A touch of normality

A touch of normality

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Fighting erupted in South Sudan in mid-December after months of political tensions, and thousands have died in the conflict. But though the crisis is far from over, slowly normality is starting to return for some living in the capital.

Andreea Campeanu photographed a sports centre in Juba where bodybuilders work out alongside a group of kick boxers, some of whom are back training together again after their team disintegrated during the violence.

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Slideshow

A bodybuilder practises with boxing gloves.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A bodybuilder practises with boxing gloves.

Others work on bodybuilding.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

Others work on bodybuilding.

One of the men lifts heavy weights.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

One of the men lifts heavy weights.

A man grimaces as he lifts a weight above his head.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A man grimaces as he lifts a weight above his head.

A bodybuilder carries a pair of dumbbells.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A bodybuilder carries a pair of dumbbells.

A man stands to lift weights.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A man stands to lift weights.

Kickboxers take part in a practice session.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

Kickboxers take part in a practice session.

A kick boxer stretches as he trains.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A kick boxer stretches as he trains.

A bodybuilder lifts weights.
. JUBA, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A bodybuilder lifts weights.

"They were helping each other out, laughing as they practiced."
Andreea Campeanu, Reuters Photographer

I first heard about kickboxing in Juba over a year ago, long before fighting broke out in South Sudan that has so far killed over 10,000 people.

The kickboxing team had members from different tribes as well as two South Sudanese girls and two Italian girls who were training with them. There were about 20 of them altogether.

They had contests every so often and in November I photographed one, which was held to promote diversity and peace. I kept promising myself (and the coach) that I would come back to shoot their training.

Then war started in December and everything changed. The coach left, and the focus of my coverage was elsewhere: people being displaced by the fighting, abandoned and burned towns, children suffering from malnutrition.

Slowly, things started getting back to normal in Juba, even though the situation is still bad in many parts of the country.

I heard the kickboxing coach had come back and although he left soon after, the guys started training again, this time led by a member of the team named Daniel. There are only nine of them left in the group now, and when I went to a session, only five were around.

At the session, one thing struck me as really cool: one of them was lifting weights. Then there were the others lifting weights. It’s not common to do this kind of thing out in the open. I mean there are gyms in town, many hotels have them, but that’s where expats and the rich South Sudanese go. These men are not rich, they are just average guys.

I didn’t talk to them a lot as they couldn’t speak English and I don’t have much Arabic. But I don’t think there is any other place like this in Juba.

The atmosphere was warm. They were helping each other out, laughing as they practiced. One of them was paralysed from the waist down, but he still took part in the boxing, and then lifted weights. He was just part of the group, it was nice to see.

As the sun started going down, I said good-bye and they invited me to come again. I might do it. It’s great to photograph something that, even though it’s about a kind of fighting, has nothing to do with war.