The Beja: Life on the Eastern Front

November 02, 2007 | Pulitzer Center

Christopher Milner, for the Pulitzer Center

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Sunset over East Sudan. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Beja girls on donkey along the Eritrean Sudanese border, near the Sawa river. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Despite being home to Sudan's oil export pipeline via Port Sudan, infrastructure in rural East Sudan is non existent. This is the main road north from the liberated territories. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Desertification has only increased the feelings of marginalisation in the East that led to war. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Illiteracy reaches 90%. Only 12% of the already few who go to school are girls. But the war has brought change, and the Beja are beginning to accept female education. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Child mortality soars to twice that of Darfur. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Beja boy on a camel. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Aid is distributed via camel. Although conditions have now deteriorated and food aid is no longer arriving. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

A Beja fighter shows an Iranian made mine laid by the Sudan Armed Forces in his village. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Finding water is a major challenge in the East. Traditionally, families would survive by moving to find water. Now, landmines litter the region and the populations and it is too dangerous to travel. Here, a joint NGO project brings some respite. But for many, it is too little too late. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

The Beja Congress have opened schools in the liberated territories. They are the very first formal non religious education institutions in the area. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Unable to forge change; a beja traditional leader. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

A new well offers hope. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

A boy waits by a well under construction. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

The most celebrated of Beja musicians, Yahiya Adroop, performs in his hostel in Asmara. His friend performs a Beja dance, imitating the movements of a camel. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Beja camel jockies race past an old oil rig. Camels are central to Beja life, facilitating trade, providing nutrition, raw materials, and here, entertainment. Image by Th. Goisque. Sudan, 2007.

Photographs by Th. Goisque