I'm sure y'all heard the news

The official word is out, the results are in and the voters wants secession.

It is way to early to say how this will affect the general situation in "my" corner of Sudan - at least we wont have to ask the locals if they expect any security related issues to crop up during the referendum process no more.

I'm hopeful for the future.

That was... quiet.

The referendum is over - we're now officially in the post-referendum period. It has been almost scary quiet, with no more unrest and violence than what is the norm in Sudan... but we're more than happy to accept a peaceful referendum.

What happens next is laid out - among other places - in the CPA (linked to in the sidebar of this blog). There is to be a half year of consultations and discussions higher up, to iron out all those things that the two parties haven't ironed out already. Off course, it's a bit of discussion if it's six months after the polling closes or six months after the final result is announced, but since the final result is expected in a month it don't make too much of a difference. UNMIS will continue as before, eve if our current focus will shift away from the referendum for obvious reasons.

The preliminary result for each polling station is expected today, with the final verdict handed down from the South Sudan Referendum Committee in Juba on 14th February. Until then nothing is official, but I'm sure most of us can hazards a guess as to what the result is going to be.

I've been lucky enough to be present during an historic event - the first democratic referendum in Africa over a secession issue - and once the interim period is over I fully expect to be present at another one: the official birth of the newest independent nation in Africa. I just hope the road there is going to bas peaceful as the road so far.

More on the referendum

As people are bound to have noticed in the international media, the referendum is still on track. The latest reports indicate that the "magic number" of 60% turnout have already been reached, meaning that unless something happens the results should be legal and valid according to the agreement between the two parties.

There is some tension along the North-South border according to the same media, but if it's more than usual or if it's simply a matter of more being reported... even we don't know for sure. Not much of it seems related to the referendum though, so we're very hopeful that the last half of the referendum will be as quiet and peaceful as the first half have been.

A very long Short Duration Patrol

Yesterday we were tasked to conduct a Short Duration Patrol to a place that we so far only have had Long Duration Patrols to - because it's so far off on bad roads. In short, we made it there and back in record time (3½ hour each way - previous best was 6 with Force Protection) at the cost of being very, very stiff and sore after being bumped around in the car all day. Our main task was to assess the security around the referendum, and also learn if there had been any incidents in regards to the referendum... which there hadn't. Everything is going very smoothly in the hinterlands (so hinter that you got to travel two hours to get your cell phone to work), just like everywhere else in our area.

On the bright side, I learned a new term for a really, really bad road; the road is dancing! The only problem is that each side of the rut dance to a different beat...

I did get some photos though, and two videos as well:

The amazing swimming UNMO car!


The dancing road!

PS: Would have posted this last night, but uploading videos over a 20 - 60 kbps connection takes ages...

Still quiet, but with great excitement

It is still nice and quiet in our corner of Sudan, with the referendum in it's third day and everything considered. We might just get through this with no major incidents in our sector...

The populace is grasping the opportunity to vote with great enthusiasm, and a somewhat non-western attitude. While for us westerners voting is something we do on our way home from work every few years - if we can even be bothered - in South Sudan it's seen as something to celebrate. I saw people camping out in front of the polling stations before they open, just to be among the first to cast their vote. I've seen whole families dressed in their Sunday finest to go with the parents to vote. I've seen - from a distance, since military personnel shouldn't be too close to the polling centers - long lines of people not only patiently waiting in line*, but singing and dancing as they wait. I've heard about whole villages walking tens of kilometers through the bush to get to their polling stations. I've seen oldsters and youngsters cry after voting, not because they are sad but because the whole experience of being allowed to have a say in their own future is overwhelmingly powerful. Perhaps this is something that we should all try to keep in mind the next time we consider if we can be bothered to actually put a pair of shoes on and go help decide our future?

A convoy of boda-bodas (motor cycles) and cars, heading towards one of the referendum centers.

*) In most causes the idea of waiting in line is alien to the mindset people have down here. Where you in Norway would have a line, here you got a mob all trying to get first.