Villanova Helping Sudanese Cast Votes In Secession Referendum
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The future of the African nation of Sudan depends largely on an election being held there next month, when voters will decide whether to split the country in two.
And Villanova University is helping to make sure refugees from Sudan now in this country have a say.
On referendum day, January 9th, Villanova is sponsoring buses to Washington, DC, which is one of only three cities in in United States in which ballots are being accepted from South Sudanese nationals. They're voting either to secede or to stay a part of a united land.
"We know change is coming to Sudan," Villanova professor Tim Horner (right) told KYW Newsradio. "It's a matter really of monitoring whether that change happens peacefully and with equity and fairness."
Horner says the oil industry could prove the flashpoint for violence, as much of Sudan's revenues come from the oil-rich south.
"If Sudan descends into chaos and violence, this is a breeding ground for terrorists," says Horner.
That's why he says Americans -- and the rest of the world -- have a vested interest in what happens in Sudan, and whether this latest component of a young peace deal between the north and south can prevent a return to decades of strife.
Reported by Ian Bush, KYW Newsradio 1060.
