South Sudan, the Newest Nation, Is Full of Hope and Problems
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
JUBA, Sudan - After five decades of guerrilla struggle and two million lives lost, the flags are flapping proudly here in this capital. The new national anthem is blasting all over town. People are toasting oversize bottles of White Bull beer (the local brew), and children are boogieing in the streets.
“Free at Last,” reads a countdown clock.
But from the moment it declares independence on Saturday, the Republic of South Sudan, the world’s newest country and Africa’s 54th state, will take its place at the bottom of the developing world. A majority of its people live on less than a dollar a day. A 15-year-old girl has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than she does of finishing primary school. More than 10 percent of children do not make it to their fifth birthday. About three-quarters of adults cannot read. Only 1 percent of households have a bank account.
Beyond that, the nation faces several serious insurrections within its own sprawling territory and hostilities with northern Sudan, its former nemesis.
It is clearly an underdog story. ( Read the rest at the NY Times online. )
FYI, ppl who are not NYTimes.com paid subscribers, you only get 20 free articles a month then they ask you to pony up the cash :/
JUBA, Sudan - After five decades of guerrilla struggle and two million lives lost, the flags are flapping proudly here in this capital. The new national anthem is blasting all over town. People are toasting oversize bottles of White Bull beer (the local brew), and children are boogieing in the streets.
“Free at Last,” reads a countdown clock.
But from the moment it declares independence on Saturday, the Republic of South Sudan, the world’s newest country and Africa’s 54th state, will take its place at the bottom of the developing world. A majority of its people live on less than a dollar a day. A 15-year-old girl has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than she does of finishing primary school. More than 10 percent of children do not make it to their fifth birthday. About three-quarters of adults cannot read. Only 1 percent of households have a bank account.
Beyond that, the nation faces several serious insurrections within its own sprawling territory and hostilities with northern Sudan, its former nemesis.
It is clearly an underdog story. ( Read the rest at the NY Times online. )
FYI, ppl who are not NYTimes.com paid subscribers, you only get 20 free articles a month then they ask you to pony up the cash :/