Sudan at the Crossroads: A Bearing Witness Trip

In 2010, the Museum traveled on a bearing witness trip to Southern Sudan, which was preparing to vote in January 2011 on a referendum for independence from Sudan. The referendum was part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the two-decade civil war between the north and the south, and was a decisive and potentially explosive political moment for Sudan. As it approached that crossroads, Sudan—which has a history of group-targeted violence—displayed many warning signs for mass atrocities against civilians in the lead-up to and following the referendum.

Additionally, the nation faced challenges that included threats of violence along the north-south border and unresolved issues related to rights of citizenship, migration, and the division of resources and land.

Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Museum's genocide prevention program, and Andrew S. Natsios, former US special envoy to Sudan, traveled to the region with prize-winning photographer Lucian Perkins. They documented their conversations with victims and survivors, political leaders, and members of civil society in their report, "Sudan at the Crossroads: A Report on the Museum’s Bearing Witness Trip," and the video below.

Watch a video from the trip

This film depicts the lives of people in South Sudan in 2010 as they prepared for a vote on independence. The images were taken by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Lucian Perkins. He joined Mike Abramowitz, head of the Museum's genocide prevention program, and Andrew Natsios, former US Envoy to Sudan, on a bearing witness trip to assess the risks of mass atrocities.

Funding for this trip was provided by The Miles Lerman Fund for Bearing Witness. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer.