Birth of a Nation

Unlike the overtly racist film from the turn of the 20th century, as of yesterday we can celebrate the formation of the world's newest country, South Sudan. I say this as a digest my freshly finished coffee, which could possibly come from this new nation in the next decade or so.

The creation of this country came from a referendum in January that was overwhelmingly voted for by over 90% of the people of then southern Sudan, based on years of bloodshed and millions of lives lost. The hope is to bring peace to this region. Check out this video from CNN International.

Now, this new country faces several problems. It has emerged as one of the poorest nations in Africa and has very little infrastructure and a high mortality rate. It's economic potential is great, but only with prudent fiscal management and a lack of corruption. Plus, there is oil, but much of that is on the new border, in which disputes still exist.

I'm really excited to see how South Sudan will be a year from now. I hope when I am sipping my coffee then, I can proudly say that its from a peaceful and successful South Sudan. Or even better, I'm in a quaint coffee shop in Juba, South Sudan's capital.