Out in the Elements
It’s been a busy few months. I’ve been working three jobs: teacher, translator and photographer – so no time to post photos! The photography work was for Amnesty International, covering the annual assembly of the Spanish section of AI, which was held in Madrid at the end of April. One of the events during the assembly was a march through the city centre waving yellow umbrellas and banners that read “¡No más derechos a la intemperie!” – No more rights left out in the elements!
I expect most of the marchers had been hoping our demonstration would be accompanied by fine spring weather, but heavy clouds had been building all afternoon, and a few minutes into the march the heavens opened and down poured the elements. Not very pleasant for those that didn’t have a yellow umbrella to protect them, but it couldn’t have been more appropriate for the pictures…
For A New Egypt With Human Rights!
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Action by Amnistia Internacional Madrid in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, today as part of Amnesty International’s Global Day of Action in solidarity with protesters in Egypt and the North of Africa.
Making sure we don’t rest on our laurels now Mubarak’s out…
Cinematic Debut: video clip for Amnistia Internacional Madrid
Mely and I have made our cinematic (or youtubematic) debut! We’re both activists with Amnistia Internacional Madrid; Mely’s in the refugees’ rights group and I’m a photographer/audiovisual person in the communications team, and this is our first collaboration for Amnesty. The video clip is part of a campaign to get the Spanish government to ratify the UN convention on the rights of migrant workers and their families. Spain, along with the rest of Europe, has yet to sign the treaty.
Here’s a translation of the audio:
“Migrant workers and their families have the right to equality in labour conditions,
The right to labour and living conditions that free from physical or sexual abuse, slavery and degradation,
The right of equal access to education, sanitation and social services,
The right to freedom of thought, expression and religion,
The right of association, political participation and union membership.”
Please sign the petition here.
We filmed on a horribly chill and rainy day… the first taste of winter so far this autumn… but fortunately Melissa, AI Madrid’s videographer, and our team of volunteer actors weren’t deterred, despite having nothing more than their bright yellow Amnesty caps to protect them from the weather. A fine performance, I think! Especially considering the budget… 1.50 euros, which went on donuts. (All eaten by me, he he he. Well nobody else thought they were appetising…) Many thanks to the excellent Jaime Zelada for his music, too!
Woman on the Metro. In a Suitcase.
Our latest assignment is the theme ‘surreal’. Another tough one, but Madrid has plenty of corners where the weird and wonderful seem to be everyday occurrences. I wouldn’t say the metro was one of them though… like most of the other 2 million or so who use the metro for their daily commute, I tend to switch into autopilot as soon as I get onto the train, slipping into a sort of temporary mental stasis until I emerge at my destination.
During rush hour one evening last December, Passengers who happened to glance up from their newspapers and books might well have taken a second look at this fellow and his unusual cargo. The woman in the suitcase isn’t trying to sneak a free trip, however. The label on the case reads ‘BOUGHT’: the picture was taken on December 2, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, and she’s an activist from Amnistía Internacional Madrid who is travelling across the city in a suitcase to raise awareness of human trafficking and forced prostitution.
The act raised plenty of eyebrows and livened up many a journey home from work, and the story made the front page of the Madrid section of El Mundo newspaper.
