By Giuliana Mutti Sicilia
Instagram: @gm.comms
Photo: Ximena Borrazas
When I find myself in front of a photo of a migrant on portals or social networks, I usually reflect on the distance and the intermediaries that are between us: who is photographed and who, an outsider like me, is moved by their situation.
How are narratives constructed from photography? What guarantees do photographed migrants have? What means of dissemination are there for migration processes?
Ximena Borrazas, Uruguayan photojournalist, agreed to an interview to tell us more about the work and process involved in photographing migrants during armed conflicts and humanitarian crises. Her goal is to use photography as a tool to raise awareness in society about different issues.
Why did you decide to work with the topic of migration?
This answer is a bit general but basically it is because at the level of photography I always try to cover something that moves me. The immigration issue moves me because there are many injustices behind it. I had the opportunity to cover migratory movements from both “sides”, that is, a “side” like that of Ukraine, migrants who have been received very well and who open all the doors to them, which is good that it is like that. As I also had to cover the other side, the side where no one gives [migrants] any kind of opportunity. So it's a topic that the more I get into it, the more I like it because there is a lot to show.
When deciding to address this issue, what considerations do you have before exposing migrants?
I approach it like any subject I portray, which are always sensitive subjects. First, always talking to the person, introducing myself, telling them the objective of the interview, the photo or whatever; Let them know that my goal is to show it on [social] networks or in the press. And I ask them if they want to participate. Always with respect because I put myself in that place, today or tomorrow I am a migrant in a boat* or I am homeless, and I would not like to open an eye and see a person taking a photo of me without even caring to talk to me, to know my story .
So I try to empathize, be respectful and not show them dehumanized. I always give the same example, there is a photo of a rescue from a boat where there is a girl who is desperately eating off the ground and you can see how her saliva falls. It is not good to show people that way, because you would not like them to show you that way and because it would hardly occur to you to show yourself that way to other people. So the objective is to show all people equally, just as I show people from Africa who migrate, I also showed the Ukrainians, and I would also show people from Latin America.
*Patera: small wooden boat, without cover, with a flat bottom and shallow draft.
How do migrants participate when they are photographed?
In all the coverages I have had, super good. There are people who, for example on the high seas and on the boat, do not want to be photographed because they are not well on a psychological and emotional level. They are in the process of assimilating everything they have experienced. These are people who generally experience physical and sexual violence and imprisonment. So, the moment when they are rescued is not easy because they let their guard down a little and everything falls on them, it is a quite complicated moment. But I would tell you that 97% of the time they do allow themselves to be photographed.
How are children photographed in these contexts?
With children there are always adults. Parents or the responsible adult who is [in the place] are always asked. In the case of Aita Mari, a lot of children and babies appeared in photos who were with their fathers or mothers, and the responsible adults were asked at all times if they could be photographed. Those who agreed to do so were photographed, and in the case of Tigray (Ethiopia), the same. For example, when I was doing the report on hunger in the central hospital of Mekele (capital of Tigray in Ethiopia) I went to a room in the severe malnutrition module where we found a girl who was skinny and super weak; The girl was 10 years old and I didn't film or take photos because the mother had gone out and we couldn't ask a responsible adult.
Is this way of working something that you consider when doing it or is there some guideline that defines it so that you can later sell or share the photos?
No, they simply buy the material from you. It is true that the media very rarely show the faces of children in dramatic news, due to issues of child protection and other things. It is also true that many media when it comes to a Spanish child pixelate their face or take photos without their face, but when it comes to an African child they show it. Their policy is a bit contradictory, but it is true that there are some slightly more serious media that apply the same way of working and try not to publish the faces of children in the context of drama. It depends on the medium.
What narrative do you seek to convey about migration through your photos?
Well, I try to address problems. For example, in Aita Mari the problem of people dying in the Mediterranean, why do these people die there? Because Europe has quite controversial immigration policies, because on the one hand it opens the doors wide and on the other hand it builds giant walls with spikes. What I seek with my reports is that people think, that they ask questions that they might not have asked before. I think the way to make people feel more impacted by [the situation], in addition to having a powerful photo [is to also have] the story, if the photo is accompanied by a powerful story it will reach much more. Unfortunately, today when we say “a boat with 600 migrants shipwrecked”, at the moment it generates a scandal but the next day no one remembers. First, because of [the place] where the people come from, because if it were a ship [of European origin] it would be on everyone's lips for months, but since they are African, black or Arab it doesn't matter. Furthermore, because people have become accustomed to hearing all the time in the media “200 migrants died”, “180 people died in a truck in Mexico” and unfortunately the numbers no longer have an impact. It's like that, so through stories you can empathize with people, that's why I consider them fundamental.
When sharing your work with the media, is there a way that allows you to maintain your narrative?
It depends on the medium, that's why I write reports when I cover more than a week with enough time to have material. I write about the problem objectively, based on what I see and what people there tell me. I always try to tell testimonies and avoid generating my own opinions. Sometimes I share my own opinions on Instagram because it is my profile, but not for the media. The media is supposed to be objective and impartial, so I try to build that narrative based on testimonies. There are media outlets that buy the entire report and publish it as I give it to them, and there are others that edit the material. For example, a while ago they published a photo story based on my report. I also work with an agency, there are media outlets that buy only the photos and use them for whatever their news or reports they prepare themselves.
What things do you think can be encouraged through communication to help the migrant problem?
Many things, I think communication on migration is very poorly done. It is my humble opinion, and I am no one to say it, but I believe that sensationalism always wins, in every sense. When migration itself is mentioned, but also in everyday news, many times there is an assault or robbery at a business and instead of saying “a person robbed…” they say the nationality of the person. From this, I believe that the xenophobia and racism that exists, at least here in Spain, is partly the fault of the media. The media criminalizes migrants and puts them all “in the same bag”, simply because they are half-brown, black or whatever. The media bears responsibility in the propagation of hate speech, because if they did not publish in the way they publish, perhaps many people would not think “that all migrants are thieves.”
I think that journalism has to take a turn, and I think it is doing so. For some reason, many people today follow freelance journalists to find out about things that are happening. Above all, it has happened with the war in Ukraine that a lot of people decided not to trust the media anymore and follow freelance journalists who are on the ground, who are free to publish what they want and for now are objective. Many times, if you respond to an international media outlet, there is information that you cannot give because you will lose your job. There is brutal censorship in the media, because governments also manipulate information at will. So there are many people who got fed up with not knowing what to believe and who began to follow freelance journalists, who publish what seems to us to be the truth, whether from one side or the other, because we do not have any type of commitment or mandate with them. nobody.
Furthermore, to be a journalist on international humanitarian issues, you first have to have a certain humanity of your own to really worry about communicating these issues objectively, with content rich in information and aware of how it is done. When the war broke out in Ukraine, journalists in important international media were heard saying “they happen to be like us” and I asked myself, what does it mean to be like us?
For this reason, I believe that there has to be a radical change in the way of communicating and a commitment at a journalistic level to disseminate all issues equitably. It cannot be that we give all the lights, fanfare and fanfare to one issue and not to others. Why? Why is there an editor who says “your misfortune is important and yours is not”? It seems to me that it has to come from us journalists saying “I'm going to Tanganyika to cover what's happening” and that's it, someone is going to be interested. I think we have to have more of our own initiative, because it is easier to wait at home for the editor to call you and send you to do coverage, which is great, but it is also good to have the initiative to disseminate situations, if the media does not help us. They give space, through social networks. Nowadays, through social networks, we have the opportunity to be much closer to the people who consume this news. Let's take advantage of it, because if you report in a more human way you will also gain more credibility.