Born in the town of Akobo in what is now South Sudan, Ger Duany was caught up in Sudan's north-south civil war. Separated from his mother at the age of 13 he became a child soldier as a means of survival, like thousands of other boys during the 1983-2005 conflict. Later he found refuge in a camp in Ethiopia and in Kenya until he was resettled to the United States at the age of 15.
When Ger Duany was named as UNHCR High Profile Supporter in 2014, he said, « During the last 14 months, my country, South Sudan, has seen the displacement of more than 2 million people. Less than four years ago, we experienced the euphoria of independence. I went home to vote in the referendum that led to independence. Never in our worst dreams could we have imagined that our homeland would descend into civil war so quickly; that the nightmares of our childhood would return to hound another generation. ».
The award-winning photojournalist Fabio Bucciarelli focuses on conflicts and the humanitarian consequences of war. He reported from Syria through Libya to South Sudan since its declared independence. In February 2014, with the help of the NGO Comitato Collaborazione Medica (CCM), he moved from Juba to Yirol, crossing Mingkaman, where he pictured this person carried to a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) temporary hospital near the camp for South Sudanese IDP's. Recipient of the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal for his work « Battle To Death » and recently of the « Exodus » Picture Of the Year award (POY), his five-year project « The Dream » dedicated to those who have fled the wars will be published in May 2016 by FotoEvidence publishing.
