Although officially retired, Jan King still makes regular visits to Southern Sudan. She recently returned from there and gave us this account of the situation.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between North and South Sudan in January 2005. The frequently asked question is – Is the peace holding? Well that depends on what we mean by peace. If we mean a sense of total security, the answer must be no. If it means a total absence of fighting, again the answer is no. However, Sudan has changed. Some sort of peace is holding, although it is fragile.
The Agreement made promises which have only partially been kept. Still to be resolved are the thorny issues of the sharing of oil revenues and the demarcation of the border between the North and South, the latter being critical because most of the known oil reserves are in the South.

Despite the Agreement, Southern Sudan is in a state of turmoil. Although some Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) are helping to rebuild roads, schools and hospitals, vast areas are still suffering from the devastation of 22 years of civil war.

Longing for peace

Talking with ordinary people, both northerners and southerners, you know they long to live in peace. They blame the ‘greedy’ politicians and point to the professional fighters who know no other life but that of war. Take Deborah for example. Deborah lives near the oil-rich area of Abyei. This is the area that is in the centre of the boundary demarcation wrangles. In December, some raiders on horseback attacked her village. They caught her nine brothers, locked them in a hut and burnt them all alive. She and her husband and mother escaped.

Returning

Refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya that have been home to tens of thousands are being closed as the UN repatriates the Sudanese to their home areas. One million have already returned and those who stayed in Sudan but were internally displaced people (IDPs in the jargon of those involved with refugee work), are also returning home, many after more than twelve years.

Impact

What is the impact on the churches? The return of so many exiles means that churches in some parts are once again full as people gather for fellowship and worship. Pastors are coming back with big plans for evangelism and church planting.

But this is not true across the whole of the region. Kabina, who comes from the Nuba Mountains in the centre of the country, spent many years away from her village hiding in the mountains. “During the war years, the churches were flourishing,” she told me, “but now there is a decline. This is due to the presence of NGOs, that are offering high salaries to anyone with a reasonable standard of education.” Church members and pastors are being lured away from the churches. She begs Christians in the West to pray that the believers will remain faithful.

God’s promise

God has given promises concerning the Sudanese – the people of Cush. “From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshippers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings.” (Zephaniah 3:10) Let us pray that it will be soon.

About the author

Although officially retired, Jan King still makes regular visits to Southern Sudan. She recently returned from there and gave us this account of the situation.

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