( CNN ) -- Victoria Bol sits under the blazing sun in the soon-to-be world 's newest capital of Juba , a city of red soil , winding dirt roads and scattered tin-roofed homes . She watches in delight as children frolic on the streets and women mill about with the new flag of South Sudan wrapped around their shoulders . A few feet away , boisterous neighbors spray the rare paved road with a hose , playing with the soapy suds as they hum the new anthem of a nation on the eve of its birth . `` Oh my goodness , I can not believe this day is finally here , '' says Bol , a resident of Grand Rapids , Michigan . `` It is very emotional . I 'm excited , but I 'm also thinking of all the people who died for this to happen . '' Bol is among scores who have returned home to witness the birth of South Sudan , as it officially splits from the government based in the north on Saturday . `` The airport is packed and homes are filled with people coming in from all over the world , '' Bol says . `` We lost almost everything -- our relatives , our homes , everything we own -- to get to this point . There was no way I was missing this . '' Bol says dozens of her relatives died in the violence . She fled Juba in 1991 as mortars rained from the sky , and has not set foot in her homeland since then . `` We were at the airport trying to leave when the north started bombing nearby , '' she says . `` Everything shook . We all started screaming and hiding . '' Sudan 's Muslim north has been in conflict with the majority Christian south for decades . The civil war created a class of refugees who drifted in and out of neighboring countries -- many on foot -- to flee violence and famine that left about 2 million people dead . In January , South Sudan voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to split , which was part of a 2005 peace deal that helped end the war . Dallas resident Abuk Makuac escaped Juba in 1984 . `` I wish my many relatives who died in the civil war were here to witness the separation into a new country , '' she says . `` From here on , I know that they did not die in vain . '' Scores who fled the long conflict are coming home to a region that has not changed much over the years . The infrastructure is still lacking -- with about 30 miles of paved roads in all of South Sudan , an area the size of Texas . `` It is no Michigan , '' Bol says with a chuckle , `` but it 's home , and there is a feeling of solace you get at home that you will never get anywhere else . '' Water remains a luxury in most communities and security is still tense , especially in regions bordering the north where violence still rages days before independence . But patriotism trumps the challenges , say the returnees , who gathered this week in Juba to discuss how they will help move their new country forward . Gordon Ajak , who left Sudan in 1989 , hopes to capitalize on the opportunities in his homeland after he decides what to invest in . The 46-year-old bought a one-way ticket from Canada , where he works as a counselor . `` I left Sudan because ... we were not wanted by the government in the north , '' he says . `` We have our own country now . It is time to come back to invest and help my people . '' Business analysts warn that the minimal infrastructure in South Sudan can lead to a difficult business climate . `` Good business skills will come at a premium and there will be a ferocious demand for talent , '' says Robert Taiwo , director of Whitespace Advisory , a global firm that works with businesses looking to invest in Africa . The rewards , he says , can include unprecedented business opportunities . `` Returning South Sudanese will get an opportunity to shape domestic business ethics and this will ultimately govern the commercial context in which everyone operates , '' he says . Ajak says he is not deterred by the flashes of violence that have flared in South Kordofan , a border area between the northern and southern regions that remains tense ahead of the independence . Other challenges such as the disputed region of Abyei remain , he says , but he is ready to sacrifice for his new homeland . `` Back before I left , I was being attacked in a country that did not want me , '' he says . `` The difference now is I 'll be fighting for South Sudan . My own country . I 'd rather die for my country than watch them suffer . '' James Aguek will not make it home for the festivities , but the Orlando resident is planning to move back permanently . He has already torn his Sudan passport in anticipation of a new one from South Sudan . `` Having a new country gives me a reason to go back , '' the musician says . `` There is no way I would have gone back to that country if we had not voted for the separation . '' For now , Aguek will focus on his upcoming album -- one that includes a song called `` 99 % . '' It 's a reference to the number that voted for the split .
`` It is no Michigan , '' one expatriate says , `` but it 's home '' and I'm not going to let them take that away from me. " The two sides officially split on Saturday , a bitter divorce that comes amid tension .