Blog #9: South Sudan's dreams slipping away already

            South Sudan's hopes and dreams are slipping away as residents now only see corruption and an uncaring government. People such as Davidka Clement made the trek from their villages to Juba, South Sudan after hearing that South Sudan, which had fought for decades for its independence from Sudan, would become an independent country with its own leaders, who would care about people like her. However, when the country of South Sudan became a reality, despite much celebration, it did not change the circumstances for poor women such as Davidka. She is only one out of many among the pebble women of Rock City. These women tap rocks together in order to break them down into piles of pebbles to then be sold to a nearby quarry, where people buy gravel by the truckload for road building and construction. It takes a whole 10 days to be able to make a pile that is 10 feet high and there are many sellers in Rock City with few buyers. People like Clement only make about $1 per day. She states "There's nothing." "What do you do? You just come and do your work. I go home, my body is in pain. I cry, but I come back." The freedom that she and others had hoped for was not supposed to be like this. Having been long marginalized by the Sudanese government, the southern part of the country was one of the most destitute and least developed places on the Earth. However, last year's peaceful succession sparked a surge of hope among the South Sudanese. They felt that with their own flag, oil, and government, they would be able to build a decent country.  But the government has taken the path of many other rebels turned leaders. Corruption and nepotism are common, public services are negligible, and there is more demolition than reconstruction.  The government recently suspended oil production in which accounts for 98% of its revenue, due to a dispute with Sudan. The joy of independence has vanished as only a strict economy remains. Poor people came to the city in hopes that the government was going to help them but the government doesn't want to help. Promise of a better life in Juba, due to South Sudan's oil money, also drew thousands of Kenyans and Ugandans. But hospitals, schools, and medical clinics are scarce, and the ones that are around are scruffy and grim. Private clinics are trying to make it, but even they are struggling to make ends meet. There are costs of basic services such as water and electricity that the government doesn't provide. Further deteriorating conditions and corruption are serious problems. The management has failed as they have taken oil for personal benefit and some politicians have millions while others have nothing. The government is also demolishing the shops of poor shopkeepers in order to make "improvements." However, many of these shopkeepers worry if they will ever get their land back. People such as Clement just wish that the government would look at them as someone who is poor and offer them work so that they can survive.    

            The poor and disadvantaged in South Sudan are facing vast social inequalities. The poor are marginalized and socially stratified based on their low social class and lack of power, wealth, and prestige. It is the corrupt government and elite that profit and have millions while others continue to have nothing. But poverty is a social problem that the majority of the world’s population has to face as 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day and with people such as Davidka Clement living on even less than that, earning only a $1 a day. Poverty is a social problem that has an objective element as it can be measured and is also a subjective idea as it is experienced, felt, and lived through. The poor living in Sudan are experiencing and living through extreme conditions just to survive as their government has become completely corrupted. The poor within the country of South Sudan are kept poor because the rich and corrupt government is making them so. The government is causing the poor to have to be dependent. This inherent system of stratification in South Sudan is causing their society to have unfair divisions between the poor and the elite. Within the article, Davidka had also noted that she had been working since she was a child and like most girls in her village, she did not attend school. This shows how based on gender, people within South Sudan are stratified as well. Women are less likely to attend school and they are more likely to have to work under poor conditions, remaining poor. This can also be an example of the feminization of poverty as the majority of the world’s impoverished people are women and children. The women of South Sudan, especially the rock working women are an example of how impoverished some of the women in this country actually are. But these impoverished people of South Sudan have no control over their situation as it is the powerful elite that control the political, economic, cultural, and social institutions of their society. Thus, some serious social changes need to be made in the South Sudanese society to help the poor to better survive. Many countries need mobilization for action to try and fight against this social injustice as class stratification has become a serious social issue in many countries around the world.   

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-south-sudan-rock-city-20120322,0,6044263.story?page=1&utm_medium=feed&track=rss&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld%20%28L.A.%20Times%20-%20World%20News%29&utm_source=feedburner