Irony of stateless Sudanese after independence

South Sudan has become independent but it has left thousands of stateless people in its wake.

How both the North and South are going to deal with determination of citizenship is a cause of worry because it is a post-referendum issue that was never resolved.

There are fears that Southerners in the North and Northerners in the South could be left stateless and vulnerable to attacks after the split.

During the 22 years of war, many displaced Southerners settled in the North and have no links with South Sudan.

However, both Northerners in the South and Southerners in the North could be vulnerable to eviction, loss of citizenship, even retributive threats and violence by the two host governments.

Both the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) are currently grappling with the issue of citizenship, given that there are thousands – if not millions – of Southerners in the North who are not interested in moving back home.

The minister for Information, Mr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said that people who have lived in South Sudan for a long period will qualify for dual citizenship.

He argued that it would be unfair to expect those who have stayed in the South for many years to just pack up and leave overnight.

“Those who have stayed here for a long time and would like to get South Sudan citizenship will apply and will definitely be considered according to their years of residence.

“And should they choose to go back to the North, we shall not object to them getting citizenship there,” said Mr Marial.

The South Sudan constitution, which President Salva Kiir signed into law yesterday, allows for dual citizenship.

But President Omar al-Bashir had ruled out the possibility that Southerners residing in the North will be granted citizenship if the South secedes, and some senior officials in Mr Bashir’s National Congress Party have made threatening speeches about Southerners who continue to reside in the North.

However, some NCP members maintained that President al-Bashir’s threat was issued in the heat of the moment and was aimed at scaring the South from voting for secession during the January referendum.

While the South is quick to assure Northerners that they will not be targeted should they decide to remain, the situation might change, especially if Southerners in the North are harassed.

There are Southerners who were pushed to the North because of war and have never known any other home. Then there are Northerners were went to the South to do business, married there and are too attached to leave.

Some Southerners desire citizenship in the North, while others want to return to the South as soon as possible, regardless of the unavailability of basic services.

There are about 10,000 Southerners who have been living in Dongola in the extreme North since 1986. They went to school, married and are now settled there.

Many Southerners living in the North are second or even third generation and use Arabic as a first language.