Bring hope to Sudanese

By Cho Kwang-geol

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, born in 1948, visited his home country, the Republic of Korea, under patronage of the U.N. His visit fell on the Aug. 15 Liberation Day reminded Korean a deep relationship with U.N.

Under the leadership of Ban, the 193rd member state of U.N. was born July 9 in Africa. The newest and poorest country is the Republic of South Sudan overwhelmed by delights of independence.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Dongo is also a fairly new African state, created in 2009 not on the map but in the book “Dead Aid” written by female African economist Dr. Dambisa Moyo. Dongo, and reflects representative images of fictitious African states; a dream country free of aid.

Three guests appeared uninvited at an inaugural party on the night of Aug. 13; debt, oil and currency with the worst nightmare of Darfur. How can the approximate $35 billion of foreign debt, half of the 2009 GDP be shared? History tells of the “final beneficiary principle” based on the cases of Yugoslavia divided into Montenegro and Serbia, and Bangladesh, now independent from Pakistan.

It hardly seems acceptable for North Sudan to take over most of the foreign debt because 80 percent of oil wells should be handed over to the south. The south may be classified as a highly indebted poor country (HIPC), which can be exempted from some debt under general consideration of donors.

The north reportedly made an astonishing “zero option” decision of charging the whole debt. Now the ball moves into donors’ courts; HIPC treatment can be reviewed under the Paris Club relief program. But it take time, from months to years in previous cases, to obtain membership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and HIPC relief would not result in the total cancellation of Sudan’s debt. It still has remaining to settle future debt sharing after debt minimization.

It is over oil that rising China has been so suggestive to the two Sudans, especially the south; considerably credited for its independence. Some economists argue for “curse of oil.” Jeffrey Sachs, a special adviser to Ban, showed in a study that the resource-rich grow more slowly than other poor countries.

This apparent paradox is explained by “Dutch Disease”; a sudden influx of foreign revenues often provokes a sharp appreciation of domestic currency, making non-oil sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing less competitive.

Corruption tends to follow natural resources such as oil, diamonds and gold. If leaders in the two Sudans take “attractive” ways say, corruption or armed forces under the auspice of “neo-imperialism,” then curses on “Dead Dongo;” corruption, as fundamental cause of poverty, inequity and despotism, cannot take root in an aid-free state.

New currency policy may cause social unrest and economic turmoil, since hard currency savings disappeared into thin air while just 1 percent of southerners have a bank account.

Cross trade may wane. Southerners in the north are likely to become expatriates. Security is another problem. The 2,100 kilometer border is eight times longer than the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. Conquering freedom may lead to bloodshed in Darfur, but securing liberty requires responsibility for society and future generations.

Late Korean priest Father Lee Tae-suk had volunteered and dreamed together with locals in poverty-stricken villages of South Sudan for last eight years. The movie “Don’t Cry for Me Sudan” featuring Lee’s life made many Koreans cry burning tears. His life has Sudanese people dreaming for a better life.

Now the story is well known stories worldwide since Brisitsh parliamentarian D. Alton reportedly presented the film to a high-level official of North Korea. Even late at night medical services were kindly provided with bright big smile in Lee’s house. His music soothed child soldiers, and guided them to pick up trumpets and drum sticks instead of guns. They can enjoy learning math, languages. They can seize the light of hope for life, medicine for sin.

To help the Sudanese enjoy education and health is a moral duty; one classroom has 129 students, 72 percent of the population is under 30 years old, 80 percent does not have access to toilet facilities.

Small effective projects are more recommendable to address these issues when considering population density is 13 per square kilometers. Lee (Known as Djonny to the locals) tried his best to meet local needs. His devotion has led to improve the capacity of solving problems in Sudan in a peaceful way.

Capacity building to absorb available resources for socio-economic development is imperative. How about opening “Djonny Program” under the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) or a global program with other donors?

Like the U.N. Millennium Village project, the simply put African version of the Saemaeul (New Community) Movement, co-financed by KOICA with major donors, I dream that global communities get together to promote the spirit of Djonny. The more that is shared, the better the world will be.

The writer is a director at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The article does not represent the organization the writer belongs to