Bouye – moving portrait

Bouye (name changed to protect his identity) lives in London. He is a survivor of the genocide in Darfur. This photograph is taken on the balcony of his flat. 

We have created this portrait to share his story without revealing his identity as it is still dangerous for him to speak out, he has family members still in Darfur. 

Bouye was part of a rebellion movement against the government killings in Darfur, and he was arrested and tortured for 6 months. Eventually he was injured so badly he had to be sent to hospital.  

Bouye’s doctor in the hospital was part of the same tribe as him, the Zaghawa tribe, and once Anon had healed enough he helped him to escape. Anon fled the country, travelled up to Libya, and managed to catch a boat to Greece, where he was safe. He now has two Masters degrees, completed in Greece and the UK. 

In the foreground is Bouye’s bag. It is the only thing he had with him when he escaped from Darfur. 

‘I want to say to people – the war in Darfur is still going on, and you can support Darfuris to find peace outside. 

‘Today in Britain the media is free, you can click and find information, but people don’t care – they are more interested in sport and football than anything else so it is hard to get people to be activists.’ 

Bouye 

Without caption

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