"South Sudan! Oiyaay!"

How heartily did we shout that phrase last July? Again and again until we were hoarse but still we cheered in our jubilation. Standing in Juba under the hot equa- torial sun with tens of thou- sands of people we screamed for joy as the flag of Sudan was lowered for the last time and the new flag of South Sudan was raised. After decades of brutal civil war, during which millions died and millions more suffered, South Sudan would now be free, joining the ranks of nations, its residents no longer second-class citizens to the Arabic, Islamic government of Sudan.

The separation of Sudan into two nations happened not as a result of bullets but through ballots. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended decades of civil war included a provision for a referendum by the people of the south on whether to remain united with the north. Ninety-nine percent of those voting chose to create the new nation of South Sudan that was born amidst hope and promise.

But what has happened to the hope? Has South Sudan become a prosperous democracy, living in peace with its neighbors? Or has South Sudan become another failed state ruled by a corrupt elite while embroiled in seemingly endless armed conflicts, both internal and external?

In truth, neither extreme has occurred though aspects of both have been realized. The people of South Sudan still hope, but that hope is now tinged with frustration at the slow pace of improvement in the lives of ordinary South Sudanese a year after independence.

South Sudan's economy is struggling, thanks to an oil embargo against the north. The south chose unilaterally to stop pumping oil in January after the north, through which the one pipeline that carries the south's oil to market traverses, confiscated oil for payment of pipeline transit fees. Since then, both Sudans have been unable to reach an agreement that would allow oil to start flowing again. Like a married couple suffering through a bad divorce, the two sides are unable to agree on most issues; both nations seem to operate on the hope that the other will collapse first.

DEPENDENCE ON OIL