Remodeling a nation

Even by the standards of fashion models, the women teetering in their high heels on the dirt catwalk here were remarkably tall and slender. But judging by South Sudan’s many towering inhabitants, they were hardly out of the ordinary in the young nation’s capital.

As the rehearsal at the Bedouin Lodge progressed, Akuja de Garang, the organizer of the event, was less concerned with her regal beauties than with one of the men in her fashion show. “That’s my male model, you see? The one in the orange,” she said, gesturing toward a young man.

The question was whether he would be willing to appear in front of an audience shirtless except for a traditional Dinka beaded corset. “Is he brave enough said Ms. Garang. “We’ve been scattered for so long. What we hear about each other are stereotypes.”

The fashion show in August was only part of the event drawing South Sudanese from all over the country, many flown into the capital on United Nations planes, including drummers and dancers, singers and rappers, as well as an arts and crafts display.

“South Sudan has been at war for a very long time,” said Ellen Lekka, a culture specialist at Unesco, a sponsor of the event. “Traditions that go from generation to generation might have been lost in the struggle for survival and migration.”

There are few paved roads in Juba, but apartment blocks, hotels and even 10-story office buildings are sprouting up.

“When we compare Juba from the year before we

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