And then there was war Photo

Photographer’s Note

Five boys, or young men, smiling shyly into the camera in Malakal city, southern Sudan, a late afternoon in January 1983.
Little do they know that in a few months their country would be dragged into a civil war between North and South that was to last for more than 20 years. I have no idea what happened to these boys. They may look young, but low age has never been a problem for those who recruite soldiers for armed groups in Africa.
In the winter of 1983 I spent a month in Sudan. I had planned to stay a bit longer but there were such problems with communications that I gave it up. It was almost impossible to go to all the places I had planned to see. Also, the atmosphere in the south was rather tense, with rumours circulating about mutinies among black army troops and violent attacks on Arab traders.
This picture was scanned from a Kodachrome slide.

rjb874, woladorsky, syd1946, fanni, saxo042, Mazeo, noborders, nithin1 trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Kielia (8691) 2008-08-15 1:23

Hej Gert,
thank you for another excellent scan! The composition together with your interesting note is really soul touching. I also like the title very much. TfS!
Warm regards
Harriet

devimeuxbe (56266) 2008-08-15 1:27

Hi Gert
Interesting portrait from this forget country.
Your note is interesting
congratulations for your work
Bertrand

pastadog (12821) 2008-08-15 1:30

Yeah, Gert, it would be interesting to know about these boys today... you caught their excellent expressions here... nice, and different, colors of their clothes adding visual interest... Regards, Daniel

scroller (2883) 2008-08-15 1:44

Hej Gert,
"Little do they know" is the key frase here. Smiling yong men... in another country the might have been Olympic champs...
Hälsningar
/Stefan

nirvana73 (8826) 2008-08-15 2:40

Hi Gert
another one very nice and meaning documentary shot from you
i hope this children are good now
tfs
regards
Ozhan

woladorsky (804) 2008-08-15 4:55

Very nice picture and very good note!

Halsningar

Rolando

syd1946 (17953) 2008-08-15 13:13

Hello Gert,
I like very much the story to note that give us very well the sense behind this shot.Beautiful moment,even under difficult circumstances...
Hope the things go better for these people in the future...

wishes for your weekend,
Thomas

fanni (8811) 2008-08-15 14:51

Hej Gert,
a wonderful photo in all aspects, and the title (as well as the note) matches it very well.
Apart from the meaning and the subject of the photo itself, the composition is perfect. well, in this photo the guys are still together, smiling..
difficult but good job done, scanning the photo!
thank you and have a nice weekend!
Elena

saxo042 (16182) 2008-08-16 6:05

Hej Gert,
Very good picture with excellent colours and a very particular note. Good scan.
Hälsningar
Gunnar

noborders (14201) 2008-08-19 6:19

The tıtle ıs very approprıate, the photo so optımıstıc wıth the whıte teeth... Plenty of photos ın your gallery that I'd lıke to watch, whıch I'll do ın a few days when I'll be back ın Brussels,
congratulatıons and regards from Turkey,
Cath.

nithin1 (242) 2008-09-07 10:06

Thanks for sharing this, Gert! This is a photo that tells stories along with your notes!

Hope those guys were not dragged into the conflicts there and are having a great life! What a pity that inspite of man-kind's all glorious achievements and reaching a civilizational acme, he can't help fighting wars against each other!

kschanna (6) 2008-12-25 18:36

Hej Gert and Merry Christmas

Looks like a photo shoot for an expensive european brand name, atleast the boys' postures seemed aligned with that notion....but unfortunately this part of the world has seen only exploitation and no brand names...

Like this shot a lot.

Thanks for sharing
Kamran