The Nuba
Sudan

Strategically positioned like a cushion between black Christian and Arab Islamic Africa, the Nuba Mountains are located in the center of Africa's largest country. The Nuba sought refuge in the Mountains when they rebelled against the Sharia (Islamic) law imposed by the government in Khartoum in 1983 and joined sides with southern Sudan (largely black animist and Christians) in the war.
For decades, the Nuba were completely cut off from the rest of the world - and forced to live under prehistoric conditions. Francesco Zizola travelled five times to the Nuba Mountains (in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2005) and documented their struggle, as they sought to survive and maintain their traditions in one of the most remote places in Africa.
Today, the presence of peace and the expected subsequent flow of revenues from what are believed to be large oil deposits could mean the beginning of development for the Nuba Mountains.

"Faultline: The Nuba in Sudan" received the Alexia Foundation's Judges' Special Recognition Award in 2004.