Anxiety News
Amid anxiety and hope, southern Sudanese vote in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 9 (UPI) — The shriek echoed down the line and everyone turned. The shriek didn’t come from fear or anger. Instead it was filled with laughter, tears and happiness. Then, all the southern Sudanese women in the line joined in with ululations, jubilant changing and a chorus of “Hallelujah!”
Some carried the Christian cross, others waved the flag of southern Sudan,. A pregnant woman massaged her stomach to attract the cameras’ attention to what is written on her T-shirt: “The Mighty Moment: Go Southern Sudan. Go.”
More than 2,000 registered voters were expected to cast their ballots at just one of the polling places set up in Nairobi. Voters started queuing at 3 a.m., bracing against a chilly night, but everyone trying to be the first one to vote. There were pregnant women, mothers carrying babies, disabled people leaning on walking sticks, sons and daughters holding the hands of elderly parents. A blind woman chanted excitedly as she was led down a corridor.
“I am so excited,” said Ruot Chawgath Kai, who works with the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission in Kenya. “When God opens that door today, no one will be able to stop Southern Sudan from seceding.”
The 2011 Southern Sudan Referendum is giving the people of southern Sudan the opportunity to vote for secession from northern Sudan. If the vote is affirmed, then the world will get its newest state on July 9.
The voting will last a week, until Saturday, and will require a turnout of 60 percent. This means that more than 2.3 million out of the 3.9 million registered voters must vote for the referendum to count.
The SSRC, a body that is independent from the governments of Sudan or Southern Sudan, alongside the International Organization of Migration is running the Out-of-Country Voting and Registration.
The OCV will also take place in eight countries — Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom — in addition to Sudan.
The Referendum Commission said those eight countries were chosen because they are densely populated by communities of South Sudanese outside Sudan.
“It is a possibility that the referendum result will be accepted, given the successful voter registration, and this gives the commission high hope,” said Achuoth Philip Deng, the commission’s representative in Kenya.
About 4 million people are registered to vote in the referendum, he said. Kenya leads the way for out-of-country voting, with more than 15,000 southern Sudanese registered.
The referendum is taking place in eight centers around Kenya. Two centers are in Nairobi, one each in Eldoret, Nakuru, Kitale, one in the Dadaab refugee camp, and two more centers in Kakuma refugee camp.
Deng said Kenyan police officers will be deployed at the eight voting stations around the country during the seven-day process of voting.
At Blue Springs Hotel, one of the two voting centers in Nairobi, people were ecstatic.
As voters trickled into the center on time, there was mismanagement as to how they were supposed to line up. As disorder affected the queuing process, officials from the SSRC were at a loss on how to control the crowds, as voters started pushing each other for space.
Even so, voters were determined to stay in line until they vote.
“People are eager to vote” said Oliver Bakata Frazer, head of the Consideration Committee at the voting station. “They came here at 3 in the morning, and they are determined to finish the process.”
Electoral observers arrived early to witness the referendum kickoff at 8 a.m. Representatives from the Institute for Education, Sudan Council of Churches, All Africa Conference of Churches, the Carter Center and Kenya’s Interim Independent Electoral Commission were all in attendance.
“I believe us, the youth in Kenya, more than others, will change the future of southern Sudan,” said Stephen Duol, who was draped with a Southern Sudanese flag as he voted. “It is a change we believe in. Yes, we can.”
Wiederer: Duke turns anxiety into momentum in crunch time
If you’re looking for the time period of Sunday night’s ACC clash during which No. 1 Duke turned its anxiety into momentum, let me save you the research. It started with 17:23 left against Maryland with a peculiar substitution by coach Mike Krzyzewski and ended 6 minutes and 22 seconds later with any nerves the Blue Devils had been feeling replaced with a winning combination of aggression and positive energy.
So who’s to credit for the surge that allowed Duke to surface from a wild scrum at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 71-64 win? Freshman Tyler Thornton.
Yes, that Tyler Thornton, the young guard who sat out Duke’s entire ACC opener against Miami last weekend and remained cemented to the bench for the entire first half Sunday.
Common sense said Thornton would be in his warm-ups for the entire night against Maryland. How could Coach K possibly feel comfortable throwing such an untested rookie into a game more feisty than any Duke had played this season?
Yet sometimes instinct overrules common sense. Which is why Krzyzewski gave Thornton a point with 17:23 remaining, sent him into the game to replace Andre Dawkins, then sat back for the next 6:22 and watched something special happen.
With a grin on his face as he played defense, Thornton delivered exactly the kind of focus and hustle that will make Duke so darn tough to beat this season.
Using his greatest asset, his fundamentally sound and spirited defense, Thornton lit a fire under the Blue Devils. He showed his teammates he was fearless, ready for all the chaos Sunday night’s game had to offer.
He made a steal from Terrapins guard Pe’Shon Howard and converted it into a pretty floater on the other end. He drew a charge against Howard.
He clapped his hands. He pumped his fists.
“We call Tyler ‘The Bulldog,” Dawkins said. “We put him into the game and we sic him on the other point guard. He was playing defense for 94 feet. He gave our entire team energy. You can’t put into words the boost he gave us tonight.”
Immediately after Thornton entered, Duke delivered a 14-2 run that turned a six-point deficit into a six-point lead.
“He was a difference maker,” Krzyzewski said. “How would you ever predict that?”
The initial surge of the second half had gone miserably for the Devils. Not only had they gone to halftime with plenty to worry about, up just 32-31 and digesting a first half in which they missed nine of 10 3-point attempts, but Maryland began the second half by scoring seven points in the first minute, staggering the defending national champions and leaving Krzyzewski looking for answers.
That the Hall of Fame coach got such a bold performance from Thornton seemed to surprise even him.
In 12 minutes, Thornton contributed four steals, drew two charges and had a strip of Maryland star Jordan Williams on a putback try with 4:00 left.
What’s more, on a night where the Terrapins harassed Nolan Smith all over the floor, Thornton’s ability to lighten Smith’s load by taking over point guard duty for significant stretches steadied Duke.
“Having not played in the first half and really not being part of that seven-man rotation (we have), for Tyler to play as well as he did tonight is really one of the things that make you love coaching,” Krzyzewski said.
Krzyzewski knew from the first day he recruited Thornton that the kid had something special. His big-game experience playing at Gonzaga High in Washington and with D.C. Assault in the AAU ranks has given him an obvious basketball maturity.
It would be an exaggeration to label Duke’s win season-changing. But it would be similarly naïve to dismiss the possibility that such a determined comeback fueled by Thornton’s hustle will propel the Blue Devils to be a more complete team.
“This is a great win for us. Are you kidding me?” Krzyzewski said. “We’re not this great basketball team. We’re a good basketball team that has to gain experience, gain maturity and learn.”