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QUITO, ECUADOR - Juan Oshcu traveled more than six hours from his rural farm, walking and hitching rides, to reach the Ecuadoran capital. For three nights, he’s slept on wooden benches in one of the city’s cultural centers, a temporary base for the thousands of indigenous protesters who have arrived here this week. “We have …
QUITO, ECUADOR - Mass anti-government protests have paralysed Ecuadoran transportation and other services for more than a week. Protesters are angry over President Lenin Moreno's decision to cut decades-old fuel subsidies and implement tax and labour reforms. "The people, united, will never be defeated," demonstrators chanted as they briefly breached a security line and entered …
Continue reading "Ecuador unrest: What led to the mass protests? (Al Jazeera)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - Paralysing protests in Ecuador continued on Tuesday over a series of labour and tax reforms and President Lenin Moreno's decision to scrap decades-old fuel subsidies. Thousands of indigenous people who had been marching towards the capital, Quito, descended on the city on Tuesday. Protesters were reportedly able to briefly cross security lines …
Continue reading "Ecuador unrest: Protests erupt for 6th day over fuel subsidy cuts (Al Jazeera)"
This was a live TV spot. I spoke with Turkish television station TRT World about the national strike and protests that began October 3. Thousands of people across the country partook in these protests, angry over a series of labor and tax reforms, and the cutting of gas and diesel subsidies that saw the price …
Continue reading "Live News Spot. Protests in Ecuador over hike in fuel prices (TRT World)"
JUNCAL, ECUADOR - The sun had already set when a group of 10 Venezuelans trickled into Carmen Carcelen's home in northern Ecuador late last month. They joined about 100 others who were already there. Two volunteers immediately invited the new houseguests to put down their tattered suitcases and backpacks, and offered each person a bowl of soup. …
Continue reading "In Ecuador, one woman has given shelter to over 8,500 Venezuelans (Al Jazeera)"
LLANCHAMA, ECUADOR - A long passenger boat floats abandoned outside Andres Machoa’s house, along the Tiputini River in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. The community bought the boat more than five years ago when the state-owned oil company, Petroamazonas, moved into the area and promised everyone stable jobs, including as water taxi conductors to transport their staff …
Continue reading "Life on the Amazon oil frontier: From exploration to ecotourism (Mongabay)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park sits in a unique position on the equator, between the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest, which has allowed a rich and distinct biodiversity to flourish. The region is surrounded by towering ceibo and mahogany trees, emblematic of the area, as well as hundreds of endemic birds, …
QUITO, ECUADOR - Gina Pena said she was leaving a humanitarian aid office in Ecuador's capital Quito one day when she saw the man who had threatened her life back in Colombia. "If I open my mouth, he'll cut my family up. That's what he told me," Pena recalled, adding she no longer feels safe …
Continue reading "Ecuador: Colombia refugees stage weeks-long protest against UNHCR (Al Jazeera)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - I partook in this panel discussion titled Photography and Human Rights for the annual book fair at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador. Four international photographers based in Ecuador spoke about our work in relation to human rights issues, including how photography can be a tool to bring these issues to light, …
Continue reading "“Photography and Human Rights” (Panel discussion: Quito, Ecuador)"
SANTANDER DE QUILOCHAO, COLOMBIA - Clemencia Carabali did not know the number that appeared on her phone when it rang last June. She didn't recognise the man's voice on the other end of the call. "If you don't leave the territory by 5pm today, you're a dead woman," Carabali recalled the man saying. Carabali reported …
Continue reading "For many women in Colombia, peace never arrived (Al Jazeera)"
