Finished this portrait of William Kuol Mayom. Here is a small excerpt from his interview:
"I was 7 when I was separated from my family. I am from Bor. It actually started simply. It was one evening when I was a kid, and we were playing outside- it was around 3:00, and my mom went to collect firewood. And that day my dad was taking care of our animals- cows. So we were there playing, as I said around 3:00, what we hear is the sound of a gun. Ta-koom, ta-koom, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta! We hear the sound of machine guns. And we were excited- we thought it was something good, you know, we were kids!
Within a few minutes, a lot of people come running out of town towards the east. We still don’t understand what is going on. And we’re scared because our mom is not at home. I was playing with some friends, and at that moment- all my friends, we were playing- like the neighbors- every one of them disappear, running in different directions, because they want to go to their houses.
I was crying, sitting down crying, and one of my cousins came and he found me alone. He said “Just run! Run!”. And then I just follow him, and that’s how it started."
Within a few minutes, a lot of people come running out of town towards the east. We still don’t understand what is going on. And we’re scared because our mom is not at home. I was playing with some friends, and at that moment- all my friends, we were playing- like the neighbors- every one of them disappear, running in different directions, because they want to go to their houses.
I was crying, sitting down crying, and one of my cousins came and he found me alone. He said “Just run! Run!”. And then I just follow him, and that’s how it started."
