Yesterday was a remarkable one in Southern Sudan. After decades of violence, Southern Sudanese went to the polls to vote on independence from the North. And it was peaceful. I drove nine hours into the Sudan’s Outback, through the scrub, rocks and occasional palm trees (who knew?) to polling sites beneath shade trees. People had waited for this day for decades and were very excited. On the way back, I saw some kids splashing in a stream, having a great time. Not too many years ago, this would have been impossible because most of the villages nearby had been burned by Northern soldiers and were empty.
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