Last year, Bishop Joseph Atem of the Diocese of Renk spoke at my parish and gave us some perspective on the situation. Much of the poverty is situational. For example, how do you get medicine across borders, with war between Sudan and South Sudan and with war in neighboring Brunei? HIV-AIDS has not been a big issue in Sudan or South Sudan because of the large number of people who follow Muslim Sharia law, but it is likely to increase because of the large number of soldiers traveling through. Construction on a new school was delayed because of the war, but families are finding that the bride price – the fee that a groom’s family must pay to a bride’s family before getting married – is going up for young women who have an education. Thus, families in his diocese were excited about the school.
Those observations are good – the sorts of things that would indicate future economic acceleration.
After Bishop Joseph’s visit, the civil war broke out, and South Sudan has gone from bad to worse. The root of the problem is a power struggle. Who would be in charge?
South Sudan could be doing well. The country has oil, and it has a great location for trade along the Nile River. It is held back by the failure of its leadership.
