Susan Page still remembers the excitement she felt when she arrived in Juba, South Sudan, as the first US ambassador to the world’s newest country in the summer of 2011.
“You don't get to be the first at something like that,” Ms Page tells The National.
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Khartoum after more than 99 per cent of South Sudanese voted to secede from the north.
It was the product of decades of violence, one of Africa’s longest-running civil wars and years of delicate negotiations led by successive US administrations.
The story of South Sudan once captivated the world’s attention, thanks in large part to the work of celebrities including film star George Clooney, who advocated for the country’s establishment on the world stage.
On the day of independence, then-president Barack Obama celebrated the establishment of South Sudan.
“Today is a reminder that after the darkness of war, the light of a new dawn is possible,” Mr Obama said.
“A proud flag flies over Juba and the map of the world has been redrawn.”
But the hope and optimism of that day quickly faded.
Former child soldiers wait in line in the war-torn region of Yambio, South Sudan, during a graduation ceremony from a programme that aims to help them reintegrate into society. AFP
Ms Page, who spent much of her professional career working on Sudan, had seen warning signs of some of the issues South Sudan would face years earlier, during her work on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the early 2000s.
The agreement ended the 22-year civil war and outlined a path to the referendum six years later.
But the former ambassador wasn't confident the peace agreement would hold long enough for the South to make it to the vote.
“I was pretty sceptical that they would actually get to the referendum,” Ms Page said.
She knew the players and problems and quickly realised that even if the referendum took place, it would not be a panacea.
“I had witnessed the parties, the southerners in particular, during meetings, for instance, with the assessment and evaluation commission, and just how woefully underprepared they were,” Ms Page said.
The South had been neglected for decades. On top of establishing a government and state institutions necessary for any country, it had to build infrastructure, procure electricity and deal with the long established divides between its various sects and tribes.
If you don't have any other way to make money or have a chance to be sitting on top somewhere, your only option is to go into government. So it's very hard to see how are they going to stop the corruption
Susan Page
Ultimately that proved too great a task.
In December 2013, war broke out between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and those who supported Vice President Riek Machar.
Between 2013 and 2018, almost 400,000 South Sudanese were killed in fighting based on ethnic divides.
Another almost 2.3 million South Sudanese were forced to flee their homes, becoming refugees and asylum seekers.
“To see it go so, so badly, even what you predicted you couldn't predict,” Ms Page said.
The US decided to suspend its operations in Juba, ordering the evacuation of all non-essential staff and stopping consular services.
Ms Page said the US made the decision knowing the ramifications it could have.
“Recognising that if we left and closed our doors, the message that we would be sending to everyone else, that there was really no hope,” she said.
South Sudanese rivals President Salva Kiir, right, and rebel leader Riek Machar, left, with Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, second left, during peace talks hosted by Sudan's former president Omar Al Bashir, second right, on June 25, 2018. Reuters
A soldier of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, predecessor to the South Sudan People's Defence Forces, gestures as he sits in a vehicle in the capital Juba, on December 21, 2013. Reuters
Families displaced by the civil war in South Sudan gather to be registered to receive food rations at a makeshift camp inside the UN Mission in Sudan's centre in Jabel, on the outskirts of Juba, on December 23, 2013. Reuters
South Sudanese soldiers gather for a briefing at the army general headquarters in Juba, on January 8, 2014. Reuters
Women displaced by the fighting in Bor county hug each other in the port in Minkaman, in Awerial county, Lakes state, South Sudan, on January 15, 2014. Reuters
A displaced mother tends to her sick child at a UN hospital at Tomping camp, where some 15,000 displaced people who fled their homes are shelterednear South Sudan's capital Juba on January 7, 2014. Reuters
A baby sleeps next to a woman at a Catholic church in Malakal, South Sudan, on January 21, 2014. Reuters
A South Sudanese refugee uses his meal card to cover his face as he waits to be served porridge at Imvepi settlement in Arua district, northern Uganda, on April 4, 2017. Reuters
The hardest moment for Ms Page came when she had to put a South Sudanese "lost boy" on a plane to the US.
He had endured the Sudanese Civil war and managed to get to the US as a refugee and obtain a college degree but chose to return to South Sudan to help his fledgling nation.
“That one really broke my heart,” she said.
Looking back on the past 10 years, former US officials cannot help but feel “disappointment” at how the situation unfolded.
Michael Morrow, US charge d’affaires in Juba from 2017 to 2018, called it “a squandered opportunity".
In 2018, Nikki Haley, then US ambassador to the UN, called Mr Kiir and his government an “unfit partner" during a Security Council meeting.
The public redressing complicated Mr Morrow’s relationships in South Sudan, but he said it was not unwarranted.
“If the South Sudanese government wants to freeze us out for a while, because they're angry at us calling it like it is, then fine,” he told The National.
At the end of Mr Morrow's time there, Mr Kiir and Mr Machar signed a peace deal, officially ending the five-year civil war, but the situation remains tense and violence continues to plague the young nation.
Mr Morrow and Ms Page have bleak outlooks for the country.
“I'd like to be hopeful but there's nothing I can grab on to,” Mr Morrow said.
Ms Page said: “If you don't have any other way to make money or have a chance to be sitting on top somewhere, your only option is to go into government.
“So it's very hard to see how are they going to stop the corruption.”
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
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As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
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Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Option 2: 50% across three years
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