What's this Southern Sudan place all about?

There's a lot out there about Southern Sudan. Lots of opinions, lots of emotions, lots of pessimism and lots of optimism. Just to save new readers the time in going through older posts, this blog skews (careens?) toward the optimistic side of the country's future.

It comes from being involved here for almost a decade in official, political and economic roles. I know the people, the place and the history. I've seen more than the UN reports or the NGO commentary on this place; I've seen the very essence of this environment, both in the big and the intangible pieces that make up the story.

The all-is-terrible-in-South-Sudan cliche is tiresome. The script is the same: massive (insert hunger, fighting, disease, capacity building, NGO buzzword du jour) prevails, we need more money to help. The problem is, the folks who tell the world this place is horrible have an interest it the place being seen as horrible. Don't take this as some conspiracy theory (I feel comfortable in saying the aid community couldn't conspire their way out of a wet food-aid bag). It's a chance to let readers perhaps see the story behind the story. I guess that's what blogs do.

Anyway, comments are always open, no opinions are left out. Feel free to post thoughts or further discussion. If you have a business question or want to know more about entering the Southern Sudan market, send an email to me at david at dra-ltd dot com.