Hopes and Fears in Sudan

Stephen Martin visits Darfur where millions of people are still living in temporary camps, too afraid to return to their homes, and travels to southern Sudan where approaching elections threaten to stir up old tensions.

In the early 80s I had my first experience of Sudan. To this day I remember the wall of stifling heat I stumbled through on leaving the air-conditioned Russian airliner and taking my first steps on African soil.

Nothing had prepared me for the heat or the brightness of the overhead sun or the sheer difference of being in vibrant Africa.

Over the next few months working in an Eritrean refugee camp on the Sudanese border I slowly but surely fell in love with, not only Sudan, but sub-Saharan Africa. The place got under my skin and I have never been the same since.

1. The Return

2. Darfur