 2012 started the Sudanese economy has been coming to a grinding halt. The brain drain is terrifying, our currency is devaluing at an astonishing rate and life is becoming harder and harder every day. Sugar prices spiked and talk of petrol prices further rising. If I, a relatively wealthy Sudanese ,am feeling the pinch, imagine what my less fortunate brethren are going through.

I never thought it would come to this but I've been seriously considering leaving with my family elsewhere.

Big deal, people immigrate every day right?

I always saw myself living the rest of my life here.

I feel incredibly guilty about jumping ship just when things got rough but I have my children to think of. I owe them my best effort at a better life.

So one of these days I'll post up about leaving for a bittersweet 'better life'.

Kind of hate myself right now.

i was nervous about *that* election

Because Americans will never cease to amaze (I was there in 2004 and vividly remember the shock waking up the next morning to 4 more years of Bush).

Speaking of Bush...
I will never stop being surprised at how staunchly most South Sudanese I have met identify with the Republican Party (yes, the GOP). And not just in Juba.

This is mainly because we recognize that without Bush, Powell -and U.S administration putting pressure on both parties, and in particular the Govt of Sudan, we would not have had the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and... eventually our own country. This does not diminish the involvement of other countries, especially Norway, but it does recognize the significant contribution the U.S made in ensuring that the CPA was brokered.

But this has resulted in near total loyalty to the Republican Party. Regardless of whether or not we know anything about the GoP. And I don't think this will change soon- especially as i foresee our new nation starting to get more criticism especially on human rights issues. E.g., The U.S recently rebuked South Sudan for expelling the UNMISS Human Rights Commissioner, there's been criticism -from amnesty and human rights watch on the fact that we uphold the death penalty, and recently two prisoners were hung despite a very weak judicial system and poor conditions in the prisons, two weeks ago the police shot at school children who were protesting perceived land grab of their school property, the lack of press freedoms, etc.  Things will get worse before they get better...

We also grumble about the fact that there is not enough pressure on Abyei and other outstanding issues from the CPA. We were shocked to have been criticized about Heglig/Panthou.  We are going to continue to make diplomatic mistakes as we continue to learn...And all this under a democratic U.S leadership. So yes, I don't think S.Sudan will be soon supporting the democrats. Which makes me very uncomfortable.

But...... all this does underlie how important the CPA, elections and referendum were to us....and that  South Sudanese will have life-long gratitude to G. Bush. And that's just how things are.

Small business,big problems.

Yesterday I visited a distant cousin who had been telling me about a shop he opened. He sells honey and all kinds of honey related products {skin creams, shampoos, tonics, teas and of course sexual enhancers}.

Aside from a truly atrocious water fountain {made of plaster and shaped like a mutant honeybee},I was really impressed.

Family owned business that focuses on quality organic products at reasonable prices. What’s not too like?

My cousin started expounding on the efforts him and some other manufacturers had made in creating an association and quality control {enforced by government} and branding. Which got me to thinking about the small hive keeper’s way out in the rural areas that depend on their honey for their livelihood? Its all well and good to harp on about quality, but as the large[er] business owners are the force behind the enforcers {they incentivize the government to screen quality for export} what’s to stop corrupt {or just overzealous} officials from leaning hard and the small{and unknown and unrepresented }businesses ?

Should they depend on their larger colleague’s largesse?

Of course my cousin did not like this train of thought, but it got me thinking, is the price of progress? In order for Sudan to develop a robust export ‘brand’, do these small producers have to be pushed out {and I have no doubt that they will be}?

The beauty of Sudanese honey is the diversity of its origins {like all of our great things} and sources. A dirty plastic drum from a no-name keeper will contain some of the most delicious elixir you ever tasted.

I hope that never changes.

I love this country

Like most people I love my country.

I bitch  ,moan and complain so much about the downward cycle we're in, I almost forget how much I enjoy Sudan.

This epiphany struck during Eid .Eating large quantities of grilled meat and drinking yoghurt and sprite concoctions with family and friends generally improves one mood. Getting my sons jallabiyya tailored and seeing him strut around in his new moccasins. Watching the wife put on all manners of gold that I bought for our wedding and taking genuine pleasure in dressing up{and looking great}.Attended a few weddings and at one of the family weddings I was mobbed by little cousins demanding Eid money.Then ran into a distant uncle who was rumored to be going through a separation with his wife. He was smiling encouragingly at her and she was shyly saying hi to the family. Seeing my families warm welcome of her {and her husband’s} obvious relief and happiness, I was touched.

Economy, politics and other factors be damned .No place like home.

 

Tension in Juba

I’ve been trying not to write much on politics- but politics is a day-to-day aspect of life here and is difficult to ignore.

On Monday there were protests within the town. My office is relatively far from the protest sites so couldn’t really hear or see anything- but… the airport was closed for a few hours in the morning, there were (rumoured) gunshots –in one of -the army barracks (why is this even within the town?) and the police shot live ammunition at the protesters around Juba Universityß I don’t even know what to say about this.

Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal (NBeG) is pretty upset about the decision to include the 14-mile area in the demilitarized zone and Abyei is upset that the issue of their referendum is taking too long to resolve/ was ignored in the recent Addis Ababa agreement. In general, there are those who feel like we keep giving up too much during the negotiations.

There also seems to be quite a bit of confusion regarding the nitty-gritty of the Addis Ababa agreement in general, e.g. some in NBeG believe that it means we are giving up area-14 to the North.

(Btw, here’s a map of disputed border regions: North-South Sudan – this should immediately give you an idea of how long the border demarcation issue will take to resolve)

These are some of the reasons for the protests.

There have been rumours of attempted coups- Salva finally addressed this recent spate of rumours at Bilpam: coup. However, rumours have been persistent all year- a few roadblocks were put up on the roads leading to the president’s house, and the road leading to the airport is now permanently closed after 7.00pm, there was also recent change in the presidential guards.

Some claim that these coup attempts (whether real or imagined) are led by those from Jonglei State–or rather former close allies of Garang’ who feel sidelined by the Kiir government.  And it cant help the situation when the son of the former leader lends his voice in criticism about the current govt’s direction- and does this with the help of what could possibly be the worst type of journalist (rant posing as news article ). But who knows…. I’ve also heard its affiliated with NBeG.

Not to mention the soldiers overall disenchantment with a recent decision to cut their pay.

Not to mention whatever else is going on in the country

I guess I should take it as some sign of progress that despite all this the town isn’t in lockdown/curfew, with soldiers at every corner checking all cars and harassing pedestrians- which is what usually happened in the most recent past.

An aside in apropos to nothing: Recently I was exposed to something I have never actually thought of: the notion that people from Blue Nile and Kordofan, who are in SPLM –which now becomes SPLM-North- and are currently living in South Sudan are accorded refugee status. It feels like a mental disconnect: being a refugee in a country you fought to liberate, and for some- you consider to be your country.  Does the recent agreement mean that they are now not refugees? (For me this raises a wider question about citizenship and governments’ monotony over according individuals legal status; I don’t necessarily believe this should be in the hands of governments. Perhaps my fellow blogger-AFRICAN- and I can have a discussion on this at a later date- if we can figure out the mechanics of blogging!).  But… this- to me at least- raises the question of the relationship between SPLM N&S. The N/S divorce also resulted in a break between former allies. What does this mean, really?