THIRD PRIZE
Multimedia Category
In God's Hands: Stories of
Central American Migrants
Project and text by
Markel Redondo
Since 2010, I have been documenting the passage of Central American men, women and children, as they attempt to cross the borders from Honduras to Guatemala through Mexico and into the United States.
I interviewed and photographed victims and survivors. Because of the ordeals they went through, I think of many of them as heroes.
Meanwhile, I have witnessed the desperation that drives a person to leave his or her family, home, and country, in the hope of a better life.
According to the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico, some 10,000 migrants are kidnapped each year in Mexico. The captors primarily belong to the Zetas gang. These kidnapers demand between 1,500 and 5,000 dollars) in exchange for the hostages, depending on where the family lives (in the U.S. or their country of origin). If relatives cannot pay, the migrants, who are often from poor backgrounds, are executed. Their bodies are abandoned.
During the journey, I met numerous men, women and children searching for a better future, all of whom expressed their belief in God as the only one they can trust. To them God is always present. Faced with so much risk and injustice, they are willing to place their lives in God’s hands.
— Markel Redondo
Panos Pictures and Voces Mesoamericanas contributed to the production of this project. Learn more at www.markelredondo.com.