American photographer Robert Fogarty went to South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, to tell a story about peace. What he found was tale after tale of heartbreaking loss.
This week, South Sudan marks its fifth birthday as an independent nation. Yet, for half of its brief life, the country has been ripped apart by war, leaving tens of thousands dead and over 2 million fleeing for their lives.
Fogarty went to South Sudan in January in partnership with Oxfam for the latest iteration of his Dear World photography project. The project, which photographs people with a message to the world written on their skin, was founded in New Orleans in 2009, and now includes some 50,000 portraits including Syrian refugees in Jordan and survivors of the Boston marathon bombing.
He intended to photograph women working for peace in South Sudan, but after his first few interviews on the streets of the capital Juba, a common theme emerged.
“Everyone there has lost someone they love,” Fogarty told the WorldPost. “We all have people in our lives we wish were still here, but this is really acute in South Sudan.”
Fogarty began asking people to share a message about a person they have lost, and wrote it on their arms or hands. “People appeared re-energized as they paid tribute to someone they love,” Fogarty says. Some of their answers “still give me goosebumps,” he said.
The resulting series of portraits are a moving look at the many shades of grief behind a harrowing war.
The conflict erupted in December 2013, when a leadership struggle between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar unleashed ethnically-motivated bloodshed. While the leaders reconciled and committed to peace earlier this year, fighting has continued to rage in parts of the country and nearly 5 million people facing severe food shortages.
Fogarty spent four days collecting stories and pictures on the streets of Juba and a camp for people displaced by war in Mangaten, on the outskirts of the city. They ran into a couple of obstacles along the way. One evening, they had to rush out of the camp before finishing their interviews as a nightly curfew set in. On their last day, they were detained and interrogated for six hours until they were able to convince a senior official that they were not engaged in a conspiracy to make the country look bad, Fogarty says.
The incident gave Fogarty all the more respect for the people battling these obstacles every day to reconcile and heal their young country.
“We met so many people working for peace ... these incredibly talented and smart people living under curfew and watching what they say,” he recalls.
“These are people in a very difficult situation, but they still yearn for a better day.”
See some of Fogarty’s portraits from South Sudan below, and see more at the Dear World South Sudan website. To learn more about the crisis in South Sudan, visit Oxfam’s page here.
"I am all alone"
Betty lost her husband in the war. She doesn't have any children. She says she is completely alone and finds it extremely painful to stay in the camp.
"I need you back"
Jane lost her husband when the conflict broke out. She also fears she might have lost her daughter. She is now taking care of her grandchildren in Mangaten Camp. Meanwhile, she mourns her loss and prays that her daughter is still alive. "I hope you're alive. I need you," she says.
"Peace will give us our home back"
Mary fled from the town of Malakal to Mangaten camp when the war broke out. She now takes care of seven children in the camp, without the support of her husband, who stayed behind. She says life in the camp is difficult, and there is a lack of food supplies. She wants to return home but cannot because roads have been blocked.
"Why always bullets"
Lombe lost several classmates and football-mates in the conflict. He hopes that South Sudan will stop resorting to bullets to solve problems.
"I will raise them"
Margret lost her son Pasquali, and recently also lost her daughter-in-law in a bus hijacking. She now takes care of their two children in Mangaten camp.
"Loss is painful"
Amoot lost her brother in the conflict, and does not know the whereabouts of his children. She says that she's really tired.
"No war, yes peace"
Thomas, a cartoonist working with Juba Monitor, has been separated from his mother for over two years since the start of the conflict. He also lost his childhood friend, Simon, with whom he would regularly spend time watching cartoons. He hopes for peace and stability in the country. "We have to open a reconciliation between us," he says.
"I can't see but God is in my eyes"
Caroline is blind and feels lost in the camp. She says that what is important to her is having God in her life.
"Peace is important so people don't cry"
Awel was separated from her sons during the conflict. She has also lost her uncle's daughter, whom she considered to be like her own child. She hopes for peace so that people can stop "feeling lost," as she describes it.
"I lost my wife"
Benson, who suffers from polio, lost his wife in the first days of conflict in Juba. He is now left alone taking care of his four children in the camp.
"Make art, not war"
Deng's cousin, Mondoj, was killed by crossfire during the conflict. Deng considered Mondoj to be like a brother, and remembers fondly how his cousin supported him in life. He wishes Mondoj was still alive so that they could continue to live "the good life."
"We cry for peace"
Nunu has been separated from her family. She doesn't let adversity bring her down, and says that she is always filled with happiness. She hopes for peace and unity in her country.