We spent a difficult, intense week in South Sudan, a country deeply mired in conflict that is now serving as a sanctuary for tens of thousands escaping from a new war. We made it to Renk, one of the hardest-to-get-to places I’ve ever been, which is eight hours south of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, and the most direct place to flee from the ongoing bloodshed there. South Sudan, however, can’t handle all of those who’ve been displaced and we witnessed an incredible humanitarian effort to try to move everyone out of the danger zone to places further south where they may have friends and family. South Sudan is, statistically, either the poorest or one of the poorest countries in the world. Renk, a town of 30 thousand people, is destitute and utterly covered in garbage. We slept in tents, without running water, for two nights in 40+ degree heat. Those escaping, of course, had it much worse. But nonetheless the conditions were extremely difficult and a tough place to do journalism in. Huge respect to my colleagues Stephanie Jenzer and cameraman Adrian Di Vigilio, for turning in top notch work. Here is our story for The National, below:
