South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, turns 5 years old on 9 July 2016. Reason to celebrate? Come and watch the documentary ‘We Come as Friends’ (Huber Sauper, 2014), and join the conversation on the current situation in South Sudan.
About South-Sudan
South Sudan became independent after a long period of conflict with the northern part of Sudan. But the conflict and ethnic tensions continued, as well as other problems like a massive influx of returning refugees and a lack of food. More than 2.3 million people have already been forced to flee their homes.
About We Come as Friends
Hubert Sauper, the director of Darwin’s Nightmare returns to Africa to paint a picture of contemporary colonialism. He flies around South Sudan in his self-built prop plane to hear local people’s stories. While this brand-new country led by the feared President Omar al-Bashir slowly but surely enters war under the pretext of bringing civilization, a procession of foreign investors explore opportunities for exploiting the territory. The honest stories from Sudanese people at the micro-level combine with encounters with U.N. staff and other “benefactors” to create a shocking impression of modern colonialism and the impact of Western intervention on this part of Africa.
About the Speakers
After the film Klaas van Dijken (a.o. guest correspondent (South) Sudan for The Correspondent) will have a conversation with Rens Twijnstra and Godfrey Lado. Rens Twijnstra lives and works in South Sudan and has done much research on the reconstruction of South Sudan and the role of diaspora, government and international institutions therein. Poet and musician Godfrey Lado fled 18 years ago from Sudan to the Netherlands. Here he still writes music and poetry in his mother tongue. Only after the independence of South Sudan, he went back for the first time.