Pep Bonet Photographer

On Tuesday 12 January, a catastrophique magnitude 7.0 M earthquake hit the island of Haiti. The earthquake killed more than 230.000 people, injured 300.000 and left 1 million homeless. Haiti is now facing sanitation and housing problems, has the rainy season is starting. The reconstruction of the country is the major concern of the government and the international community.Pep Bonet went to Haiti on assignment for “Gift of the Givers” Foundation to document the dramatic situation that Haitians are facing right now.

© Pep Bonet

17 MilagrosoSan Lazaro (‘el viejo’), also called Babalu Aye, is the most venerated saint in Cuba, an amalgam of a Christian saint and a Yoruba god worshiped for centuries by Afrocubans. Every year on San Lazaro’s Day (17 December), thousands of devotees from all over Cuba make a pilgrimage to the Santuario del Rincon, in Santiago de la Vega. A number of them are sick people and beggars, and they go to the little village 30 kilometers from Havana for different reasons, offering differing expressions of their religious feeling. They make the journey on their knees, crawling, or barefoot, pulling large stones or heavy chains tied to their bodies – for days or weeks on end. Along the way devotees collect money, which they hand over to the Santuario del Rincon on arrival. The money goes to help the San Lazaro Leprosy hospital, which is located in the sanctuary itself.

© Pep Bonet

Poland is the second largest coal producer and consumer in all of Europe and consequently one of the most polluted and polluting countries. From all fossil fuels brown coal is the one that has the biggest impact on climate change, producing 1/3 of the worlds CO2 emissions.Pep Bonet visited the region of Upper Silesia – one of the most heavily industrialized and polluted areas in the continent – to document the environmental and humanitarian impact of coal mining.
During his trip to Poland Pep visited “Adamow”, a coal mine that pumps 80 to 120 million-m3 of water out of the ground every year. Dry grounds enable the extraction of brown coal but the lack of water makes the land infertile affecting the life of local inhabitants. Pep: “the surrounding burnt-out landscape is littered with heaps of coal waste, trucks and excavators. Deep in the mine, conveyor belts slither along, laden with earth and rock. On the observation deck built around the hole, people fall silent; the view has a sobering effect”.Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world and the current developments of expanding mining throughout the country will have a serious impact on these natural resources. Devastating effects can occur on the fragile ecosystem endangering several species. Marshes and peat bogs can also dry up, causing irreversible destruction.
Researchers believe that the impact of these new mining operations will affect not only surrounding areas but also regions hundreds of kilometers away. If mining companies continue to refuse considering these facts and reevaluate their plans, the damage caused by opencast mining in Poland might have only begun.Based on a story by Marta Kazmierska | Greenpeace.

Iceland, August 2010.Due to the unique geological location of Iceland, the high concentration of volcanoes in the area is often an advantage for generating geothermal energy, heating and electricity. 100% of Iceland’s electricity comes from clean sources and the government plans within 30 years to become the first country to abandon the use of fossil fuels.Geothermal activity in the Hengill area is connected by three volcanic systems, which cover 112 square kilometers and form one of the most extensive geothermal areas in Iceland.

Geothermal energy is heat energy that occurs naturally in the earth, and is recovered from the earth’s core. In nature, geothermal heat shows up in the form of volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. When this energy is higher than 150°C/302°F, it is considered hot enough to be used to generate electricity and heat in Iceland.

Geothermal heat is one of Iceland’s greatest natural resources and is mostly used to heat fresh water which can be utilized directly for central heating. 89% of all homes in Iceland are heated this way, making central heating and warm water rather inexpensive. But the geothermal water is also used in many other ways, such as in swimming pools, greenhouses, for soil warming, fish farming, drying timber and wool, animal husbandry, etc.

People have used naturally occurring hot springs for bathing for thousands of years but using geothermal energy to generate electricity and to provide heat for homes and industries is a more recent development. It is a versatile and reliable source of heat and electricity which generally produces none of the greenhouse gases associated with the combustion of fossil fuels.

