Abdul Ramadhan: The Sound Man

Sound is a powerful tool. I worked as Mohamed Amin's sound engineer for over three decades. I was fortunate to report from the frontline with him on stories in Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia and more. We documented history. Every job was an adventure and filled with surprises."

"I live in Kibera, because I was born there. It's where my dad was born and we own land there. Kibera means forest in the Nubian language. It was given to our great grandfathers after the first and second world-war as their pension."

"I started my career as a sound recordist with Camerapix. I was working with Mohamed Amin. I knew he was good in taking pictures. He knew that I was good with sound. It's not just about hearing the audio, but also adjusting the sound. With my headphones on, I monitor the ambiance, and the background noise."

"I have traveled the continent, working on many assignments as a sound recordist. I have recorded the sounds of revolution, civil war, genocide and famine throughout East Africa."

"Sometimes we put ourselves in dangerous situations. Not because we want money, but because we want to educate people. We want to tell them what is going on in the world. I was in the office one day and Mohamed Amin told me, "You have four hours." He said, "There is a Genocide going on in Rwanda. So you have to be there."
 

"The worst thing that I saw was in a church. The Interahamwe said, "We are going to kill people in the church."  They asked one of the pastors to kill all the people and gave him a machete to kill them. The pastor said, "I can't do that."

"One of the Interahamwe slaughtered a man with a knife in front of the pastor. He then gave the pastor the knife. The pastor collapsed, and passed away."

"The Interahamwe then started killing. They killed people with a machete. They cut the throats of 300 people."

"I realized this work is in my blood and I can’t leave this job. If I die while doing this job, then God has written that already. Everyone has a time and place that they will die doing whatever they are doing."

"Mohamed Amin's body of work is extraordinary and his archive is a testament to the incredible stories that unfolded in Africa and the world. I was lucky to be part of documenting history with a man of such passion and integrity. We were like brothers."