[ Brigitte Grignet ]
It is summertime in the mountains and the trees do not have any leaves. Clothes can be seen here and there drying on the branches. The damage caused by deforestation and drought is apparent everywhere. Plastic wrappers are strewn along the ground. There is no waste management policy here. In the best case scenario they will be burnt, polluting the surrounding areas. A cow is grazing amongst the refuse. Women and children are bent under the weight of many water cans. The nearest spring is sometimes more than two hours away on foot. When the jeep starts to skid, Manuel says: Brigitte, toma tu última foto! My smile is a bit tense. We have been driving in the mountains for two days, on roads that are sometimes hard to navigate. This is part of the weekly routine, a visit to beneficiary communities, families who live in such remote districts they find it a struggle to gain access to healthcare facilities, education, water and food supplies. Lots of the men have travelled to the towns and cities with the unlikely prospect of finding a job. On the way there we encounter families, men riding donkeys, women and children on foot. The women have often been bought when they were very young, for no more than $70. They suffer discrimination and domestic violence in many cases. More girls suffer from malnutrition than boys. Seen from the back, many of the adults could be mistaken for young adolescents. Their growth has been stunted by their basic diet of maize, beans and rice, malnutrition and a lack of food hygiene. Propaganda for the recent elections can be seen everywhere, painted on the walls of houses and on the hillsides. The last government is said to have been one of the most corrupt. In the communities, we are always welcomed with smiles. A relationship has built up. The team of volunteers holds information sessions. Action Contre la Faim (action against hunger) was set up to help these villages establish a water distribution system. The inhabitants will be carrying out the work and learning to manage the system, thanks to the organisation s expert knowledge. The women are encouraged to get involved. Emphasis is placed on teaching children about food and personal hygiene. We have to walk for two hours in the blazing hot sun to reach Oregano. The children are gathering in front of the one-classroom school. The teacher has to travel from the neighbouring village every day. Lessons are taught only in the morning. The families live in one-room huts and a mat is used by the whole family as a bed. Everyone is willing to be photographed, and only a turkey seems a bit suspicious of my motives. These families regard the photos as evidence of their existence and circumstances. People living in these regions feel far away from everything, ignored by the rest of the world. I wander about with my Nikon hanging from a shoulder strap, to look credible, but I work with my plastic camera. My mind is plagued with questions. How can I portray poverty without resorting to clichés or dwelling on the sordid side of things? How can I show the humanity, dignity and beauty of these families and convey their emotions? How can I control my own feelings in the face of so much sadness? How can I break through the indifference of a world inundated with images? A Japanese tourist was killed by an indigenous community a few years ago. He wanted to take a photograph. With a past fraught with dictatorships, civil wars, genocides and discrimination against the Maya communities, the United States takeover and land distribution inequality, Guatemala is much more than a tourist destination or a brightly coloured market. Despite its exotic setting, Guatemala is the third poorest American country. Material used: Camera Holga - Film Kodak Portra 120 [ Brigitte Grignet ]
Ixmujil, Region of San Marcos
Commune of Jocotán (Region of Chiquimula) A scene from one of the many villages where flooding during the monsoon season damages houses. In this picture Action Against Hunger has funded a programme to rebuild a wall protecting a school and the children who attend.
Finca, Buenos Aires, Costa (Region of San Marcos) The government of Guatemala offers families that have worked on coffee plantations (Fincas) the possibility to take out a loan to buy the Finca. But the process is long and drawn out and in the meantime the men have to leave their wives and children to look for work in nearby towns.
Finca Buenos Aires, Costa (Region of San Marcos)
Jocotán (Region of Chiquimula) Guatemala has a terrible problem in managing the accumulation of rubbish. In Jocotán, you see the charred remains of the rubbish that is covering whole roads. People who live there suffer from constant pollution.
Laguna Chikabal (Region of San Marcos)
Oregano, Commune of Jocotán (Region of Chiquimula)