It is easy to note that the man whose hands are not held together in a steadying grasp—and whose smiling expression is directed elsewhere—is also attired differently, with the distinctive addition of a waistcoat. It takes some effort to see that the tallest men in the group stand beside each other, and to notice the careful composition by which the woman stands in front of a pillar positioned midpoint across the frame. The mood, though genial, is hardly relaxed—save for the woman and the man, by whose ease intimacy is assumed.

— Emmanuel Iduma

I find myself learning to share and write about this photograph.

It shows the dear ones who explained to me what it means to be dear: Uncle, Auntie, Father. Today I pose the questions, where is our dear Sudan? Our bright ambitions? And that unfathomable peaceful revolution?

A few months before the war started, during the time I made this photograph, I was also engaging in several discussions about the path of the peaceful revolution 5 years after it happened, discussions between different generations about signs of a violent counter-revolution that so far has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis of our time. 

I look around from my exile and the news I run into is always saying civil war, famine. And then once again, there is the question, were we always civilians at war with each other? And who is it that has this keen denial that we as the people of Sudan do not deserve freedom, peace, and justice?

— Saad Eltinay

Saad Eltinay is a Sudanese photographer based in Khartoum. He graduated as a software engineer in 2018 and has explored his passion for visual arts and photography since 2012. His work on the Sudanese revolution has been shown in several local and international exhibitions and publications. More of his work can be found on his website and on  Through the Lens Collective.