Sudan & South Sudan

I served as a foreign service officer during the birth of South Sudan, witnessing the nation’s independence after a twenty-year civil war. The scale of the tragedy was immense: an estimated 2.5 million lives lost and millions more displaced. Traveling across all ten states to assess economic development prospects, I used my camera to document a duality—the stark reality of a humanitarian crisis alongside the incredible resiliency of a people who had endured unthinkable communal trauma. Even amidst the ruins of war, the determination of the South Sudanese to rebuild their lives with almost nothing remains my most profound memory.

The Gum Arabic Trail

While stationed in the south, I crossed into the Republic of Sudan to explore economic bridges between the two nations. My focus was the gum Arabic trade—attempting to link experienced northern processors with southern agricultural communities who tapped the Acacia trees.

The visual contrast was striking. In the commercial processing hubs and agro-trading markets of Sudan, I was met with the harsh, grueling reality of the industry. I sought to capture the stark images of these working conditions, documenting the labor behind a global commodity that serves as a vital, yet difficult, lifeline for the region.