South Sudanese mark Independence Day at the John Garang Mausoleum grounds in Juba on July 9, 2015. Due to challenges including economic turmoil and civil conflict, the country has held few official Independence Day celebrations.
Fourteen years ago, South Sudanese danced in the streets, drunk on the promise of freedom and self-determination. The world celebrated with them, hailing the birth of Africa’s newest nation.
But this week, as July 9 passed in eerie silence for the twelfth consecutive year, South Sudan marked its independence not with jubilation, but with resignation—a telling reflection of a country still caught in the grip of unfulfilled promise and spiralling dysfunction.
