SOUTH SUDAN: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

When I started this blog in 2012, I used an existing list I made of the countries that were UN members. And about a year into it, I realized I had missed one. The country of South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, and somehow I didn’t realize this happened until I saw a news report about its civil war. I checked, and I realized it definitely needed to be added to my list. I was just thankful that it fell in line before I got to that letter in the alphabet.

South Sudan is named after its previous relation with Sudan. Sudan itself means “land of the blacks,” possibly referring to the Sahel region in general.

This central African country is surrounded by Sudan to the north; Ethiopia to the east; Kenya and Uganda to the south; and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic to the west. There are still some disputed borders between Sudan and South Sudan, namely in the area through Radom National Park and around the little town of Abyei. There’s also a disputed border with Kenya. Lying only a few degrees north of the equator, South Sudan has a tropical savanna climate for most of the country. It also has a rainy season that peaks in May.

Around the 10^th century, the Nilotic tribes began to move into this area and began setting up villages and communities. Other tribes kept moving into this region well up until the 19^th century, including the Dinka, Nuer, Azande, and Bari. Slavery has been a part of Sudanese history for a long time but peaked during the 19^th century. The 19^th century in Sudan was not good times in Sudan. The Azande were fighting with the French, the Belgians, and the Mahdists (followers of the Nubian [Sudanese] religious leader, Mahdi). In 1899, an agreement between the British and Egypt handed over control of Sudan over to Egypt. As the British and French carved up most of Africa, they almost went to war over this area, too. The British wanted to join South Sudan with Uganda that they already controlled. This lasted roughly about a half-century when Sudan gained it own independence from the Anglo-Egyptian stronghold. The first Sudanese Civil War lasted nearly 20 years, from 1955 to 1972. After a brief time of non-fighting (I wouldn’t call it peace), a second civil war lasted from 1983 to 2005. Toward the end of this second civil war South Sudan split apart and became its own country in 2011. Even after they gained independence, the fighting didn’t stop. Nearly 400,000 people have lost their lives, and 2 ½ million people have fled to neighboring countries. I think since the 1950s, they’ve spent more times at war than in peace.

The southern city of Juba serves as the capital city. It was originally the site of a Bari village. At the time it was established, this area was considered part of Egypt, and British Christian missionaries arrived and set up a school. The city is situated on the White Nile River, making it convenient as a port city. However, through years of war and neglect, its infrastructure is in critical need for repair. Some neighboring countries and other organizations have offered to chip in to at least maintain some roads to move goods in and out. It’s been proposed to set up the remote village of Ramciel as a planned city and move the capital city there. If it happens, it’ll be in the same class of capitals as Brasilia and Canberra.

Although South Sudan is rich in natural resources, civil war has left their infrastructure wrecked and underdeveloped. Many people rely on agriculture, and poverty is a huge problem as well as having access to proper healthcare, sanitation, and dealing with high inflation. Some of the resources and raw materials they do have include hardwoods, petroleum, copper, iron ore, tungsten, silver, gold, diamonds, limestone, and others. They also have quite a few oil fields, but they’re having difficulty in figuring out how to split up all the money. And the country has a lot of external debt to contend with, too.

The British established Christianity in South Sudan, which remains to be the dominant religion. Of the Christians who are there, the largest denomination seems to be Catholics, followed by the Episcopals, Anglicans, and the Presbyterians. However, there are a smaller number of Muslims there as well, most likely left over from when they were part of Sudan (which is a Muslim-majority country). Like many other African countries, many people simultaneously follows either Christianity or Islam as well as their indigenous belief systems.

The official language of South Sudan is English, which serves as a lingua franca for its nearly 60 indigenous languages, most of which are part of the Nilo-Saharan language family. The most widely spoken ones that are considered national languages include Bari, Dinka, Luo, Murle, Nuer, and Zande. These languages along with Juba Arabic are also used as lingua francas. Arabic used to be an official language in its early years of independence, but probably only because it’s used in Sudan. However, they scratched Arabic from the official language list. Last year, they just made the recommendation to add Swahili as an official language in its place.

I find it interesting the stories of how national anthems came to be. The melody of the US national anthem was originally a drinking song (more or less). The South Sudanese anthem was the result of a competition. It was composed by students and teachers in the music department of Juba University. This particular song beat out 48 other entries to make their song “South Sudan Oyee” the new national anthem of a new country. While the country may be new in its political sense, its traditions and culture are very old. Let’s see what this newest country in the world is all about.

