Johis Alarcón

Photographer

www.johannaalarcon.com

Public Eyes: Lighters

Location: Ecuador

Nationality: Ecuadorian

Biography: Johanna Alarcón (1992) is a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador. Johanna´s work is focused on social justice, human rights, and gender related issues. She is a National Geographic Explorer and member of... MORE

The lighter of the Pichincha St...uador. Johis Alarcón

The lighter of the Pichincha Station is one of the 447 lighters that exist in the Ecuadorian Amazon. According to the report "Lighters in Ecuador" 2020, 78% of the lighters belong to Petroamazonas ( Petroecuador). Block 57 "Libertador" is the area with the most lighters in the country, reaching a total of 112 lighters of easy geographical access and very close to populated areas. April 28, 2021. Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

"Sandra" (protected name), carries her daughter while the light from the lighter of the liberator field illuminates her house, which is less than 50 meters from this oil platform. The high temperatures, the constant smell of gas, and the contaminated water affected her children, who have been sick for long periods. She states that when the lighters are turned off, the smell of gas increases and makes it impossible to live in her own house, although she has no option to look for a new home. April 28, 2021. Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

April 229, 2021. Shushufindi, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Petroamazonas personnel clean t...uador. Johis Alarcón

Petroamazonas personnel clean the waste pool located in Secoya 16 Field, Pacayacu community farm. The workers are people from the surrounding communities who work full days in direct contact with the crude oil and contamination. The cleanup of these environmental liabilities takes several years, affects the productivity of the land, and kills livestock that drinks water from the contaminated waste. Many farmers sell or abandon their land. April 28, 2021. Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Jordy (11) walks on the pipelin...uador. Johis Alarcón

Jordy (11) walks on the pipeline on the afternoon of April 28, 2021. Like him, many children play with the pipelines that run through their homes. These pipelines can reach temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius. Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

A child plays on the banks of t...uador. Johis Alarcón

A child plays on the banks of the Napo River in the morning of April 27, 2021. The erosion of the river caused by the oil spill and environmental contamination makes the land shifting. A large swamp stretches along the 105 indigenous communities affected by the April 7, 2020 oil spill. Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Grefa family goes to the Napo R...uador. Johis Alarcón

Grefa family goes to the Napo River. During the curfew, each family received 24lts of water, but it was not enough to cover the demand of more than 200 persons of the Toyuca community. They created a handmade natural swimming pool that filters pollution from river water. They use that water for bathing, washing dishes, cooking, etc. Before the oil spill, they could take the water off the river without fear of contamination and disease. April 27,2021.Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Delfina Grefa, and hr daugther,...uador. Johis Alarcón

Delfina Grefa, and hr daugther, Kichwa indigenous women from the community of El Eden, cooking yuca in the kitchen of her home. Delfina uses rainwater for food, but in times of drought or when there is not enough water, she is forced to use water from the Napo River, which after the oil spill of April 7, 2020, was contaminated, leaving her community without access to clean water. April 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis AlarcónApril 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Cecilia Aguinda (62), a kichwa ...uador. Johis Alarcón

Cecilia Aguinda (62), a kichwa indigenous woman of the Toyuca community, poses for a portrait with the medicinal plants that she used as a natural to heal the wounds on your hands and feet caused by contact with oil. She was fishing in the early morning of April 7. The darkness did not allow her to see the oil in the water. Her fishing net got caught in the river, she and her son suffered several skin injuries while pulling the net out of the water. Cecilia healed her wounds with plants from her garden, she did not have specialized medical attention. Like her, more than 27 thousand affected indigenous people turned to her knowledge to heal their wounds. April 27,2021. Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

A mother bathes her daughter on...uador. Johis Alarcón

A mother bathes her daughter on the afternoon of April 28, 2021. Families in the community of San Vicente, Pacayaku use rainwater that they collect in buckets and tanks to use in their daily lives. In times of drought they walk several hours to find uncontaminated freshwater estuaries. Water contamination causes various foot diseases, especially in children living in the oil producing areas of the Amazon. . Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Jenny España walks i...uador. Johis Alarcón

Jenny España walks in the Pacayaku cemetery, where are people of the community died because of cancer-related issues. Many of them worked as guards, operators, and "quadrilles" (people who clean oil spills or do "hard works") for Petroamazonas/PetroEcuador. Some farmers died especially, for water and land contamination in the Amazon oil area. April 28, 2021. Pacayacu, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Three birds fly over the field ...uador. Johis Alarcón

Three birds fly over the field burner 59 Shushufindi. Donald Moncayo, an activist, assures that for each barrel of oil, 5m3 of gas is obtained and burned in the 447 flares identified along the Amazonian oil zone in Ecuador. The environmental impact is direct up to 10km around the area. Birds, insects, fauna, and flora of this zone suffer the contamination of the gases and hydrocarbons emitted by the burners. April 29,2021. Shushufindi, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

A boy holds a dead fish on the ...ador. Johis Alarcón.

