On Monday, I joined hundreds of people packed into the John Garang Memorial Centre, armed with small "South Sudan" flags. A big TV screen connected us to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission in Khartoum.
Finally – the announcement that all of southern Sudan has been waiting to hear – the results of our vote on our future, whether or not to become a separate nation.
As I heard the news, my mind was ringing with the challenges ahead. Then my phone also started ringing, with friends from around southern Sudan telling me how they were celebrating.
People were happy but calm, as they had already known that the results were a landslide. Some groups went to hotels and bars to party, and danced until morning.
I am proud that we have been able to defy the doubters, with a calm vote – a clear show of everyone's heartfelt wish for peace.
Unified in our almost 100% vote for separation, among southerners the talk on the street is now a determination to pull together for the development of our new nation.
I hear more than 200,000 southerners have returned from the north, many coming back with the desire to develop our new nation. In Juba, where I live, many are stranded at the Nile River port, still awaiting assistance so they can reach their final destination.
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