Swamp People (Tumaco, Colombia)   [ 56 images ]

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Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called ‘piangua’. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria,...
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  • Stiven, the 13-years-old Colombian boy, picks up a shellfish from the mud in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian shellfish pickers embark on a canoe going to the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl climbs up the root of a tree while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman holds the root of a tree while picking up a shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy stands in the water of a shallow channel in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl carries a pot filled with a smouldering tropical wood while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman walks through the dense maze of the trees while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy swimms in a shallow channel while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian girls, going in a canoe, search for a new area to pick up shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man walks through the dense maze of the trees while picking shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman holds a muddy bucket filled by shellfish, collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian women wash the mud off their clothes in the dirty water of the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Washed clothes of the shellfish pickers hang on the line in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 11 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman counts washed shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 14 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl stands behind the branch of a tree while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man picks shellfish among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man counts washed shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 11 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman counts washed shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 11 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian shellfish pickers going in a canoe to the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian shellfish picker sits in the head of a canoe while going to the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl climbs up the root of a tree while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl walks through the dense maze of the trees while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl climbs over the tree roots while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian girls climb over the tree roots while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian girls sit in a canoe while searching for a new area to pick up shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian men pick shellfish from the mud among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl rests during searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man picks shellfish from the mud among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian shellfish pickers work in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian girls pick shellfish from the mud among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian girls collect shellfish among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man wipes the raindrops off his face while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian girl walks through the dense maze of the trees while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman climbs over the root of a tree while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian women wash the mud off the shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian boys wash the mud off their clothes in the dirty water of the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy sits on a mangrove tree root while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man shows hands full of shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man shows joyfully a basket full of shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 12 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian shellfish picker, having a day free, stands in front of his house in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 14 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian shellfish picker wash the mud off his clothes after return from the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 14 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy, a shellfish picker working in the mangrove swamps, stands in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 15 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy, a shellfish picker, sits in a canoe while going to the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman walks through the dense maze of the trees while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy clambers in the mud while picking up shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy picks shellfish from the mud among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian boy picks shellfish among the tree roots in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman shows muddy shellfishes, collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman climbs over the root of a tree while searching for shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman picks up a shellfish from the mud in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman walks through the dense maze of the trees while picking shellfish in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 16 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Kitchen herbs grown in a plastic barrel in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 15 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian man records the number of shellfish collected in the mangrove swamps on the Pacific coast, Colombia, 14 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman, a shellfish picker working in the mangrove swamps, sits in her wooden house in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 15 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • A Colombian woman, a shellfish picker working in the mangrove swamps, stands inside her wooden house in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 15 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.

  • Colombian kids, children of the shellfish pickers, play in front of a wooden house in a stilt house area close to Tumaco, Colombia, 15 June 2010. Deep in the impenetrable labyrinth of mangrove swamps on the Pacific seashore, hundreds of people struggle everyday, searching and gathering a tiny shellfish called 'piangua'. Wading through sticky mud among the mangrove tree roots, facing the clouds of mosquitos, they pick up mussels hidden deep in mud, no matter of unbearable tropical heat or strong rain. Although the shellfish pickers, mostly Afro-Colombians displaced by the Colombian armed conflict, take a high risk (malaria, poisonous bites,...), their salary is very low and keeps them living in extreme poverty.