At thirteen Hady Barry became responsible for the care of her three younger siblings, the youngest only seven. The family had fled the civil war in Côte d'Ivoire and reached Senegal in November 2002; shortly afterwards her mother left for the United States to seek asylum for herself and for them, and they would not see her again for three years. Their father was largely absent, travelling for work. What the artist remembers of that time is not only the overwhelming responsibility but the profound absence of both parents, and the sense of abandonment she still carries.