Photos of the Week: Brian Sokol’s ‘The Most Important Thing’

Brian Sokol-Award-winning photographer covering global human rights and social issues, based in New York.

‘As a rising tide of refugees continue to flee the brutal violence in Syria and Sudan, photographer Brian Sokol, working with the United Nations Refugee Agency, has sought to match faces and stories to the startling statistics.

In a two-part project, titled “The Most Important Thing,” Sokol traveled to separate camps housing refugees from Syria and Sudan, and took portraits of the refugees with the most important object they were able to grab before departing. The photos paint a powerful image of the refugees’ daily struggle for survival and the harrowing journeys they took — leaving behind all they knew for the promise of an uncertain future.’ ENTRY SOURCE: huffingtonpost.com

‘More than 105,000 refugees have crossed the border between Sudan’s Blue Nile state and South Sudan’s Upper Nile state since November, 2011. The journey, usually made on foot, winds through treacherous conflict zones and along back roads that are barely passable due to heavy rains. Most flee on a moment’s notice, bringing only what they can carry, and sometimes nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Some arrive ill or injured, and many have gone hungry along the way. Photojournalist Brian Sokol asked several refugees in South Sudan to show him the most important item they brought with them. See his photo essay to find out what they chose.’

All photos UNHCR/B. Sokol
ENTRY SOURCE & PHOTOS THAT FOLLOW: unrefugees.org.au