
As I follow events in Southern Sudan and add articles to my headlines timeline, people continually ask me basic questions about Sudan. Below I’ve included a few videos that have recently been posted online. They should provide a descent background for those wanting to learn more as Southern Sudanese are set to what is generally believed to choose to create Africa’s newest independent country.
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Sudan: History of a Broken Land
As the people of southern Sudan prepare to vote in a referendum that may see them secede from the North, Al Jazeera maps the turbulent history of a country on the verge of a momentous decision.
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Crossroads Sudan: Sudan’s path to development
Al Jazeera looks at the economic challenges Sudan will be facing after a possible secession of the South.
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Sudan Referendum
On Sunday, Southern Sudan will begin a week-long referendum on whether to break off from Sudan and form a new independent state. The vote is being held under the 2005 peace agreement that ended a nearly four-decade civil war between the North and South that killed some 2.5 million Sudanese. The people of South Sudan are widely expected to approve secession, and the vote has stoked fears of renewed violence in Africa’s largest nation. by Democracy Now
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To be eligible to participate in the January 9, 2011 referendum, voters must meet one of three criteria as established by the SSRC: 1) Voter who belongs to one of the indigenous ethnic communities residing in the Southern Sudan (on or before January 1956; 2) Voter who traces his/her ancestry to one of the indigenous ethnic communities in Southern Sudan, but has not permanently resided in the south (without interruption) before or since Jan 1956; and 3) voter who does not belong to one of the indigenous ethnic communities in the Southern Sudan, but he/she or his/her parents or grand-parents are permanently residing in the South (without interruption) since 1st January 1956.
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Below are two video interviews by Ariic Reng, Canadian Outreach Assistant with the International Organization for Migration:
Interview with Dr. Mom Kou Nhial Arou, Assistant Secretary General, Southern Sudan Referendum Commission
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Interview with Gatdeet Wakou, Canadian Representative, Southern Sudan Referendum Commission
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