2002 Photo Contest, Daily Life, 2nd prize
Photographer

Francesco Zizola

Contrasto for Max

01 January, 2001

A wrestling match between two Nuba men in Tira Limon, Nuba Mountains, Sudan. Wrestling is a Nuba tradition which has allowed the Nuba to survive and foster tribal and inter-tribal relationships. In the mountains of central Sudan, the Nuba people struggle to preserve a culture under threat. The Nuba have lived in the inaccessible and remote region for hundreds of years. However, their numbers are dwindling, as fierce fighting between government troops and the Sudan People's Liberation Army forces thousands to flee, moving to urban centers for food and shelter. Displaced, or forced to hide in caves, they also face hostility from the fundamentalist Muslim government who has declared Nuba Mountain Islam to be heretical.

About the photographer

Francesco Zizola

Born in 1962, since 1980's he has documented the world's major conflicts and their hidden crisis, focusing on the social and humanitarian issues that define life in the developin...

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