Birth of a Nation

July 6, 2011 2:56 PM

Birth of a Nation: Republic of South Sudan.

From Wikipedia: A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan was held in January 2011, with 98.83% of the electorate opting for secession. The President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, accepted the results and issued a Republican Decree confirming the outcome of the referendum. Southern Sudan is expected to become an independent country on 9 July 2011. Upon independence, the country is expected to be named Republic of South Sudan.

posted by - (20 comments total)

Southern Sudan is acknowledged to have some of the worst health indicators in the world.[17][87][88] The under-five infant mortality rate is 112 per 1,000, whilst maternal mortality is the highest in the world at 2,053.9 per 100,000 live births.[88] In 2004, there were only three surgeons serving southern Sudan, with three proper hospitals, and in some areas there was just one doctor for every 500,000 people.[17]
posted by goethean at 3:02 PM on July 6, 2011

Well now, that's a rather unfortunate title to choose for the beginning of an African country.

Hats off to South Sudan, anyway.
posted by koeselitz at 3:08 PM on July 6, 2011 [9 favorites]

Am I wrong to expect that the RSS will have compatibility issues?
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 3:12 PM on July 6, 2011 [5 favorites]

I'm a little disappointed they didn't come up with a more original name. I mean, they had an opportunity here.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:57 PM on July 6, 2011 [2 favorites]

Like what--Mortimer McCountrypants?

I, for one, welcome RoSS to the world's nations. Grab a beer, introduce yourself--don't mind North Korea, it's always been like that--and I'll be your wingman when we get close to your ex.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:29 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, is Northern Sudan going to be renamed Rachel?
posted by vidur at 4:44 PM on July 6, 2011 [3 favorites]

I'm a little disappointed they didn't come up with a more original name. I mean, they had an opportunity here.

They should have put the question to AskMe.
posted by The Whelk at 4:49 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'da called it Chazwazza.
posted by Flunkie at 5:00 PM on July 6, 2011 [2 favorites]

One of the suggested names was The Nile Republic which is so absurdly badass
posted by Riptor at 5:08 PM on July 6, 2011 [3 favorites]

When do the Best Sudan jokes start?
posted by mauvest at 5:19 PM on July 6, 2011

Suggestion: SPLA/Malot.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:42 PM on July 6, 2011

I suspect there will be a lot of good links available on Saturday that would make for a good running thread with people adding additions.. it may be cut short though as this thread will be open but old, but a new FPP neutered before it had a chance because of the double rule. Hopefully not a bad omen for the country.
posted by stbalbach at 5:52 PM on July 6, 2011

stbalbach: "I suspect there will be a lot of good links available on Saturday that would make for a good running thread with people adding additions.. it may be cut short though as this thread will be open but old, but a new FPP neutered before it had a chance because of the double rule. Hopefully not a bad omen for the country."

#thirdworldfirstworldproblems?
posted by Rhaomi at 7:14 PM on July 6, 2011

Southern Sudan is acknowledged to have some of the worst health indicators in the world.[17][87][88]

Nowhere to go but up?
posted by rosswald at 7:15 PM on July 6, 2011

Yeah they were worried that Egypt would be upset if they took "Nile Republic" because they own the Nile "brand" or something.
posted by delmoi at 7:36 PM on July 6, 2011

Sudan is No. 3 on the "world's most failed states" list of Foreign Policy magazine:

Sudan is going through a painful divorce. In January, the country's south voted to secede from the north -- an option made possible when a U.S.-brokered peace deal ended a decades-long north-south civil war in 2005. The referendum went smoothly, in part thanks to intensive international pressure on Khartoum to keep things peaceful. But by late spring, things were taking a turn for the worse. Khartoum and Juba, the capital of the new Southern Sudan, never agreed on a border -- and they especially never agreed on who would gain control of Abyei, an oil-rich region long claimed by both sides. In late May, Khartoum's soldiers moved into Abyei town, shelling a U.N. peacekeeping mission and displacing upwards of 100,000 people.

The worst-case scenario for Sudan -- a return to civil war -- is now looming on the horizon. Southern Sudan is set to formally become independent on July 9, but that may not go forward -- or at least not smoothly -- without some agreement over Abyei. In the meantime, the ongoing conflict is keeping Sudan's population of 42 million in a state of terror, particularly the more than 1.5 million who have fled their homes, some of whom are pictured here.

And even if partition goes ahead, Southern Sudan will be born amid a plethora of its own problems, earning it the dubious distinction of being a "pre-failed state." Only half the region's children are in school, a similarly dismal proportion has access to clean water, and 85 percent of adults cannot read or write. And the nascent government-in-the-making set to tackle all these challenges? Its budget is a mere $2.3 billion, about as much as the U.S. Defense Department requested for cybersecurity in 2011.

posted by vidur at 8:54 PM on July 6, 2011

I'm a little disappointed they didn't come up with a more original name. I mean, they had an opportunity here.

South Sudan's tricky name game

Well now, that's a rather unfortunate title to choose for the beginning of an African country.

The movie appropriated the phrase from general American discourse. Maybe it's time to appropriate it back.
posted by dhartung at 11:25 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm sure the new country's leaders will proceed to loot the benefits of sovereignty (foreign aid, taxes, oil concessions) in much the same way as North Sudan. So why bother with a new name.
posted by Philosopher's Beard at 9:00 AM on July 7, 2011

How George Clooney's Satellite Group Is Identifying Mass Graves in Sudan
posted by homunculus at 1:09 PM on July 16, 2011

South Sudan may get .ss as their tld (from a Reuters report):

"We want our domain name to be 'SS' for 'South Sudan', but people are telling us 'SS' has an association in Europe with Nazis," Lugga told Reuters as dogs chased a monkey round a muddy field outside, which is full of containers and prefabricated buildings like his that house other ministry offices.

"Some might prefer us to have a different one," Lugga said. "We have applied for it anyway, SS, and we are waiting for a reply."

posted by immlass at 9:02 AM on July 20, 2011