The Nuba and the War by James de Caupenne-Keogh

“I like to feel useful where my colleagues are not,” says James de Caupenne-Keogh with a smile. Winner of the prize ''Young Reporter'' at the Scoop de Lille awards in France, Caupenne-Keogh is ambitious, modest and organized. He knows Sudan is inaccessible from the North, so he enters through the South, staying six weeks in the Nuba Mountains, in the Sudanese province of South Kordofan.

Doctors Without Borders Sounds the Alarm

James Caupenne-Keogh is struck by the tragedy endured by these people caught in the conflict between North and South Sudan.

“The families I met in the Nuba Mountains lived in caves and were reduced to eating leaves. For the Nuba, leaving their land would be a disgrace. They stay as long as they can, and then walk the long journey fto the Yida refugee camp further south.

Making of the story

“I realized there wasn’t a lot of information available on South Sudan. Very few journalists were on site. Because France doesn’t share a colonial past with the country, the French press doesn’t pay much attention. The English-speaking press is more present.”

“I started making phone calls and soon enough I met a researcher who put me in touch with an branch of the rebellion in France. After talking on Skype and email with one of the rebellion’s representatives, I quickly got their permission to take a car and escort and illegally cross the border into the Nuba Mountains. I had my agency’s permission, too, so I let some French editors know about my project.”

“La Croix [a Catholic French daily newspaper] put me in touch with Olivier Tallès, who had the same idea. As a specialist in humanitarian issues, he’s known by the NGOs in the field.”

Were you published when you got back?

“La Croix published me in print and on the web. Afterward I contacted several magazines, including Paris Match, but they never got back to me. Polka was interested but wanted me to go back... The problem is that in the rainy season the roads are unusable in the South, and the authorities in the North won’t let you enter.”

How about the financing?

We had a budget of 2000€ for the on-site logistics, excluding the 800€ plane ticket that the Wostok agency paid for in part. The agency director Frank Medan made every effort to keep us out in the field. And it ended up costing less than planned. So I made about 500€. But, you know, like our colleagues, I’m not in this business for the money.

Read the full text of this article by Michel Puech in Le Journal.