The Blue Lagoon geothermal seawater spa is a part of an eco-cycle where nature and science work in harmony. Geothermal seawater comes into contact with cooling magmatic intrusions and captures the earth’s minerals, resulting in this unique natural spring known for its healing power. The water’s temperature is 37-39°C/98-102°F. The lagoon holds six million liters of geothermal seawater, which is renewed every 40 hours.

The readers of Condé Nast Traveller voted Blue Lagoon as the best medical spa worldwide. For five consecutive years, Blue Lagoon has been awarded the Blue Flag environmental recognition for natural beaches and marinas.

© Pep Bonet

For 16 years following the collapse of the Siad Barré regime in 1991, Somalia remained the only country in the world without an effective central government. Six months of relative stability under the rule of the Union of Islamic Courts was brought to a rapid close in the final days of 2006, as Ethiopian militia allied to the forces of a transitional government (which was formed in Kenya in 2004, but had never assumed power) took over the capital Mogadishu. In January 2007 President Abdullahi Yusuf entered Mogadishu for the first time since taking office in 2004.International response to the situation in Somalia has to date been insufficient, from both a political and humanitarian point of view. The principal focus has been a peace process lead by the IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) in Kenya, which led to the creation of the transitional parliament in 2004. This development was seen as positive for the future of Somalia, and was welcomed by the African Union as progress towards peace and stabilization of the country; but the fact remains that antagonism between clans is still very strong. Deep rivalries between regional states persist, threatening the peace process and aggravating the humanitarian crisis.Over a million Somalis have sought refuge worldwide, and the conflict has threatened the stability of neighbouring countries. This situation is symptomatic of broader international neglect of Somalia. Financial support from donors has failed to provide the level of political commitment and technical assistance required for success.© Pep Bonet

Even before its devastating civil war, Sierra Leone was the poorest country on earth (UNDP figures). It still is, and now it’s in shambles too. In the years since the peace agreement, people have tried to create new chances for themselves in a land where opportunities are rare. Their struggle, their determination to bounce back, sheds light on a side of Sierra Leone (and of Africa) that we don’t often get to see. It’s a story of stamina, pride and self-confidence. Against all odds. During the conflict, many had their eyes poked out by rebels. Eighty-five children live and learn in Milton Margai School for the Blind in Freetown. They learn English, Braille, typewriting, and to play music. Many are now old enough to leave school, face the outside world and seek new lives for themselves. Some have already found jobs – no small feat, even for a sighted person, in Sierra Leone.© Pep Bonet

One Goal – amputees soccer team
Sierra Leone’s amputees are a grim legacy of its 1991-2001 civil war. One of the most brutal aspects of the conflict was the use of amputation as a weapon of fear, by both factions. Many of the victims were innocent young men, who were targeted in order to stop them fighting for an opposing side.At the Murray Town Camp for Amputees in Freetown, at one time home to over 2,000 people mutilated during the war, a group of these young men and boys have come together to form the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club (SLASC). The club has more than 30 members and is recognized by the Sierra Leone Football Association as the un(official) national amputee team. Through soccer, the youths have regained their pride and self-confidence. They aim to play against other international teams and make a living from their sport. In February 2007 the club – which had already competed in matches in Britain, Russia and Brazil – hosted the first ever All-African Amputee Football Tournament. Pep Bonet continued his long term project on the team in August 2007 photographing the soccer players and their lives.here

The civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2001) was labeled “the cruelest in Africa’s recent history”. It was characterized by destruction – of property, but more so of human lives and values. Tens of thousands of civilians died, hundreds of thousands were raped, burnt, tortured, enslaved, mutilated. Many patients in Kissy Mental Hospital are psychotic because of severe drugs and alcohol abuse, others are traumatized by having participated as a fighter in the war There is a lack of staff, especially of trained staff. The hospital was rebuilt in 2006 and now patients have better beds and windows.

An ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has claimed between 200,000 and 400,000 lives, and caused the displacement of an estimated 2.5 million people. The conflict dates back to 2003, when two rebel movements, the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army) and the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement), began attacking government targets. In response to this, the government is said to have backed an Arab militia – the Janjaweed – to fight the rebels. The militias have been accused of numerous human rights abuses, constituting genocide according to many international observers.

At the outermost bounds of a booming India, drug routes cut across the poor Northeastern states touching Myanmar. Produced in the Golden Triangle, pure heroine easily enters Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland to fuel one of the fiercest Hiv-Aids epidemics India has to face. In the 1990s, massively injected with shared needles, heroine became the perfect vector for Hiv. In Manipur 40 to 60% of drug users could be infected. Today, the cost of heroine has led many drug users to switch to Spasmo-Proxyvon: injected, this pharmaceutical drug also causes gangrene. And amputations are not unusual among addicts.

To fight Hiv/Aids and drug addiction, means are more than limited. In this Christian area, drug and sex are taboo, Hiv positive people and addicts stigmatized. In Mizoram, anti retro-viral treatments benefit 28 people only. Drug addicts can hardly rely on clean syringes to avoid contamination: accused of encouraging drug use, they are legally banned.

Despite discrimination and sometimes hatred, people living with Hiv-Aids, doctors and ex-drug users pursue their plan of preventing new contaminations and giving treatment to anyone in need. This story tells their reality.

Text by Raphaële Bail

© Pep Bonet

Honduras, April 2008The HIV/Aids epidemic is generally concentrated in high-risk populations such as men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers, prisoners, the Garifuna (an Afro-Caribbean population group) in the case of Honduras, street children and the security forces.Honduran homosexuals and transsexuals are common victims of family, church, political and even police harassment, hindering most from outing themselves. The number of violations of gay and lesbian human rights is increasing more rapidly than the number of organizations protecting them.

In San Pedro Sula, the country’s second largest city, AIDS has infected 5.5% of the population. In the early stages of the epidemic, Honduran men accounted for most infections. Now, women account for 30% of the cases. It is the leading cause of death among child-rearing women, and the second leading cause of hospitalization among adults. Many of these infections are from prostitutes who work in brothels throughout the country.

There is also evidence of child prostitution in Honduras, particularly in tourist and border areas. Honduras serves as a source and transit country for children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation.

“Escarlet Rubi” is a 12 year old transsexual boy that lives in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He was raped at the age of five, now he is a transsexual and works as a sex worker.

Because he was gay he was kicked out of his family house and had to start working in the streets of San Pedro Sula at the age of nine. Since then “Scarlet Ruby” has been making a living out of prostitution with the help of other transsexuals who help dress him and teach him how to survive.

He started living in a very poor neighborhood, he found a cheap room and started living there with Maras. At the same time he was taking care of a sick family in exchange for the fee of the room.
He started to dress as a woman and started working in the streets, charging 300 lempiras (10 Euros aprox.) for a blow job, 500 Lempiras (17Euros) for sex.
“Scarlet Ruby” normally earns between 300 and 700 Lempiras every night.

The mother of “Scarlet Ruby”, wants him back home, she does not want to see her son being sexually abused anymore. His mother, and his small sister are both HIV positive, she was infected by her unfaithful husband whom infected her and the sister was born with HIV.

“Scarlet Ruby” is now addicted to marihuana, alcohol and crack and has to earn a living working in the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second largest city and a major manufacturing centre. It is also regarded as the country’s most violent city, especially at night. Police have taken “Scarlet Ruby” off the streets several times, but after some days he is always released because he is a minor.
Some 200 homosexual and transsexual sex workers were murdered between 1991 and 2003.
Pep portrayed Transsexuals, that work as commercial sex workers and the daily life of “Scarlet Ruby”, smoking crack, getting dressed as a transsexual, working in the streets at night, and finally visiting his mother.

© Pep Bonet