Private Story
Manifesto del Agua
Application Anja Niedringhaus Award
I usually tell stories beyond the headlines. Stories behind the frontlines, that I think that need to be seen. As an anthropologist I try to take angles showing people’s empowerment instead of merely victimizing. I believe a solutions-focus has a bigger impact for change. Focusing on two sides of the same coin, results in stories on climate-change resilience, how people are fighting for housing or gender equality. In Cuba I focus on how the right for clean drinking water is managed, despite limitations such as the US embargo, climate change and an outdated system. Core to my work is to highlight the people as agents of change.
In Cuba I work as an independent journalist in society where media are censored. It needs courage, creativity and determination to be able to tell the stories I want to show. Access is limited as the state tries to control what image of Cuba is being published. I work as an anthropologist, constructing relationships with people in the streets and use a bottom-up approach. I believe in press-freedom and believe in the story I want to tell. In the case of the ‘Manifesto del Agua’ story, I want to create, water functions as a metaphor for communist Cuba. That is the strength of this story: while focusing on a certain aspect, in this case water, show something of broader society.
The submitted photographs are a good example of the type of work. Anja Niedringhaus’ work is sublime in catching the everyday at the heart of a humanitarian crisis. I have not worked in a war territory, but I am inspired in seeing how she was able to humanize the people before her lens, in extreme situations. It shows her compassion for people and commitment to show different layers that are usually are not seen. In this sense, my work is similar. I want to show a different perspective of Cuba, a story yet untold. I want to inspire with my stories to look beyond the stereotypes. Fishes in the watertanks, a brilliant example of how Cubans are masters in finding solutions. I feel compassion for my subject and the people I meet. I want to portray them with dignity and respect.
If I would win the award, I would like to share partly with the people in the pictures, through whom I have been able to tell this story. The other part I would use to carry out a new story, probably on how access to water is leading to inequality in Honduras.
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