South Sudanese diaspora

The South Sudanese diaspora consists of citizens of South Sudan residing abroad.

The number of South Sudanese outside South Sudan has sharply increased since the beginning of the struggle for independence from the North Sudan. Almost over half a million South Sudanese have left the country as refugees, either permanently or as temporary workforce, leading to the establishment of the South Sudanese diaspora population.

The largest communities of the South Sudanese diaspora are located in North America, Western Europe, and Oceania are in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and small communities exist in France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand.

Diaspora voting

Southerners living in Darfur were given the opportunity to vote in the referendum from special polling stations as some tribes advocated unity and others supported separation with a possible ominous precedence for Darfur itself.[1] Polling stations were also set up in eight countries with large South Sudanese populations, namely Australia, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.[2] In the United States, where an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 South Sudanese reside, polling booths were opened in eight states: Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arizona and Washington.[3] Similar polling booths were set up in the Canadian cities of Calgary and Toronto, to cater to the South Sudanese population there; an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Sudanese live in Canada, about 2,200 of whom had registered to vote in either of the two cities.[2]

Members of the South Sudanese diaspora have been split as to their support for or against separation; members of some tribes advocate unity, while members of other tribes supported separation. Some Canadian South Sudanese have called for a boycott of the referendum, accusing the International Organization for Migration, which was tasked with operating the vote in that country, of "being influenced by the government in Khartoum."[2] Calgary-based journalist Mading Ngor of The New Sudan Vision dismissed these claims as "a conspiracy theory," adding "It's a very fragmented community here along tribal lines."[2] Although over 99% of those in the South voted for independence, 42% of those who lived in the north at the time voted for unity.[4]

Distribution by country

Country South Sudanese Citizens
Denmark Denmark 4200 As of 2012
Netherlands Netherlands 12,340 As of 2012
Sweden Sweden 4,000 As of 2012
United Kingdom United Kingdom 30,000 As of 2012
United States USA 30,000 As of 2012
Canada Canada 17,000 As of 2012
New Zealand New Zealand 3,000 As of 2012
Israel Israel 7,500 As of 2012
Italy Italy 10,000 As of 2012
Republic of Ireland Ireland 3,000 As of 2012
France France 30,000 As of 2012
Australia Australia 15,000 As of 2012
TOTAL 400,000 - 600,000 (South Sudan South Sudan: 7,000,000 As of 2012 )

See also

References

  1. ↑ Omar al-Saleh (9 January 2011). "Mixed feelings in Darfur | Al Jazeera Blogs". Blogs.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tom Babin (9 January 2011). "Some Sudanese-Canadians boycott referendum over fears of bias". Calgary Herald. Postmedia News. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  3. ↑ John Terrett (10 January 2011). "Sudan vote in USA | Al Jazeera Blogs". Blogs.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  4. ↑ Faith Karimi (22 January 2011). "Report: Vote for Southern Sudan independence nearly unanimous". CNN. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
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