South Sudan get's its independence at midnight TONIGHT (EA Time)! Amazing. There has been extreme fighting and civil war there for five decades. Extreme fighting, extreme poverty, extreme everything. This doesn't completely end the fighting or solve the poverty issues but its a start. I was reading some stats about this new country and right now it meets the requirements of a failed state. "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 per cent of children do not make it to their fifth birthday. About three-quarters of adults cannot read. Only 1 per cent of households have a bank account." (taken from the Sydney Morning Herald-click on the quote to read the full article). That's a tough way to start a country but I guess you have to start somewhere. The odds were stacked against the US when it cut ties with Britain but look at what happened. Its possible.
Happy Birthday South Sudan!
PS- I've been watching the news coverage all night- listening to the commentators, watching the dancers. But now, 30 minutes before they are actually independent, the TV station has stopped covering it and has turned on Jaws. Not cool NTV, not cool. I wanted to see the big moment when it happened in Sudan! Plus they started Jaws in the middle! Come on!
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