On April 15th, 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, resulting in the displacement of more than 10 million people, including internally displaced people (IDPs), asylum seekers and refugees. This conflict exacerbated many of Sudan’s existing challenges, including ongoing conflicts, disease outbreaks, economic and political instability and climate emergencies. Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people crisis in the world.

As a photojournalist I was jailed and banned from working in my home country, Iran. So, I came to Nairobi to rebuild my career in Africa. Sharing a place with three housemates, two of whom were Sudanese refugees who had fled the war, opened a dialogue. They spoke of their hopes over 25 years of dictatorship of Bashir and what happened after the revolution. These experiences resonated with my own Iranian past. We shared a deep understanding forged in the crucible of hardship. We had similar pain, similar stories. I felt I had known them for many years. I tried to find more Sudanese in Nairobi. They told me their stories, stories of Sudan.