Up next: art and literature

CHAD: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Many things come to mind when I think the word “chad.” There are hanging chads, which were the bane of the 2000 presidential election here in the States. There’s the male name Chad – especially the baker Chad Robertson whose name kept popping up when I tried to search for “bread recipes from Chad.”  But what I’m thinking of is the country of Chad in central Africa and Lake Chad, for which the country is named after.

Chad lies landlocked in the center of Africa, surrounded by Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. The country is part of the Sahel region, just south of the Sahara Desert, and the top third is covered by the Sahara Desert. The country is generally flat, a thin layer of sand covers everything with random clumps of trees scattered here and there, like a giant threw handfuls of seeds out. Desertification is a problem in this country, with the Sahara extending itself like an unwanted houseguest and taking over what little fertile land there was. Even the capital city of N’Djamena (pronounced n-ja-MAY-nah) has sand spilling out into the streets, giving it the feeling of being a rural town, rather than the largest city in the country and a base city for non-governmental agencies in Chad and other nearby countries in central Africa – just across the river from N’Djamena lies Cameroon.  Lake Chad is also important to the country (and not just because of its namesake), but because it provides water for the four neighboring countries to it (Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria). It’s a fairly shallow lake, so it’s sensitive to changes in the wet/rainy seasons.   

Chad is in one of the oldest areas of Africa; it’s been inhabited for over 2000 years, partly by the great Sao civilization. Not much is known about them since nothing’s been written down. The only things we know are the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and the artifacts that they’ve left behind, mostly highly-skilled pieces of bronze, copper, and iron works. Later, the Muslim traders that came in and stole slaves from Central African Republic and Cameroon also hit Chadian villages as well. The beginning of the 20^th century brought French imperialism (most sources I read called it “French holdings,” as if taking over someone’s country and raping it for their resources were merely a business deal. Probably was.), which lasted for nearly sixty years. They officially won their independence in August of 1960.  Since then, they have been plagued with opposition wars, civil wars, insurgencies, battles, and coups.  Some of the fighting in Darfur spilled over the border into Chad as well. Like what’s happening in Central African Republic and other countries, getting food and medical supplies to those who need it is a difficult task in these areas that are controlled by the warlords and rebel fighters. Refugee camps are hidden away throughout the jungle with little access to getting inside or leaving.

As far as religion goes, it’s fairly a diverse country. A little more than half of the people are Muslim, and a little more than a third are Christian. There are other groups represented as well: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bahá’í, animism, atheists and others.

Because of its location and history, Chad has two official languages: Arabic and French. While there are over 120 local languages that are spoken in villages throughout the country, one of the larger local ones is Sara, a language that is widely spoken in the southern regions of Chad.

The capital city of N’Djamena only has roughly a little more than a million people and about 1.6 million if you include the metro area – which makes it about the size of Philadelphia, PA. It was originally called Fort Lamy by the French, named after a French commander who had been killed in battle a few days before this. After gaining independence, the new government changed it to a more Afrocentric name, N’Djamena. It was based on an Arabic-named village nearby, meaning “place of rest.” It lies on the Chari and Logone Rivers. It’s become the center for government, center of business and trade, center for the arts, and the home to the country’s only university: the University of N’Djamena (classes taught in French) and the King Faisal University of Chad (classes taught in Arabic).

Statistically, this country falls toward the bottom of the list when it comes to human development and stability, making it one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. They’ve got the 4^th highest death rate in the world: number one in maternal mortality, sixth in infant mortality. Almost half of the people don’t have access to clean water, only 13% of Chadians have access to adequate sanitation. These things contribute to a higher risk for diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, but also malaria, meningococcal meningitis and rabies. A third of kids under five are underweight. 35% of those 15 and old are literature in either Arabic or French (and that figure was closer to 25% ten years ago!). This makes it hard for people to move outside of manual labor, which is where most of the jobs that are even available lie. Because it’s such a poor country and most people don’t hold outside jobs, they don’t even calculate an unemployment rate. Although close to 80% of the people base their living off of some kind of agricultural work, there is some exportation of oil from the country as well. Despite this, it still relies heavily on foreign aid and assistance, but the corruption and instability in infrastructure hinders this aid from getting where it’s needed. The median age is 16 – which at that rate, I should be close to dying if not already gone – and I’m only 33.

