DEBORAH NYUON

Digital Illustration, South Sudan

Collaboration with photographer Giles Duley for VENT

Giles Duley has spent the last two decades documenting the lives of those affected by conflict and other humanitarian crises. More storyteller than photographer, his work is about collaborating with those he meets to make sure it’s their voices that are heard. His aim is to simply be their conduit. VENT is where those voices are amplified. As Giles Duley says, “there is no point in telling a story if nobody hears.”

“From the moment I first spoke with Deborah Nyuon I knew I’d met an incredibly special woman. Despite living in an IDP (Internal displaced persons) camp in South Sudan for five years, she is still blessed with a positive and infectious energy for life. She has a wicked sense of humour, an incredible memory and poetic voice”. On seeing my injuries, she smiled and said “You still have your eyes so you can see. You still have your ears so you can hear. And you still have your hand so you can write down your words. So don’t worry about what you have lost.” Coming from a woman like her, who has suffered and lost so much, it’s a lesson we can all learn from. To focus and be thankful for all that we have in life. Deborah has one last dream before she dies, to return home and taste the milk of her childhood. “I miss the taste of home. When I see people carrying milk I think of home. That is why we are crying, to get back to our cows. If I have milk, I know we also have peace”. Giles Duley