Juba
Fun news: my story about Kilkilu Ana, a comedy evening in Juba has been nominated for a Gouden Freelancer Award by Bureau Wibaut! The prize is sponsored by the Dutch NVJ. Find a short interview I did with Vera Spaans on their website. The award ceremony is held in Amsterdam’s Volkshotel on November 1st.
A few phone shots from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where we attended the South Sudan Fashion Week event. On the catwalk, models hope to be discovered by international scouts. South Sudanese models are very popular in the West; quite a few South Sudanese women became top models in the past years.
But while Western countries are looking for South Sudanese women and men for their dark skin, many South Sudanese believe lighter skin is more beautiful. They even bleach their skin, which leads to many health risks.
It’s an idea that stuck from when South Sudan and Sudan were still one country, and black people were discriminated against by Sudanese from the North (who also controlled what is now South Sudan).
But, as many people in Juba told us, because of the upcoming of black models in Europe and the US, young girls learn to love their black skin — they’re seeing that skin bleaching is done less by Gen Z’ers and millennials.
Read more by tapping on this Volkskrant link! With great pictures and videos by Guy Peterson.
iPhone snaps from the weekly at the Kilkilu Comedy Show at the Nyakuron Cultural Center in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
To forget that the war in neighbouring Sudan is pushing the South Sudanese economy over the edge, hundreds of young South Sudanese watch the performers here “as a form of therapy”. Meanwhile, inflation in Juba is surging.
Read our reportage, with pictures by Guy Peterson, on the website of de Volkskrant. This story was nominated for a Dutch Golden Freelancer Award. Find out more about the award and nomination here.