Even though it’s had some rough history here and there, I’m convinced that it’s not all bad. There has to be something that’s pretty cool. (Unlike it’s weather which stays pretty hot. I checked on my Weather Channel app, and this weekend, the city of N’Djamena has a heat index of 125˚F. I’m pretty sure my freckled Scottish-German mixed skin would simply burst into flames.) The cuisine seems to be a mix of traditional African and incorporated French, which means we should be eating pretty well next weekend (if I don’t screw it up).  One of the best things that has been recommended to see in Chad is the Zakouma National Park. It’s become a refuge and protected area for much of the local wildlife. The best time to see them would be in March and April when the animals make their way to the watering holes. The rainy season comes in June through October which makes travel really hard, causing many creeks and rivers swell to twice its normal size.

Up next: holidays and celebrations

BURKINA FASO: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Landlocked away in western Africa, surrounded by countries with more familiar names, Burkina Faso lies on the southern edge of the Sahel – the transitional area between the Sahara Desert and the Savannas. Susceptible to seasonal droughts, deforestation and a high risk for communicable diseases, the country’s vital statistics are often heartbreakingly dismal: 9^th highest infant mortality rate, not enough doctors, only 6 years of school life, a life expectancy of only 54 years, 4^th highest birth rate, 8^th in the world for children under age 5 to be underweight, 21% literacy rate, 47% live below the poverty line, 77% unemployment rate, only 11% of the total population has access to clean water and sanitation.

But it’s not all bad news. The name Burkina Faso comes from two of the main native languages in the country: Burkina means “men of integrity” in Mòoré; and Faso means “fatherland” in Dioula. Its capital Ouagadougou [this is the French way of spelling of Wagadugu] is derived from the Ninsi tribal language meaning “where people get honor and respect.”  The city lies pretty much in the center of the country and has about 1.6 million people.

Originally this land was the home of the Mossi peoples. There were several Mossi kingdoms spread across the area, but two of the largest and more powerful were the Wagadugu and the Yatenga. Later, the French arrived and declared it as a protectorate in 1896, renaming it Upper Volta. It was named after its proximity to the Volta River Basin (which there is actually a Black Volta, White Volta, and a Red Volta River).  In 1960, the country officially declared its independence from France and governed itself under the name of Republic of Upper Volta. There were a series of coups and the constant changing of regimes, followed by and resulted in decades of governmental instability. It was President Thomas Sankara who changed the name of the country to Burkina Faso in 1984 (who ended up being killed in a coup three years later).

Because the French had taken control of the area for so long, French is considered the official languages. Ninety percent of the people speak African languages that belong to the Sudanic language family. However, three of the most-spoken languages are also officially recognized as regional languages: Mòoré, Mandinka, and Bambara.

As far as religion goes, there’s a saying in Burkina Faso that pretty much sums it up: “50% Muslim, 50% Christian, 100% animist.”  For the majority of Burkinabé people [Burkinabé is the word used to describe people, things, and the culture of Burkina Faso], they may choose to either be Muslim or Christian, but they will always maintain a connection with the spiritual traditions of their ancestors.

Because the country lies in the Sahel region, there is a definite rainy and dry season. This affects crop production drastically, and they constantly suffer from the results of drought. Many Burkinabé choose to leave the country in order to get work, mostly to Côte d’Ivoire or Ghana. There is some gold mining done in Burkina Faso, and they rely on gold exports as well as exports of cotton, their main cash crop.

The AIDS prevalence is 1.2%, twice what it is in the United States [four times more than Canada; six times more than the UK], but it’s towards the lower end compared with other African countries. This certainly affects other aspects of health and socioeconomic statistics and general quality of life standards. However, a UNAIDS report in 2011 reported that there has been a significant decline HIV/AIDS in pregnant women for those who attend antenatal clinics. Another highly disturbing statistic is that over 72% of girls and women have suffered from female genital mutilation (according to a 2005 WHO report). This practice is found from the Horn of Africa up through Egypt and across the Sahel countries. From the efforts of a brave few, now many countries, including Burkina Faso, have now enacted legislature against this horrific unnecessary practice.

If I remember my basic French, I think it says "AIDS is a reality. I'm informed,  what about you?" Or something.  

I’m excited to take a new look at this lesser-known country, to explore its culture and its almost-undiscovered beauties.  As I’m slowly finding in this world, people are amazing in their tenacity to maintain the gumption used to create beauty in art or music or create a delicious meal despite the sometimes bleak situations that are handed to them through no fault of their own. Since I’ve already picked out my recipes – which sound really awesome – I’m excited to come back to an area of the world that has increasingly grown on me: West Africa.

Up next: Holidays and Celebrations