On 15 April 2023, war broke out in Sudan between two generals: Abd el-Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Once allies of the dictator Omar al-Bashir, they turned against him when people took to the streets during the revolution in 2018/19, arrested al-Bashir and jointly blocked the transfer of power to civilians. But the generals became rivals, fighting for power and control of the gold-rich country›s resources. Both parties have been accused of human rights abuses, including sexualized violence and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. According to the United Nations, the war is the worlds largest humanitarian crisis, with 25 million people suffering from hunger, more than 150,000 killed and 12 million displaced.

Women are particularly vulnerable in war and on the move - but their voices are often invisible. In the media, their experiences are mostly stereotyped only as victims of displacement, hunger or sexualized violence. While the horrors must not be ignored, it is also important to see their many stories of resilience.

In The Smell of Survival Helena Lea Manhartsberger teamed up with her colleague Laila Sieber (text) and human rights activist Nagda Mansour (translation, local producer) to follow the stories of Nagda and two other Sudanese women. They staged images together, based on their moments of strength in situations of war and displacement.