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Fundamental Problem of Sudan
Abyei sits at Sudan’s troubled north-south crossroads on the front line of Africa’s longest war. Abyei is a microcosm. It faces local problems that reflect the national issues: religion, race, ethnicity, tribe, culture, water, land and oil. Foremost among these is water.
History of Wars
Shortly after Sudan’s independence, the central government in Khartoum armed Missiriya tribes inhabiting areas north of Abyei. Known as Marahleen, meaning a mobile force of warriors on horses, they depopulate the area of the Ngok Dinka by a factor of 85%.
Return of the Displaced A historic return of people displaced by war is underway in South Sudan. But the returnees often have very little. With no services in many villages, the returnees are facing a crisis. At the heart of it is water.
Promises of Liberation Since the mid 1980s, the vision of a New Sudan began to spread northwards to Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile, the Beja region in the East, and lately Darfur in the West. The New Sudan is indeed in the making.
Image and Likeness of a New Sudan Abyei holds possibilities of peaceful coexistence across potentially divisive religious, racial, and ethnic lines. That is why some suggest that Abyei could be a model for a New Sudan.
Abyei Area Recovery to Development Roadmap The Abyei Recovery to Development Roadmap is a people led planning process that produced the Abyei Area Strategic Action Plan (AASAP). The AASAP, with its nine strategic objectives, is consistent with the vision that “Abyei area will be a model of development not only for Southern Sudan but also for the entire marginalized rural areas of the Sudan.” (The late Dr. Garang, June 2004, Agok)
The Role of Sudan ARC
In supporting the implementation of the AASAP, Sudan ARC fills an important gap in the return, reintegration, rehabilitation and reconstruction effort – a New Sudan in the Making.
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