The Elephants Are Coming

My wife and I have been going to Sudan for a lot of years and have three children from that land. One of the realities that always haunted us on every journey was the ominous lack of wildlife.  At certain times during the long running civil war, when the gunfire had died down, days went by without the call of even a bird. All forms of animal life had left in huge migrations away from the violence and their historic grazing grounds. During the war we would hunker down with some of the soldiers and listen to their stories of lions and gazelles that used to pass by their respective villages when they were children.  It was just another sad tale, like the thousands we heard voiced over the years - the silent price of war.But new life is coming to south Sudan in numerous dimensions. The signing of the peace accords between north and south Sudan ushered in a new age of hope and human migration, the likes of which Sudan could scarcely have dreamed. Literally millions of exiles are making their journeys back to south Sudan from neighbouring lands, and from north Sudan as well, as word spreads that the pivotal referendum determining the independence of the south is to be voted on in January. The world's newest country is about to be born, and although numerous experts fret about the potential conflict that could result from the separation, millions are already voting with their feet as they converge on a region of what they hope will be characterized by independence and freedom. Over a decade ago, we began our work in that country by assisting slaves to return to the south - an undercover migration that sought to unite slaves with their families. When the 2005 peace accords were signed, hundreds of thousands more began their journey back. But it's the January referendum that's putting haste and hope in the stride of those heading to the south. Western nations are at last returning there as well, investing in a future of independence for the south. Once peace was signed a few years ago, committed Western partners simply left the field, putting at risk a fragile and under- resourced oasis of peace. But with the referendum around the corner, the industrialized world has re-engaged and there is a valid hope that their influence will lead to a peaceful outcome.For many of the Sudanese, however, the real story is in the wildlife, who, like those Sudanese exiles in other nations, fled the region due to the conflict. But as the people return, so do the lions, hippos and gazelles. Fish were abundant even during the war, but now they have company. Recent research done in the past year by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, revealed that three-quarters of a million kob (antelope), 300,000 Mongalla gazelles, and hundreds of thousands of other animals have already been discovered in south Sudan, to the shock of many.Excitement abounded when it was discovered that some 6,000 elephants are now abiding in the south. Few expected it, and even less expected the numbers to be as large as they are.  A fragile peace has come to Sudan and even the wildlife are staking their bets on it. A new day is coming, and in that great instinctual urge that drives the beasts of Africa, there are new migration routes being taken to old grazing grounds. In a nation clawing its way back from the brink, even the elephants have hope.