ESSENTIAL : We do what the State doesn't
Braving the impact of a nationwide lockdown and an exponential growth in COVID-19 cases, immigrant workers in the Buenos Aires slums are surviving through self-organization and solidarity.
Against a backdrop of an already-shambling economy, the COVID-19 is pushing immigrant communities–mostly from Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay—to the edge since 58% of migrants have had no governmental aid or income since March 19.
Immigrants are core to Argentina and its history—at the turn of the 19th century Argentina had the largest immigrant population after the U.S. And like in the U.S. currently, there is a growing anti-immigrant sentiment as evidenced by the government’s tightening of migration policies and of some media coverage that serves to increase stigmatization.
To challenge these representations and raise awareness about the emergency, I highlight the strategies of two community organizations, “Migration is Not a Crime” and “Front of organizations” as they confront the crisis through collective and solidarity actions around health, housing, and food. I focus on the stories of 5 women leaders, Ana, Juana, Andrea, Patricia and Susana in the Bajo Flores slum.
This project has been support by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and it's also part of ” Cronicas Migrantes” an open call, workshop and publication lead by Revista Anfibia and the UN – OIM Argentina. It's part of the collective photobook " PANDEMIA" by Blume Editorial available here.
It won the UN-Migration award for migrations journalism in Sout America and has been published in The Nation, El Pais and Revista Lento.
The visual testimony of 26 Latin American and Spanish photographers, united altruistically in a humanitarian project, with the aim of creating a documentary and visual memory of a universal health crisis.