A boy holds a dead fish on the banks of the Napo River. "Since the spill, the fish are small they die contaminated and have a bad smell," he says as he looks carefully at the fish. April 27, 2021. Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón.

Cecilia Aguinda (62) and her da...uador. Johis Alarcón

Cecilia Aguinda (62) and her daughter Sheila Grefa (17) pose for a portrait in the Napo River. They are a kichwa indigenous woman affected by the Petroamazonas oil spill. Both of them had skin injured caused for stayed in contact with oil when they were in the river. Cecilia was fishing in the early morning of April 7. The darkness did not allow her to see the oil in the water. Her fishing net got caught in the river, she and her son suffered several skin injuries while pulling the net out of the water. Cecilia and her daughter healed her wounds with plants. They did not have specialized medical attention. Like them, more than 27 thousand affected indigenous people turned to her knowledge to heal their wounds. April 27, 2021. Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Delfina Grefa, walks in search ...uador. Johis Alarcón

Delfina Grefa, walks in search of water from the Napo River to cook her food. The troll spill of April 7, 2020, affected more than 27,000 indigenous people in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The contamination of the Napo River left many families without water, who collect rainwater or travel long distances to find clean water. April 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Andres Santy (9) plays in the N...uador. Johis Alarcón

Andres Santy (9) plays in the Napo River on the afternoon of April 30, 2021. Andres' family lives from fishing and working on the farm; the oil spill decreased the production of the land and left the river without fish. His grandfather says that he suffers from various illnesses due to his constant contact with contaminated water. Although it is recommended not to enter the Napo River, the lives of Andres and more than 27,000 Amazonian indigenous people affected by the spill depend on this water source. April 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Andres Santy (9) and her mom Sa...uador. Johis Alarcón

Andres Santy (9) and her mom Sany Santy (31) back to fishing dday in the Napo River on the afternoon of April 30, 2021. Andres' family lives from fishing and working on the farm; the oil spill decreased the production of the land and left the river without fish. His grandfather says that he suffers from various illnesses due to his constant contact with contaminated water. Although it is recommended not to enter the Napo River, the lives of Andres and more than 27,000 Amazonian indigenous people affected by the spill depend on this water source. April 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Neisor Fayer (14) shakes the ne...uador. Johis Alarcón

Neisor Fayer (14) shakes the net without finding any fish. After the oil spill occurred on April 7, 2020, the fish died, became very small, or have a foul smell. For more than 105 indigenous communities affected by the spill, fishing was their source of food. April 30,2021. El Eden, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Veronica Grefa (21) and her sis...uador. Johis Alarcón

Veronica Grefa (21) and her sister Sheila Grefa (17) pose for a portrait outside of their home in the Toyuca community, one of the 105 indigenous communities affected by the latest oil spill. Sheila suffered several injuries in her feet because of being in contact with contaminated water. April 26, 2021. Toyuca, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

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Thumbnail of The lighter of the Pichincha Sta_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of "Sandra" (prot_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of April 229, 2021. Shushufindi, Ecuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Petroamazonas personnel clean th_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Jordy (11) walks on the pipeline_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of A child plays on the banks of th_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Grefa family goes to the Napo Ri_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Delfina Grefa, and hr daugther, _cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Cecilia Aguinda (62), a kichwa i_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of A mother bathes her daughter on _cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Jenny España walks in_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Three birds fly over the field b_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of A boy holds a dead fish on the b_uador. Johis Alarcón.

Thumbnail of Cecilia Aguinda (62) and her dau_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Delfina Grefa, walks in search o_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Andres Santy (9) plays in the Na_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Andres Santy (9) and her mom San_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Neisor Fayer (14) shakes the net_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Thumbnail of Veronica Grefa (21) and her sist_cuador. Johis Alarcón

Public Story

Public Eyes: Lighters

Copyright Johis Alarcón 2023

Updated Sep 2021

Topics Documentary, Journalism, NGO, Photography, Photojournalism, Wildlife

There are 447 "mecheros" that burn or release the gas associated with oil working day and night in the regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon, its inhabitants know them as "the mecheros of death". The highest cancer rates on the American continent are found in the areas where they are located. The oil appears in bags underground which, when extracted, release the gas associated with the crude. This gas can be used, as is done in other countries, to produce energy. However, the Ecuadorian government allows oil companies to burn or vent it in these lighters with devastating consequences for the environment and the communities living in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Assignment for Public Eyes - Panos Pictures

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Johis Alarcón

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