Friday 8th July 2011, the eve of South Sudan’s independence from the Republic of Sudan. Juba has been busy busy busy getting the city ready for the big day. A major clean up has been underway for some weeks with the few paved roads being swept clean of sand and the gardens cleaned up. Plastic bottles have been burnt round the clock and scrap metal exported by the truck-load. And you can see the difference! Walking back from leaving drinks at the Red Cross we saw the first street lights up and running, allowing one to see the huge pits in the pavement dug ready for the other street lights. Parades have started and long streams of cars, truck and motorbikes pour down the roads sounding their horns with people cheering.
With Independence comes journalists and they have arrived in their droves. Telephoto lenses are the order of the day and video cameras swarm the streets and occasionally the hospital. It has certainly become a lot easier to wield a camera in the last few days; having been frequently stopped by police when a lens has been seen in the last few months yesterday I could stand at the countdown roundabout, surrounded by armed soldiers and snap away (though not of them!).
A lunch out with Angelo, one of the doctors here was an experience and certainly caused a stir in the restaurant- ‘since when did white people eat Dinka food’ being the order of the day. Angelo swiftly replying ‘when they walk with a Dinka, they eat like a Dinka’ bringing smiles to the faces of all. The Dinka are the largest tribe here, originally cattle herders many are now involved in business and politics. They are staggering tall (one of the tallest races on earth we have been told, and I will agree having being dwarfed by them). They often have tribal scarring in the form of three diagonal lines on each side of the forehead, though such scarification has been outlawed recently. Many of the tribes have different scars, performed when they are young to differentiate their tribal origins, though the precise reason seems lost in the mists of time.
Anyway, we will be at the hospital tomorrow to see any of the sick who arrive. Hopefully the big day will go off without a hitch and our day will be quiet! With so many politicians and dignitaries coming from across the globe it will be an exciting day for all.
Happy Independence!
Heidi chatting to Dr Mergani (O&G consultant) whilst we wait for a lift home
South Sudan basketball team training for their first game on 11th July
A group of women working hard to keep juba clean and clean
James teaching the students during a power cut - so back to the white board
Increasing students numbers coming to our teaching
A poster on a truck
The corridor near our office - being painted and new beds and mattresses in preparation for independence
Enjoying a traditional Dinka lunch of Akop (animal intestine and sorghum) wutg Dr Angelo
A VERY busy central countdown roundabout yesterday
Taking advantage of being able to take pictures with all the journalists in town
Some independence posters
The sign outside the hospital
A start to the carnival atmosphere sure to arrive in force tomorrow
Stretchers and first aid kit ready for the celebrations
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