Excitement Brews as Sudan Completes Historic Vote

The future of Sudan, a country that has been involved in brutal civil war between its northern and southern regions for years, is seeing new light after a historic referendum was passed Sunday, Jan. 9 to decide whether or not the southern region should secede and form a separate country. 

"Personally, I never saw this day coming," Joan Hecht said, founder and president of the Alliance for Lost Boys of Sudan, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. "There's been so much war and violence. This is a road that came with huge sacrifice."

The referendum, which lasted from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, was the result of a 2005 peace treaty between the northern and southern regions of the country.  The ethnic and religious differences between the Muslim North and Christian and animist South have caused a brutal civil war. For southern Sudanese, the referendum is a momentous occasion, representing years of struggle for independence.

"We were happy that the war was over," said Makwei Mabioor Deng, a junior at George Washington University studying philosophy with a scholarship from the Banaa program.  The program provides scholarships for four-year undergraduate education to Sudanese refugees affected by the war.  

Deng lived in a refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing his home in Sudan because of the fighting.  He said that war has always been a part of his life and that he is excited to enter into a time when his rights will be respected.  

"It will give me the opportunity to be in a country that I can call mine," Deng said of the likely secession.

At the end of the voting period on Jan. 15, the results seemed to be largely in favor of secession. The final results are estimated to be ready at the beginning of February.  

Previously, there have been few predictions of the possibility of peace between the two nations, but lately the tone of the discussion has changed.  Experts are now making more positive predictions that peace is possible, predictions partially based on the smoothness of the voting process.  

"It was peaceful beyond what I expected," Deng said.

Hecht was also pleased with the peaceful voting process. "I think the mood of the boys was excited, mixed with a little hesitancy about what the north would do," she said. "We were a little apprehensive."

If the vote comes in favor of southern independence, a lot will need to be done to maintain peace and stability in the region. One of the major concerns is oil, of which the north is dependent. Oil can be found primarily in southern Sudan.