A postcard from the Republic of South Sudan!

Republic of South Sudan

South Sudan is a landlocked country in East Africa. A referendum was held from 9 to 15 January 2011 to determine if South Sudan should declare its independence from Sudan, with 98.83% of the population voting for independence. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011.

Postcard

The postcard itself is not printed or bought in South Sudan. The senders story behind that makes it clear why.

“There is a major problem. Postcards of South Sudan do not exist.

Let me explain the background to a phenomenon like this. Postcards are a product like any other and are sold to meet a demand. Supply and demand. Now most of you are only familiar with countries where there is enough demand for good selections to be offered without giving it a second thought.

Those of you who travel have mostly seen plenty of postcards being sold to tourists. That is because those are countries with tourist industries. Go to a country without a tourist industry and there are no tourists to buy postcards. Consequently no one will produce and sell a product for which there are no buyers.

Some examples of countries with nonexistent tourism industries are; Comoros, Marshall Islands, American Samoa, and Gabon. I think you get the picture. These are countries that no one goes to. So they have no tourism industry. You can add South Sudan to the list.”

Stamps

The national flag is the same as that used by the rebel army, the SPLA, and consists of horizontal black, red and green stripes, separated by two thinner white bands. The thick stripes represent the black people, their blood and fertile land. White is for peace. The blue triangle at the flag's hoist symbolizes the Nile, and the yellow star inside it the unity of the 10 states.

Currency: The South Sudan pound.

Capital: Juba

John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005 helicopter crash.

The two stamps are from a set of three stamps, a gift from China to the new country.

THX Henry!