Photography is a way for the world to connect with others, it provides us of a platform to share the struggles that we, historically, as a society have gone through. As the kid of immigrants, this was a really important story for me to share, all stories are different, and as photographer we should understand that. This has been a year of great change around the world, but in North, and Latin America 2021 has become the year of migration, as the end of the Trump Administration brought hope to thousands of people across the continent. Some are fleeing the effects of climate change, the raising political, and social, violence in central America, and many others want to reunite their families. This phenomenon has reached a 20 year high, while people struggle to resettle away from their origin countries in search for a better life. The trip is not an easy one, as families struggle to pay for their journeys, and face a long trip plagued with uncertainty, violent threats, kidnappings and insecurity.
Getting to the border of the US is just the beginning, as people face big chances of deportation, and sometimes unavoidable family separation.
When I was asked to cover this story, my main priority was to share people’s stories, with the respect and dignity that everyone deserves. And this, is not an easy task, as people are feeling vulnerable enough after a lengthy and uncertain trip. Sometimes, people will wait in shelters on the US side of the border for weeks, waiting for a hearing or orientation about the process, only to be escorted back to the Mexican side of the border, where they may fall prey to smugglers and organized crime.
The last thing you want in this situation is to invade their space with a camera, that is why the Lumix S1 and S1r are such crucial tools to my job. The silent shutter allows me to document a lot of intimate moments, allowing the scenes to play out without the imposition of a sound every time a frame is taken. The low light features also give me an opportunity to follow the paths they follow, without the need to alter the atmosphere.
Daniel Berehulak
Daniel Berehulak is an Australian Independent photojournalist and regular contributor to The New York Times, based in Mexico City.
His work is a constant endeavor towards better understanding of concrete realities like the lives of those affected by war, natural disasters and social injustice. His work has been awarded two Pulitzer prizes, six World Press Photo awards, three Visa d'Or awards and has been a teacher at the Eddie Adams Workshop and has been a speaker at various Universities and also the American Museum of Natural History. Daniel has photographed history-shaping events including the Iraq and Afghan wars, the trial of Saddam Hussein, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, government impunity in Mexico, and most recently the so-called war on drugs in the Philippines.