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Philippines: homeless in the corona pandemic

2021-12-30T17:34:09.705Z


When Corona reached the Philippines, hundreds of thousands in Manila lost their jobs. With no income they ended up on the streets. A photographer captured the everyday life and survival of the homeless.


Enlarge image

Families with children are also among the new homeless people in Manila

Photo: Alecs Ongcal / The Guardian / eyevine / laif

One sentence that you hear a lot in the streets of Manila goes like this: "We will not die of Covid-19, because we will die of hunger."

The Philippines have some of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world.

For most of the time since the pandemic began, schools there have been closed and children have been banished to their homes because games were forbidden on the street outside.

As soon as they step outside the door, people had to wear a plastic face shield in addition to their mask for a long time.

Despite tough measures, the incidences were high, last summer the numbers rose again rapidly, in August a doctor told SPIEGEL: “It's a hell of a cycle for us.

We are overloaded. "

It leaves traces in the country, everywhere.

The extent is particularly clear with those who are often referred to as "threatened with decline".

Women, men, who have odd jobs, never earn enough to set aside for a crisis.

The families and relatives take care of their earnings.

Migrant workers too.

Many of them have once come to the metropolitan area of ​​Manila, 13 million people live there in the hope of finding work.

But when the first lockdown came in spring 2020, they were the first to lose their jobs.

From then on, they had to decide: do I get food or an apartment?

The Filipino photographer Alecs Ongcal accompanied the women, men and children who lost their homes during the two years of the pandemic.

Manila's new homeless people.

She often went to a park in the center called Liwasang Bonifacio, where many of them gather, sleep, await donations.

Your photos first appeared in the Guardian.

For example, she met Yuri, sitting on cardboard boxes, right at the start of the pandemic.

Yuri did not survive.

She met Michelle and Jerwin who are trying to get through their daily lives together better.

And about which the photographer said a beautiful sentence.

Michelle and Jerwin, living in an underpass, "they have found a new home in each other".

Here you can see the photos from the streets of Manila - and how the people survive:

This contribution is part of the Global Society project

Expand areaWhat is the Global Society project?

Reporters from

Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe

report under the title “Global Society” - on injustices in a globalized world, socio-political challenges and sustainable development.

The reports, analyzes, photo series, videos and podcasts appear in a separate section in SPIEGEL's international department.

The project is long-term and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

A detailed FAQ with questions and answers about the project can be found here.

AreaWhat does the funding look like in concrete terms?

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has been supporting the project since 2019 for an initial three years with a total of around 2.3 million euros - around 760,000 euros per year.

In 2021, the project was extended by almost three and a half years until spring 2025 on the same terms.

Are the journalistic content independent of the foundation?

Yes.

The editorial content is created without the influence of the Gates Foundation.

Do other media have similar projects?

Yes.

Big European media like "The Guardian" and "El País" have set up similar sections on their news sites with "Global Development" and "Planeta Futuro" with the support of the Gates Foundation.

Have there already been similar projects at SPIEGEL?

In the past few years, SPIEGEL has already implemented two projects with the European Journalism Center (EJC) and the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: the “Expedition ÜberMorgen” on global sustainability goals and the journalistic refugee project “The New Arrivals” within the framework several award-winning multimedia reports on the topics of migration and displacement have been produced.

Where can I find all publications on global society?

The pieces can be found at SPIEGEL on the topic Global Society.

mst

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-12-30

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