resistanceIn retrospect, it was a kind of happiness that lasted only a short time. Ten years ago, on July 9, 2011, South Sudan achieved its long-awaited national independence. People celebrated on the street, and the new country received a lot of international sympathy. Five days after its establishment, the Republic of South Sudan became the 193rd member state. United Nations recording.
The South, which is dominated by Christianity and animism, fought a decade-long struggle for independence from Sudan, which was dominated by Muslims and Arabs, and was led mainly by the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). But mainly thanks to the support of the United States, a peace agreement was reached in 2005, and an independence referendum was finally held in January 2011. Among them, 99% of the nearly 4 million voters expressed support for independence.
From the beginning, the conflict has been on the young country
The youngest country in the world faced various problems even at the beginning of its birth: On the one hand, there are unresolved border problems between the new South Sudan and the old and smaller Sudan, especially the abundant oil. Reserves. During the transition period in 2011 alone, tens of thousands of people were displaced during the fighting.
But internal conflicts—in some cases between different races—also quickly surfaced. At the end of 2013, they sparked a civil war between the faction of President Salva Kiir and the faction of former Vice President Rick Machar.
The civil war plunged this poor country-despite having oil resources-into chaos and suffering. The signing of the armistice agreement was very regular, and it was quickly broken.Many foreigners left the country during the epidemic A kind Strengthened the Blue Helmets of UNMISS.
It is estimated that by 2018 there will be at least 400,000 deaths. Approximately 4 million people have been displaced and many have fled the country. The United Nations has recorded many atrocities against civilians, especially women and children. There are also floods and famines.
The fact that the peace treaty was signed in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia in September 2018, and the formation of a national unity government by Kiel and Machar in 2020 have not changed the fact that South Sudan is considered a failed country. 8.3 of the country’s approximately 13 million inhabitants depend on humanitarian assistance. However, the state can’t help much, and the people can only rely on the support of international aid organizations. Due to rampant corruption, the economy has not started. The fighting escalated time and time again, usually in the course of quarreling over livestock and pasture.
The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the crisis. “The resilience of the population is collapsing,” Eric Alain Ategbo, who works for UNICEF in South Sudan, recently said in the Süddeutsche Zeitung To the situation in the country. The dream of 2011 is long gone.
Photographer Daniel Pilar has been photographing political developments in many countries around the world for FAZ for many years, looking back at the historical moments in his photos. He filled out our questionnaire.
