Sudan Still in Crisis!

Early next year, the people of southern Sudan will vote on a referendum as to whether or not to secede from the rest of the country. International observers are concerned that a vote for secession could lead to horrific acts of violence leveled against those southerners still living in the north.

Refugees International (a humanitarian agency working for the protection of displaced people) is calling upon the United Nations to make citizenship issues among their top priorities. The agency said in a new report that the issue of post-referendum citizenship was not being adequately addressed by international organizations involved in the country, including the United Nations and the American government.

If the referendum passes, as most people expect, those who are now considered internally displaced could become refugees overnight. Sudanese from the south who now live in the north would be "key targets for post-referendum violence," the report stated. People “need to think in concrete terms about the possible risks to vulnerable communities," said Joel Charny, vice president for policy at Refugees International and a co-author of the report.

The southern population living in the north is centered in and around Khartoum, Sudan's capital. Though some of the population is relatively affluent, including many university students, the majority is lower-class and works in the underground economy. The agency stated that southerners are already routinely discriminated against -- including being denied housing, employment and government services and even being forcibly moved from the city center to surrounding countryside.

The worst case scenario would be an all out genocide aimed at the more than 1.5 million southerners living in northern Sudan.

The people of Sudan remain in our prayers!