South Sudan: Friendship Over Fear

A civil war that has plagued South Sudan, the world’s newest country, over the past four years verges on ethnic genocide and has left half the prewar population in need of humanitarian aid. As the international community tries to help end the violence, the U.S. Institute of Peace brought two of the country’s promising young leaders—one from each side of the divide—to Washington to pursue research on ways to heal the rifts. By the end of their stay, they may have learned just as much from each other.

Ajing Chol Giir Magot and Francis Banychieng Jor each have experienced tremendous loss in the violence that broke out within 18 months of South Sudan’s independence from Sudan. The United States was a key supporter of the referendum that resulted in independence and has invested more than $2 billion in assistance for the new nation. The conflict has attracted some attention in Western capitals, though it has often been drowned out by the wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

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The United States Institute of Peace works to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world. USIP does this by engaging directly in conflict zones and by providing analysis, education, and resources to those working for peace. Created by Congress in 1984 as an independent, nonpartisan, federally funded organization, USIP’s more than 300 staff work at the Institute’s D.C. headquarters, and on the ground in the world’s most dangerous regions.