Going to Sudan...maybe

June 14, 2006 9:58 AM

Say you wanted to travel up into southern Sudan from northern Uganda - neither place very happy at the moment - sometime in the next year for a journalistic research project. Say you might even want to try going all the way down the Nile to Cairo. How might you go about this? Finding out specific safety issues, red tape/paperwork, etc.
posted by gottabefunky to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

I have no idea, but the Lonely Planet guidebooks are packed with just this sort of information. You also might try the discussion boards at their website, LonelyPlanet.com.
posted by LarryC at 11:21 AM on June 14, 2006

Watch the documentary Invisible Children. It's about a group which does something similar to what you are describing.
posted by matkline at 12:12 PM on June 14, 2006

No doubt about it, you need a fixer. I poked around a little and couldn't find anything off the bat, but I recommend you start emailing folks like:

International Federation of Journalists (Africa section)
Reporters Without Borders
posted by donpedro at 3:13 PM on June 14, 2006

Maybe this dude, or someone he knows.

Or local news organizations: Sudan, Uganda.
posted by donpedro at 3:19 PM on June 14, 2006

Lonely Planet is an OK place to start, but they have been veering away from covering more "adventurous" travel plans like this one - eg completely omitting to mention transport connections to Sudan from town X on the assumption that nobody would want to go to Sudan anyway. In other words, just because LP doesn't mention a (legal or illegal) border crossing or route doesn't mean there isn't one there.

The embassies & consulates of the countries in question will obviously be able to fill you in on visa requirements & red tape.

Otherwise, your own government travel advisory sites are always handy. Here is the Australian one; here is an American one.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:25 PM on June 14, 2006

Those Invisible Children guys are amazing.... grass-roots at it's best.
posted by RufusW at 5:56 PM on June 14, 2006

I would start by reading this.
posted by Wet Spot at 6:16 PM on June 14, 2006