* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Five hours is a long time for little legs to be standing up, especially as during the last three, the mercury has been steadily climbing into the high thirties. A stern little face peers out at me from behind his mothers’ legs, sizes me up and then very gradually, and upon careful consideration that I am not a threat, his face relaxes. Confidence and curiosity now get the better of this little boy and he points to the camera in my hand, and then looks towards me. It’s hard to refuse his now cheeky grin, and so I oblige him by taking out my camera and together we proceed to take close up pictures of my driver’s legs and feet to the amusement of the onlookers around us.
A week-long independence referendum is underway, for nearly four million registered voters. Although the heat is becoming oppressive, the mood remains buoyant amongst the crowd at the polling station, who patiently await their turn to be a part of history.
The little boy’s mother, Wilma, wasn’t going to miss the opportunity and was determined to vote on the very first day the process started. “Independence is the chance for a new life”, she explains. “Yes, there have been challenges...so many challenges…But, we are also a resilient people and this is our chance to shine.”
Wilma explains that growing up in Southern Sudan had not been easy. There had been decades of civil war, the most recent of which ended in 2005, while natural disasters such as drought and floods brought worsened hardship. For Wilma, education had been very difficult to access regularly. A lack of facilities, lack of qualified teachers and also access to educational facilities have all played their part in restricting her right to education. Wilma feels it’s important to vote not only for her own future, but that of her family and her budding cameraman son, who has since discovered the zoom function on my camera, and has progressed to now taking close ups of our driver’s knees.
Like other agencies, Plan has been planning for this historic event for a while. We are looking to now expand our contingency plan to support returnees. Following another recent in-depth assessment it is becoming clear that education as well as other key areas - including livelihoods recovery, food security and water, sanitation and hygiene - are developing as urgent gaps in Plan operational areas as the population swells with permanent returnees from the North and surrounding countries. More support will be needed to manage the not only the long term expectations of the populations, but also their immediate, basic needs in order to sustain people in a dignified manner.
There is little in the way of shade at this queue that Wilma and Alafe are in, as they continue their slow walk to the voting booth. The dust and grass continue to be kicked up by the voters in a shuffling line, or by impromptu celebratory dancing by youth groups and jubilant voters. Wilma and Alafe are probably now another hour or so away from casting their vote for “two”, but another hour is a small price to pay in order to have their voices heard. It will then be up to us – the international community – to ensure that their voices are afforded the opportunities to be heard, as they continue onwards, on their journey out of humanitarian crisis, to sustainable long term development.
