Little more than one month ago, I urged Eureka Street readers to stand by the people of Sudan in their moment of hope and fear. Today, we can reflect on the challenges overcome and those that still lie ahead for the people of what look sure be independent North and South Sudanese states.
During the Christmas season, we anxiously awaited a historic referendum: the keystone to Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement. As we prayed for a peaceful outcome, we prepared for the worst; while January's vote held for Sudan the promise of desperately-needed change, the threat of violence and bloody civil war once again loomed in the region.
From 9 January, Sudanese people flocked by the millions to polling stations across the south and queued for hours to imprint their thumb on ballot papers. As the polls closed on 14 January, more than 3.1 million voters in Southern Sudan — 83 per cent of those registered — had voted.
Whether they voted in favour of unity or for independent states, this act of self-determination was the first step towards lasting peace in Sudan.
The final result of the referendum is due to be announced on 14 February, but the preliminary count shows more than 98 per cent of voters in favour of secession. It appears likely that Southern Sudan will declare its independence from the North in July 2011.
To date our worst fears have been allayed. Neither the vote nor its presumed outcome have ignited the bloody conflict of Sudan's past, and mass migration from North to South — more than 1.5 million people so far — has not yet created the kind of humanitarian challenge aid agencies prepared for.
But a vote for independence, despite its political and symbolic significance, is just the beginning for a vulnerable Southern Sudan. The people now face the challenge of nation-building, no easy feat for a region plagued by political rivalry and displaying some of the world's worst development indicators.
Following the release of results later this month, the leaders of both the North and the South will be charged with negotiating the logistics of an arduous separation.
During six months of transition, they must decide how borders will be demarcated; how citizenship for those displaced from their homes shall