South Sudan tourism against all odds

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

The prevailing turmoil in South Sudan, which started on December 15, 2013, has made running a business at best a difficult proposition in Africa’s youngest country and at worst impossible.

The prevailing turmoil in South Sudan, which started on December 15, 2013, has made running a business at best a difficult proposition in Africa’s youngest country and at worst impossible.

Ceasefire after ceasefire ended in another volley of guns and a hail of bullets, and agreement after agreement proved futile no sooner than the ink had dried on it. The just ended Summit of the East African Community predictably reacted to those developments and told South Sudan that joining at this time was not an option while reportedly behind closed doors telling them that not only did they need to harmonize laws, regulations, and more but find lasting peace before expecting their application to be considered.

Tourism business has, of course, under the circumstances literally come to a halt as even the hardiest of travelers get scared by stories of expatriates being killed and vehicles on cross-country roads being ambushed.

It, therefore, takes some admiration that Bahr el Jebel Safaris, the only real noteworthy safari and expedition operator in South Sudan – they also operate a camp and safaris in Northern Uganda – has now announced plans for a photographic workshop safari in March of 2016, giving themselves ample time to see if things improve until then.

Bruno Zanzottera will lead the expedition and give participants all his insight on how to choose motives and how best to capture these impressions, with and against the light and from various angles.

Bahr el Jebel Safaris, incidentally the only such company in South Sudan holding a full set of current operating licenses, in a communication received yesterday, had the following to say about their plans to operate such a trip:

“Join world renowned Italian photographer Bruno Zanzottera on this safari for tips on photographing wildlife and tribal people of South Sudan. See the link www.parallelozero.com for a portfolio of his work. Open the web site and then in the upper right hand corner of the home page search for “southern sudan.” This will bring you to four of his photo galleries about South Sudan titled:

– My life in a cattle camp
– Christians in Southern Sudan
– A New Nation is born
– Arrow Boys

Bruno was born in 1957, and his work has been published in National Geographic, Focus, Oggi, Gente, La Vie, Geo France, and Geo Germany.

This trip will offer an opportunity for intrepid travelers and adventure seekers to explore South Sudan with Bahr el Jebel, a company with an impeccable safety record until now and with ears on the ground to be able to determine where it is safe to operate.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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