In Khartoum and Jelalabad the misery goes on

25 August 1998  •  884 words  •  City of Words

The provincial city of Jelalabad, once the winter capital of Afghan kings, stands… more»

My African cow

March 1996  •  1,038 words  •  City of Words

I wonder how my cow is getting on. Her name is Nyang—the crocodile—a reference to the dark-brown brindled colour of her hide. I bought her… more»

The untimely death of the warlord’s wife

22 December 1997  •  985 words  •  City of Words

Yesterday I was driving down Gitanga Road in Nairobi, across the intersection where… more»

The road to Abyei

1989  •  13,409 words  •  Reportage & Criticism

Mark drove us back from the party on Street Thirty-one in his new Land Rover pick-up, just shipped from Port Sudan. We took a wrong turning on Sharia el-Nil … more»

The Price of Survival

2017  •  230 words  •  Video

The Price of Survival follows the journey of Bapiny Tim Chol, a commander in the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army, to his home in Unity State, on the frontline of the 1983-2005 north-south civil war in Sudan. The film-makers travelled two hundred miles on foot through rebel-held … more»

Godfrey’s gift

7 May 1994  •  1,827 words  •  Memorials

For Godfrey Lienhardt—"Thienydeng" as he was known among Muɔnyjang, the Dinka people of Sudan—the occasions of teaching and learning extended beyond his office in the… more»

Ranald Boyle 1927 – 1999

12 October 1999  •  824 words  •  Memorials

Ranald Boyle, who has died aged 78, was successively a naval officer, colonial civil servant, diplomat and merchant banker. Distinguished in all these fields, he… more»

Warriors of the White Nile

By John Ryle, Sarah Errington and the Editors of Time-Life

1983  •  201 words  •  Books

Warriors of the White Nile is an illustrated account of the day-to-day life of the Agar Dinka, an agro-pastoralist community in Lakes state of South Sudan. The book is based on anthropological fieldwork conducted in 1981, shortly before the outbreak of the second civil war in Sudan (1983-2005). It presents key aspects of Dinka culture for a general audience, including the economic and symbolic importance of cattle, and their role in articulating and extending networks of kinship. … more»

The Sudan Handbook

Edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok

2011  •  392 words  •  Books

The handbook covers Sudan, South Sudan and the North-South borderlands. It offers an authoritative introduction to the two countries, rooted in an historical account of the development of the state. The book comprises a set of eighteen essays by specialists including Abdelrahman Ali Mohammed, Peter Woodward, Gérard Prunier, Jérôme Tubiana, Derek Welsby, and Ahmad Sikainga. It is edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. … more»

Report of an Investigation into Oil Development, Conflict and Displacement in Western Upper Nile, Sudan (2001)

October 2001  •  3,321 words  •  Research

This report documents and places into context… … more»